2008 12 People You Need to Know: Jerry Henry

As the company’s corporate director of research since 1993, Henry collects visitor information for all of the company’s 18 properties, covering ages and incomes, preferences for rides and festivals, and desired locations for the company’s next park.

Henry, considered by some as the “Alan Greenspan of Branson,” doesn’t just research Herschend Family Entertainment Corp. theme parks, though; his 15 years with HFE have helped him garner a wealth of knowledge on local, regional and national trends in the entertainment industry. He created the research program for the Branson/ Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce and chairs the Missouri Division of Tourism Research Committee.

In Henry’s research, the numbers guru has observed some changes that make the industry more difficult to navigate. One of those trends is a shift away from long vacations.

“Branson still gets 60 percent of its visits from beyond 300 miles, but every year you see (regionalism) creep in just a little bit more,” Henry says. “The two-week vacation is almost gone, and there’s a rise in people not taking even one week for a vacation. When you do that, you can’t drive two or three days and still have any free time, so it limits where you can go.”

Visitors also are more entertainment-savvy, Henry says, meaning theme parks have to be more creative than ever to draw in customers.

“You have to have a different look all the time, or people will say, ‘I think I’ll try something else this time,’” Henry says.

It’s that challenge that Henry says makes his job so entertaining. By collecting reams of tourist data – through phone calls, e-mails and on-site interviews – and sifting through volumes of secondary national research, he is able to help lead HFE in the right direction.

“We have to make decisions based on what the customers’ preferences are,” Henry says. “Even if leadership may want to do one thing, if the customers don’t like an idea, we listen to the customers. It’s a position where I’m behind the scenes, but I’m truly having an impact on what we do at the parks.”

And Henry says that despite his training – his degree is in marketing and he previously spent eight years as director of marketing for Bass Pro Shops – his love of numbers makes research the perfect fit for him.

“I know a lot of people find research boring, but for me each project is a little different,” he says.

Jerry Henry

Position: Corporate director of research, Herschend Family Entertainment Corp.

Age: 45

Education: Bachelor’s degree in marketing, Missouri State University (graduated as valedictorian)

Career: Eight years as director of marketing and circulation for Bass Pro Shops Catalog Division; created and oversees the Branson/Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce’s research program

Q&A Date: Sept. 16