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Knowledge Management At

Castle Dracula
and Bran Tourist Board (BTB)
A Case Study

Anveshika Shrivastava Faculty: Knowledge Management Symbiosis Centre for Information Technology Release 1 Published by Anveshika Shrivastava, November 2011

Copyright 2011 Anveshika Shrivastava. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. This case study is a work of fiction, created for academic purposes and any resemblance to real life entities or corporations is purely coincidental.

Table of Contents
1. 2. Prologue .................................................................................................................................................................................. 3 Background ............................................................................................................................................................................. 4 2.1. 3. Bran Tourist Board Organization .................................................................................................................................. 4

Overview Attractions ........................................................................................................................................................... 5 3.1. 3.2. 3.3. Bran Castle .................................................................................................................................................................... 5 Brans Dracula Theme Park .......................................................................................................................................... 5 Stores / Memorabilia ..................................................................................................................................................... 6

4.

Existing institutional problems ................................................................................................................................................ 7 4.1. 4.2. Voice of tourists ............................................................................................................................................................ 7 Voice of employees ....................................................................................................................................................... 8

5. 6.

Conclusion .............................................................................................................................................................................. 9 Appendix: Figures ................................................................................................................................................................. 10 6.1. 6.2. 6.2.1. 6.2.2. 6.2.3. 6.3. 6.3.1. 6.3.2. Tourist Influx............................................................................................................................................................... 10 Tourist Break Ups Bran Tourism ............................................................................................................................. 10 Typical Tourist Categorization .................................................................................................................................... 10 Typical Tourist Categorization By Attraction .......................................................................................................... 11 Typical Tourist Monthly Distribution.......................................................................................................................... 11 Other Data ................................................................................................................................................................... 12 Typical Ticket Prices ................................................................................................................................................... 12 Direct Employee Count ............................................................................................................................................... 12

Anveshika Shrivastava | KM at Castle Dracula and BTB - KM 2011

1. Prologue
Tourists saw the castle the instant they stepped off the cab onto a misty road. Ensconced among the Carpathian Mountains, the proud fortress stood surreally in the dusk, between the border between Transylvania and Wallachia, on DN73. As the tourists walked on the cobbled path to the BTB office to purchase their tickets, they could not help reflecting about the famous Bran Castle or 'Dracula's castle' 'Dracula's Built in late 1300s by the Saxons of Kronstadt, Castle had stood the ravages of time. Over the centuries, it remained an important landmark and was held by various nations and races. In 1897, the castle shot to worldwide fame with the publishing of Bram Stoker's Dracula. Dracula aficionados throughout the world flocked to the castle, to what they regarded as the home of character of the vampire Count Dracula. After being acquired by the communist regime in 1948, the tourist flow ebbed away, due to the Iron Curtain. Romanian Revolution of 1989, along with the breakup of USSR, heralded the transition to the new market economy. The country and the Bran Castle were now open for business.

Anveshika Shrivastava | KM at Castle Dracula and BTB - KM 2011

2. Background
Romania's rich culture and beautiful countryside promise a huge potential for tourism. By some estimates , Romania saw an influx of over 8.9 million tourists in 2008 and the entire Romanian tourism industry was valued at over 9 Billion USD by 2010-11.

City of Bran has a significant stake in Romanian tourism industry. The city attracted over 1 million tourists in 2008. However due to worldwide recession and weakening Euro, there was a significant dip in subsequent years. Besides the Bran Castle, City of Bran also hosts the famous 'Bran's Dracula Theme park' (BDTP). This theme park combines adventure along with history, with its 'adventure-rides' and other attractions. 'Bran's Dracula Theme park' was established in 2005 to supplement Brans attractiveness as a major European tourist destination. Bran Tourist Board is a government subsidiary in charge of: 1) 2) 3) Maintenance of the Bran Castle, Bran's museums, Brans Dracula Theme park and other tourist attractions. Supervising and managing tourism activities within Bran Castle and in the vicinity. Promoting tourism in Bran and the suburbs

2.1. Bran Tourist Board Organization

BTB Chief Tourism Officer (CTO / Marketing)

Administration in Charge (AIC)

Chief Financial Officer (CFO / Procurement)

BTB Senior Manager (SM) Facilities and attractions

BTB Senior Manager (SM) IT System Integrations

Bran Castle Tourism Manager (TM)

Brans Dracula Theme Park Tourism Manager (TM)

BTB SI Department Applications , Portals

IM Department Mainframe Operations, Maintenance

Tourism Manager (TM) (Stores / Memorabilia)

BTB Systems Animotronic, Park Systems

Figure 1 - BTB Organization

Anveshika Shrivastava | KM at Castle Dracula and BTB - KM 2011

3. Overview Attractions
3.1. Bran Castle
Bran Castle has two categories of events: Tours and Cultural events. Castle Tours 1) Regular Castle Tours: Tours are a regular day time feature where in a group of 20 tourists are taken on a guided castle tour by experienced tour guides. Tour guides explain about castles rich history and take the group through the various displays and exhibits across within the castle. Each tour lasts an hour and a half. The tour also includes a half hour screening of documentary which chronicles castles history and significance in modern folklore. Tourist demographic groups which frequent these tours are usually composed of families, children and culture seeking senior citizens. Tours: Special Tours Special Tours or Dare Tours are administered to adventure enthusiasts who are attracted to myths about the castle. These tours begin at 11 PM on each Friday. A tour guide and a small group of 2-4 tourists take an adventure tour through the castles premises and secret passages, with hand held thermal imagers, transmitters and torches. Tour guide explains the castles alternate history, legends and alleged paranormal residents during these tours. Tourist demographic groups which frequent these tours are usually composed of young adults and professionals, under the age of 30.

2)

Cultural Events 1) Events: Regular Events: These events are held every weekday in the castles sprawling lawns where tourist lunches are organized, along with musical performances from the citys cultural maestros and group dances such as Oltenia, bru, srba and hora. Guests are also encouraged to take part in dances and musical performances. Castle memorabilia is also sold in these events which are priced moderately and include castle miniature models and imitation paintings (from actual Castle Paintings). Demographic: all Events: Special Events: On special occasions such as Halloween, these events are held within the castle, where guests in themed dresses, attend a buffet dinner and dances. These events are especially popular and are often referred to as Draculas Parties by the citizens of Bran. These events are exclusively priced and were publicized country wide, with celebrities in attendance as well. Demographic: all, esp wealthy consumer group.

2)

3.2. Brans Dracula Theme Park

Brans Dracula Theme Park has numerous attractions, mainly in the form of rides. However, two attractions are generally considered to be the major attractions 1. vampire: On the trail of the vampire: This is a walking trail in the form of a maze, with numerous confusing pathways and dead ends. The trail is covered and hides many performers either real or animatronics. Guests are given a chalice filled with red paint, which they are instructed to carry, without spilling, through the maze. Guests enter and wade through the maze alone. At regular intervals, performers, dressed in grotesque attire and make up, hidden in the maze, appear suddenly to startle the guests. Other special effects and sudden noises also greet the visitor. Hidden cameras monitor the entire maze, to ensure guest-safety and each chalice is equipped with an active RFID for tracking. Guests who manage to walk through the entire maze, without spilling the red paint,

Anveshika Shrivastava | KM at Castle Dracula and BTB - KM 2011

win a prize and a certificate of bravery. This trail is especially popular with young adults and under 25 demographic.

2.

Counts ride: At the seating area, Guests board a stage coach shaped roller coaster cart which seats two. One train-car of 10 stage coaches depart into what appears to be a, castles turret. Immediately, upon entrance, the car races at 45 degree decline deeper into the castle. A holographic projection of Dracula greets the riders as they reach the end of the decline. The car slows down as it passes by the holographic projection and then enters what seems like the entrance to the Castle Dracula, through a wall of blue flame. Riders hear howls of the wolves, as they speed deeper into the castle. Passing through a labyrinth of stone passages, they encounter Draculas brides which seem to fly alongside the cars, telling the riders that they are doomed. Rides race towards a solid wall, which slips back at the last second before collision and the riders enter Draculas crypt. Draculas crypt is a majestic room with golden pillars and surrounded by burning torches, lies Draculas sarcophagus. As the riders near the coffin, the ride stops abruptly and rises the figure of Dracula from the sarcophagus. As Dracula seems to advance on the riders, the ride starts and speeds into a tunnel. The tunnel ends abruptly as the car races by the victims of the count. The car turns into an opening, and races up the track, encircling a turret which appears to be elevated over hundreds of feet over the ground. As the car reaches the top , it races down a 45 degree decline and animatronics hands reach out from the walls towards the riders. The car approaches another wall on which Draculas projection appears and screams "Come Back!!! at riders before vanishing. The wall shifts aside as the car returns to the seating area. For safety, guests younger than 13 and those with heart conditions or blood pressure problems are not allowed on this ride. The entire ride is monitored through night-vision enabled CCTV cameras. This ride is popular with young adults and under 25 demographic esp Adventure Enthusiasts.

3.3. Stores / Memorabilia

Brans castle and the theme park have numerous stores and shops where Dracula memorabilia can be purchased. Various Memorabilia items include: Themed apparel Miniature castle models Imitation paintings (from actual Castle Paintings)

Various restaurants and eateries adorn the places which serve succulent and themed dishes/beverages which are so gruesomely named that we shall not name them.

Anveshika Shrivastava | KM at Castle Dracula and BTB - KM 2011

4. Existing institutional problems

4.1. Voice of tourists
1. This used to be my favorite haunt every spring. I would definitely give Bran a miss , next year and travel to more friendlier places such as Brasov. I have had it with rude tour guides ! I paid 100 Euros for the special tour and as I walked into the castle at night, I was very excited for what I hoped , would be an exciting experience. We were a group of four and our guide led us deep into the castle. I had stopped to admire the moonlit view outside the castle window when my torch malfunctioned and I found myself alone! I lost my way I had not anticipated that the tour guide would just abandon me!! That < some unprintable language> .. it was terrifying to be lost alone in Draculas castle , there were no lights to guide me and it was only by chance that after an hour of wandering , I ran into my group again and instead of apologizing the guide blamed me for wasting the groups time !! Joe, M/22, London, UK. I had always been fascinated about Romanian Culture and paintings. When I asked the tour lady about the painting on the regular tour, she looked at me, as if I was speaking in some alien tongue ! I ignored her lack of knowledge as a one off incident. She had rehearsed her speeches well. But when she referred to the portrait of Mircea the elder as Vlad the Impaler , I had had enough and I disappeared off the tour ! Dr. Acula , University of Transylvania , M/?? , Romania I had planned for months for my trip to Romania. I tried booking the tickets to Castle Dracula through the BTBs archaic website. One does not have to be an IT expert like me, to point out the flaws with the BTBs website. The navigation is confusing. I had to spend 15 minutes, trying to find an option to book the theme park ticket. Besides not being user friendly, the site crashes frequently and thankfully, it did not crash during the payment process via the payment gateway. Also, the site should have some localization features (Hindi/Tamil) so that Indian/Asian Tourists can use the website as well. Anand, M/23, Chennai, India. I think of myself as a thrill seeker and an adrenalin junkie. I had read positive reviews about the famous Counts ride on travel portals such as TrpAdvisor.com. While the initial part of the ride was good, believe it or not, our cart stopped permanently at Draculas Crypt, within the ride. We thought, it is a part of the ride, and we shrieked in delight when we saw the count rising from his sarcophagus and stepping towards us. The cars jerked onwards and stopped with a shower of sparks, underneath. That was it! We sat there for 15 minutes watching , what was obviously an animatronic Dracula raising out of the crypt, trying to reach for us, and then stepping back into the sarcophagus. To complete the farce, the ride officials, who turned up, requested us to walk all the way back as the car had developed the emergency problem, and they could not find their maintenance in charge! All the magic was washed away as we trudged back through the darkness, discovering the machines behind the magic Annie, F/Early Twenties, Berlin, Germany. I gave up trying to book my tickets through the BTBs site and decided to purchase the tickets , when I came here. It was a wrong decision the troll who operates the ticket booth barely knows his way around their system. After spending some 10 minutes or so, trying to generate a ticket , he gave up and issued hand written tickets , which he termed as a back up. I thought that it was the end of it, but then to my horror, I discovered that I had merely purchased an entry ticket, and now had to purchase separate tickets for being admitted into various attractions! And compared to the old stooge who issued the entry ticket, the rest of the ticketing officials had as much trouble with their machines. I had trouble managing all the receipts through the day ! Rodey, M/34, Nice, France I wont say that the trail of the vampire is an unsatisfactory attraction, but the trail attendants need to play the part. As they were ushering us into the maze, they seemed bored and recited what seemed like a standard punch line, Carry the chalice unspilt and claim thy price and life! . Looking at their morose faces, I felt more glum than scared as I entered the maze. Eden , F/18, Melbourne, Australia. I did not pay half a grand for the special events to meet yesteryears Shakespeare stage actors at Draculas castle ! Bring on Edwald Callen !! Sandra, F/17, Forks, USA. If I had to buy Draculas T-shirts, any Halloween shop in Mississauga would have done these stores are so bland Tim, M/15, Ontario, Canada.

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Anveshika Shrivastava | KM at Castle Dracula and BTB - KM 2011

4.2. Voice of employees

1. We have an employee with us whom we call Old Igor His family had been a guide/caretaker to this castle for generations. Till 2006, he used to regale the crowds with his insights about the castle and the associated legends. He had a knack of entertaining the tourists, with his quick wit and knowledge of history. As he got along with his years, we requested him to train some of our other guides, so that his good work can be carried on. He refused as he does not wish to part with his legacy. We could not fire him, of course, as there is no one perhaps in Romania, who knows more about this castle than he does. These days, he lives in a secluded part of the castle with his sons. He is now a maintenance in charge which, we believe, is a waste of his time TM, Bran Castle. In 2009, we faced a lawsuit by the radical Environmentalist League of Romania. They claimed that we had been violating environmental laws. To prepare for the lawsuit, we had to gather BTBs operational records , from its inception. All our records are stored at BTB office, with out proper organization in a sea of file cabinets. We had to wade through irrelevant invoices, historical rare parchments and rooms of cabinets, before we could find the relevant records. Unfortunately, due to the delay in discovering the records, the Environmental League has obtained a closing injunction from the Supreme Court of Romania which forced us to close the park for 8 days. Besides causing us a significant financial loss and cancellations, it affected our credibility through bad press. No wonder that our sales have dropped ever since AIC, BTB. Experienced tour guides, theme park attendants and IT staff are hard to find and to make matter worst, we see significant staff attrition, especially in our IT division which is composed of experienced system engineers, park systems specialists and support staff. While skilled in basics, the learning curve for most of our new joiners is especially high, and most of them learn on the job. Due to lack of supervision, for any kind of system break down, an enhancement or an undocumented workaround is implemented, which while resolving the problems, affects the overall integrity of the systems, in the long run. Due to labyrinth nature of the code, it takes significant effort for the new joiners to understand our system landscape as the people who made the changes leave BTM for joining the new ToonWorld in Paris, France. - BTB Senior Manager (SM) IT System Integrations Why should I be creative or innovative in conducting my tours, when I would be paid the same measly pittance that is paid to all our brethren? If you pay peanuts, you will get monkeys! And in anycase, our workload is so high and our shifts are so unstructured that we rarely get time - Unnamed tour guide Our ticketing user interface changes every few months and it takes a while to understand our way around it I have been working as a ticket issuer since Soviet times, and I always feel more comfortable, issuing paper tickets. - Mr. M. Troll, Ticket Booth Operator By the BTB policies, procurement processes for spare parts for Counts ride and other attraction is a long drawn process, lasting for months, with multiple BTB committee reviews, RFI/RFQ processes. We need processes which are more flexible and faster. CFO, BTB Due to service intensive nature of our operations, most of our staff is scattered through out the castle and the park, facilitating operations. While they do carry a walkie-talkie, the metal structures around the premises, at times inhibit transmission. Therefore, it is hard to find an expert at the times of need. On the IT front, there are many instances when I have trouble finding the right technical contact to report a bug in the system. TM, Brans Dracula Theme Park. There are no enforced policies related to code documentation. Even the induction program is very rigid and does not take a batch of new joiners through all the systems. We all learn about the component/system, we are recruited for, without understanding the interdependent systems. Developer, BTB SI Department The BTBs portal, was an innovation of its time, when it was launched back in 2000. Now this site is still an HTML based salad of dead pages. Based on each new directive or information, the site is updated by our IT staff. Our requests for any user analytics related data , is met with loud guffaws from the IT staff, who forward a flat file to us BTB SM, Facilities / Attractions

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Anveshika Shrivastava | KM at Castle Dracula and BTB - KM 2011

5. Conclusion
BTB Chief Tourism Officer (CTO / Marketing) is a very troubled man these days. The park since, its inception has relied a lot on technology. The various rides and the systems, installed in 2005 are considered state of the art, even in the present day, though prone to technical failures caused by system or mechanical failures in recent times. BTB spends a lot in attracting the best talent for its managerial positions while sourcing operational staff through local head hunting firms. An established UK based marketing firm, handles its customer communications and branding and is instrumental in projecting BTBs message for the masses : Live the legend !. Even so, the footfall over the years, has steadily declined, along with the yearly profits Now, for the first time since its inception, BTB is in the danger of incurring financial losses. Legal issues, sporadic accidents and compromises in tourist/workplace safety have led to bad press. The matter of consternation is that CTO had always encouraged an open and flexible working environment. Each department was encouraged to develop its own policies and as a result, various functions, today are impregnable silos in themselves, with lots of customized processes, reliant on experiential knowledge of workers on the job. For knowledge management, a best practices portal was set up as well, which is rarely used. Communities of Practice (CoPs) initiatives are particularly successful, but these KM units have restricted membership. It was suspected that the infamous month long strike of April 2009, owed its genesis to few of these CoPs. The viability of CoPs as knowledge creation/sharing platforms is debatable. Proper KM roles are also not defined. Today , based on an internal BTB survey, employee satisfaction is at an all time low , along with knowledge creation and sharing. Celebrity visits have declined , as well. Litigation is another headache and requires lot of internal coordination and effort. The IT functions suffer from lack of application standardization and deficiencies in platform, storage and integration. Each application has become an electronic Dinosaur which is inflexible and not scalable. The customer facing systems generate minimal reports which hampers decision making. Lot of content is either stored on individual work stations or without proper organization within the mainframe or other organizational document repositories. As if, to add insult to injury, 2009 saw significant government and private investment in Brasov and other Romanian tourist destinations. Strong competition has also emerged in the form of other theme parks such as ToonWorld in France. The CTO is tempted to retire all applications and replace the systems by an integrated ERP or ECM/BPM system, but in his heart, he strongly believes that more investment into technology, with out a proper organizational alignment would bring them back to square one. He is also, at times, tempted to go for massive organizational staff restructuring but understands that such a move would be impractical , due to specialized and organizational specific functions and roles. Ultimately, CTO concludes that a deeper organizational assessment is needed, with a view to build a synergistic knowledge ecology which would not only help them , alleviate existing organizational gaps, but would also in long run, establish BTBs Bran Castle and theme park as Romania and Europes most popular tourist destination.

Anveshika Shrivastava | KM at Castle Dracula and BTB - KM 2011

6. Appendix: Figures
6.1. Tourist Influx
Year 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Tourist Influx 720,234 850,540 960,570 1,000,240 999,120 800,124

Sourced from Europe Tourism Observer, Munich, 2010

6.2. Tourist Break Ups Bran Tourism 6.2.1. Typical Tourist Categorization
Tourist Type Culture Culture Seekers Typical Preferences (In order of importance) Regular Castle Tours Regular Events Special Events Adventure Enthusiasts Counts ride Special Tours (Dare Tour) On the trail of the vampire First time Novelty Seekers Regular Castle Tours Regular Events On the trail of the vampire Stores/ Memorabilia Wealthy Joes Sourced from BTB Survey, 2008. Special Events 5% 30% 40% Proportion 25%

Anveshika Shrivastava | KM at Castle Dracula and BTB - KM 2011

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6.2.2. Typical Tourist Categorization By Attraction

Attraction Regular Castle Tours Special Tours Regular Events Special Events On the trail of the vampire Counts Counts ride Stores / Memorabilia Sourced from BTB Survey, 2010 2005 252,082 21,607 216,070 3,601 72,023 108,035 46,815 2006 255,162 68,043 255,162 4,253 85,054 127,581 55,285 2007 240,143 96,057 288,171 4,803 144,086 124,874 62,437 2008 250,060 100,024 300,072 5,001 100,024 180,043 65,016 2009 199,824 79,930 299,736 4,996 79,930 269,762 64,943 2010 160,025 48,007 240,037 4,001 48,007 248,038 52,008

6.2.3. Typical Tourist Monthly Distribution

Month JanuaryJanuary-10 FebruaryFebruary-10 MarchMarch-10 AprilApril-10 MayMay-10 JuneJune-10 JulyJuly-10 AugustAugust-10 SeptemberSeptember-10 OctoberOctober-10 NovemberNovember-10 DecemberDecember-10 Footfalls 40,006 48,007 96,015 136,021 120,019 112,017 72,011 64,010 32,005 24,004 16,002 40,006

Sourced from BTB Survey, 2010

Anveshika Shrivastava | KM at Castle Dracula and BTB - KM 2011

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6.3. Other Data 6.3.1. Typical Ticket Prices

Attraction Regular Castle Tours Special Tours Regular Events Special Events On the trail of the vampire Counts ride Stores / Memorabilia Price Price / Admission Camera fee

5
100 15 500 20 30 5 NA NA NA NA

5 10

Free admission for senior citizens and special people with disabilities. Discounts for school groups. NA indicates Camera usage is not allowed.

6.3.2. Direct Employee Count

Year 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Tourist Influx 180 (Includes staff from SI / Vendors teams as part of warranty) 150 160 175 200 170

Does not include contractors, subcontractors and ancillary/indirect workers.

Anveshika Shrivastava | KM at Castle Dracula and BTB - KM 2011

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