Ed Vaizey Speech for 바카라 사이트楾reasure Houses of England바카라 사이트�
Culture Minister Ed Vaizey addressed a gathering of 바카라 사이트楾he Treasure Houses of England바카라 사이트�, a group of England바카라 사이트檚 most splendid country houses open to the public.
ED VAIZEY SPEECH FOR 바카라 사이트楾REASURE HOUSES OF ENGLAND바카라 사이트� DINNER 29 OCTOBER 2014 (CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY)
My Lords, Ladies and Gentlemen. Thank you very much for letting me come along this evening to say a few words to this most distinguished gathering.
It would not be right to start without expressing my great sadness that we are all here together at Blenheim in such unfortunate circumstances, and I must extend my deepest sympathy to the late Duke바카라 사이트檚 family at this sad time.
The spirit and achievement of the 11th Duke is, of course, to be seen here at Blenheim. And it바카라 사이트檚 not just in these magnificent surroundings, but also in the very ethos of the group which together you comprise: the idea that a glorious stately home can become a successful business without losing either its historical integrity or the character that only a genuine family home can have. 바카라 사이트淢y famous ancestor won the Battle of Blenheim in one day바카라 사이트攂ut his descendants have been fighting it ever since,바카라 사이트� His Grace the late Duke said just three years ago, and I very much hope that, if he were with us tonight, he would concede that it was a battle he had been winning. The evidence of that, I think, is all around us.
I should also say in passing that Blenheim itself has a personal fascination for me, and one that that makes coming here this evening particularly special. As an undergraduate studying the history of architecture, I studied Blenheim and many other similar buildings. A fellow student boasted that he stayed most weekends at each of the houses we were studying. The closest I came was driving into the grounds of Heythrop Park, then a NatWest training centre, before being chased away by a security official. Needless to say Ted Clive now lives in a stately home of his own, and I . . er . . do not.
Now I completely understand that there are some specific issues you바카라 사이트檇 like me to address this evening: the difficulties of running a successful tourist business in the current economic climate for one thing.
What the new structure we바카라 사이트檙e proposing for English Heritage might mean for you, if it has the effect of giving their properties an unfair advantage in the visitor attraction market, for another.
Allied to this, I know that many of you are reflecting on the broader question of how the magnificent houses you own can survive, not simply as going commercial concerns but as plain bricks and mortar, as years go by.
You might also, reasonably enough, ask me 바카라 사이트� as Minister for Telecoms, as well as Culture and Heritage 바카라 사이트� what I am doing about ensuring that the revolution in digital communication and the advent of super-fast broadband reaches the rural communities of which you are all a part.
I hope to say a little bit about all these things, and I think some time has also been set aside for questions at the end, so I very much look forward to picking up on anything you think I바카라 사이트檝e missed at that point.
But I should say, straight from the off, that I am not going to be able to offer any promises, nods or winks about the tax breaks that I know you all are lobbying for. The Chancellor and his team at the Treasury make those decisions and, as you바카라 사이트檝e probably already heard, they play their cards very close to their chest. We in the outlying departments can 바카라 사이트� and we do 바카라 사이트� make the case for our respective sectors but we get absolutely no hints on what has been decided until pretty much the same time as you do. So forgive me, but I am simply unable to be the bearer of good, bad or indifferent news on that front this evening.
None of you, of course, need any persuading that the houses, gardens and other attractions you are helping the public to enjoy offer an experience for the visitor that is anything short of exceptional. But one thing I have noticed as a minister over the last four and a half years 바카라 사이트� and for many years before - is there are certain things that hugely improve a place바카라 사이트檚 chances of success in attracting people to visit.
It바카라 사이트檚 not so long ago that the 바카라 사이트榓dded value바카라 사이트� a visitor attraction had to offer the weary visitor was little more than a cup of tea so stewed it could have passed for creosote and a rock cake that put one more in mind of rock than cake. Times have changed and, thanks to Trip Advisor, standards have changed too.
Now I know there바카라 사이트檚 a whole speech to be made on the rights and wrongs of Trip Advisor and the potential it offers one바카라 사이트檚 competitors to 바카라 사이트� shall we say 바카라 사이트� massage the truth about a place. But at the same time we바카라 사이트檙e also perhaps aware of a current business belief called the 바카라 사이트榳isdom of crowds바카라 사이트�, and the idea that 바카라 사이트榯he many are smarter than the few.바카라 사이트�
And so with that in mind, I popped the ten 바카라 사이트楾reasure Houses of England바카라 사이트� into that website to see how all of you fare in the court of public opinion. Thankfully, each one of you have earned an abundance of four or five star reviews.
Does this tell us anything? Are there any lessons here? Well, one immediately springs to mind. And that is that there바카라 사이트檚 something to be said for actively encouraging your visitors 바카라 사이트� or at least the ones who seem to have had a good time - to go on Trip Advisor straight away and share their thoughts with the online world? Cynical, yes, but surprising how many places do just that 바카라 사이트� and how many don바카라 사이트檛. But the real lesson we learn from this kind of thing, I think, is the importance of two things: customer care and added value. And those two things are what the Treasure Houses do really well.
But for all that, when it comes to customer care, there will always be one or two that are harder to please than others. Before leaving the Trip Advisor site I had a quick look at some of our other national institutions.
Take the National Gallery in London, for example. For my part, I think it바카라 사이트檚 the most wonderful collection and one of which we in the UK should be really proud. Not so, however, for one 바카라 사이트榬eviewer바카라 사이트� from Yorkshire who reported that 바카라 사이트楾his was really boring - why can바카라 사이트檛 they get some new stuff in?
But the last word on this has to go to one visitor to Stonehenge from Salisbury who titled her review 바카라 사이트榊awn.바카라 사이트� She went on to say, and I quote: 바카라 사이트榠t was the biggest waste of time I바카라 사이트檝e ever experienced. Why people come from all around the world to see a pile of stones, I will never understand.바카라 사이트�
So some things, however magnificent, do indeed 바카라 사이트榝all on stony ground.바카라 사이트�
Let바카라 사이트檚 look for a moment at the other half of my suggested recipe for success in this business: added value.
Here at Blenheim, the added value comes from the temporary shows like the current exhibition from the internationally acclaimed artist Ai Weiwei 바카라 사이트� his largest ever in this country. Add to this the flower show, the circus, the antiques fair, the concerts and the food festival, and you get a sense of the depth and quality of what Blenheim has to offer.
Leeds Castle, as well as boasting that it is 바카라 사이트楾he Loveliest Castle in the World바카라 사이트� has also been offering an exhibition of Henry VIII바카라 사이트檚 armour, on loan from the Royal Armouries, and next summer there바카라 사이트檚 a Triathalon with the swimming leg taking place, inevitably, in the moat.
Chatsworth has its dazzling annual sculpture show, 바카라 사이트楤eyond Limits.바카라 사이트� In recent years it has displayed monumental pieces by some of the most outstanding contemporary sculptors working today - Damien Hirst, Marc Quinn, Manolo Valde虂s and Thomas Heatherwick (designer of London바카라 사이트檚 Olympic Cauldron), to name but four. Burghley has been staging its horse trials for more than 50 years, attracting north of 160,000 visitors this year.
Beaulieu has its National Motor Museum where around half a million visitors each year can marvel at a 250-strong collection which includes Bluebird and Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang among its number. Holkham puts on open air plays and concerts, and at Harewood there바카라 사이트榮 daily penguin feeding 바카라 사이트� or at least there is until the end of this week. All of the Treasure Houses are adding value by using their imagination: going further than before, but never so much as ruffling the feathers of the goose that lays the golden egg 바카라 사이트� the Treasure House itself.
I could go on. The point is, however, that delighting your customers is the key to success.
So do you have anything to fear from the new English Heritage, the free-standing body we are creating as a trust, with a dowry to ensure that it can stand on its own feet without the benefit of public subsidy? The answer, I believe, is no.
Our historic buildings, ancient monuments and country houses are all part of the same thing: our heritage. And it바카라 사이트檚 something that바카라 사이트檚 very popular indeed with people from this country and overseas, looking for an interesting day out, with or without penguin feeding. The London family that spends the day on a trip to the English Heritage owned Dover Castle is not declaring they will never go to the National Trust owned Bodiam Castle, or to the 바카라 사이트楾reasure House바카라 사이트� Leeds Castle.
The truth is they are making a choice, probably based on word-of-mouth recommendation or marketing of one sort or another. And in all probability they바카라 사이트檒l take in the other two at another time, because heritage visits for many people are a regular thing, not once-in-a-blue-moon leisure choices.
What바카라 사이트檚 more, the funding for the new model English Heritage will also pay for young apprentices to develop heritage skills, and that too will be for the greater good of the whole sector in time.
But as I said a moment ago, marketing is so important. Common sense tells us that the personal recommendation of a friend or relative 바카라 사이트� or any disinterested individual, come to that - is the most effective recommendation of all. And more and more people are going online to find it. I바카라 사이트檝e mentioned Trip Advisor but there are countless other online sources of comment and that바카라 사이트檚 before we get to your own websites. Not disinterested, of course, but a primary source of information for opening times, special events (those penguins again) and how best to get to you.
So for you as 바카라 사이트榖usinesses바카라 사이트� and your visitors as 바카라 사이트榗ustomers바카라 사이트�, we are now making it an absolute priority to ensure reliable, superfast broadband, with an investment of over 拢1 billion, half of which - 拢530 million 바카라 사이트� is focused on rural areas.
And I바카라 사이트檓 pleased to report that a great deal of progress has been achieved. In the rural areas where the Treasure Houses are to be found, customers have experienced a bigger increase in average speeds than in urban areas. The unobtrusive yet sturdy green cabinets that help make this happen are springing up all over the countryside. Superfast coverage here in the UK is higher than in Germany and Spain, and three times higher than in France.
Our overall aim is for the UK to be a leading digital economy, with 88 per cent of the whole country having access to superfast broadband by the end of next year.
The future for pretty well all businesses 바카라 사이트� and yours certainly 바카라 사이트� is digital, and we are making its realisation an absolute priority. I바카라 사이트檇 like to draw my remarks to you this evening to a close with a few words on the current state of country houses generally here in the UK. A book was published just last week by SAVE Britain바카라 사이트檚 Heritage. Written by the estimable Marcus Binney and with contributions from John Harris, it has been published almost exactly 40 years to the day after Roy Strong바카라 사이트檚 exhibition at the V&A entitled The Destruction of the Country House opened.
The book looks at what바카라 사이트檚 happened since 1974 and also sets that progress in the context of what had inspired Roy Strong to organise the exhibition.
In some ways it바카라 사이트檚 a pretty depressing account, with page after page of photographs showing fine houses that were 바카라 사이트榣ost바카라 사이트� in the 100 years running up to 1974. Happily though there are also a host of examples of houses that have been 바카라 사이트榮aved바카라 사이트�, very often thanks to the determination and courage of organisations like SAVE, and the funding that the National Trust and the National Heritage Memorial Fund have been able to provide.
Another common factor in the successes has been the presence of an army of local groups and individuals who, to put it crudely, saw a bad thing about to happen and got off their backsides to do something about it.
Tyntesfield in Somerset, Seaton Delavel in Northumberland, Dumfries House in Ayrshire, are but three examples of heroic campaigning and hard work delivering a happy ending.
And speaking as a 바카라 사이트 Minister, I can tell you that the power of a well-organised campaign, when it바카라 사이트檚 married to genuine passion for a cause, is a thing to behold. So the message of this book, which I commend to you all, is in the end a reasonably optimistic one. Not trite or self-satisfied, but certainly quietly encouraging.
So for me, the country house glass is by no means half empty. But it is, for all that, essential that owners, campaigners and government remain constantly vigilant. The buildings we바카라 사이트檝e been talking about this evening 바카라 사이트� and your houses in particular 바카라 사이트� are quite literally irreplaceable.
We must never take them for granted and I can promise you that the 바카라 사이트, for its part, never will.