Have any questions?
We’re here to help.
Remember: Consultations are free. We’ll get back to you in 24 business hours.
How to attract tourists to your destination
Attracting tourists to your town or city is no easy task, however, it is an essential one when it comes to your city generating economic profits, which benefit a part of the population. However, if you get your town to present a positive image to the outside world, it will translate into a benefit for the entire population.
Because tourism can help raise the quality of life of everyone who lives in your destination. To that end, iUrban’s blog is here to share a range of different tools you can use to attract tourists to your location and turn them into repeat visitors who recommend you as a destination.
How to attract tourists to your town
Before we start making suggestions, there are a series of issues you need to consider and map out to help increase the impact and effectiveness of the initiatives we share.
The first thing you need to be crystal clear on is your target, that is, the type of people you want to reach. This means analysing the type of tourists who visit your town and the type of tourists you want to attract.
So ask yourselves a few basic questions like: the age range of the tourists, their nationality, their purchasing power, whether they are travelling alone, in a couple or in a group and what their interests are when visiting your town.
The next thing you need to analyse is what attractions your destination has to offer. Think about the things that make your town unique and attractive. These attractions could be things like:
Geography
- Beaches
- Mountains
- Lakes
- Forests
- etc.
Heritage
- Monuments
- Sports facilities
- Recreational areas
- etc.
Cultural
- Festivals
- Cuisine
- Concerts
- Sports events
- etc.
Once you’ve analysed your strengths, you should analyse which ones you’re making the most of and which ones you could take advantage of more, and how. This will help you find new niches to draw tourists in.
Now that you’ve taken a hard look at your strengths and weaknesses, it’s time to break down the different initiatives that can enhance your town as a tourist destination.
Create personalised experiences for tourists
Today’s tourists are looking for something more than just visiting famous places and snapping a few pictures. They want to immerse themselves in the local culture, discover new experiences, and connect with the people who live in the destinations they visit.
This is where the importance of personalised experiences comes in. These experiences go beyond a simple sightseeing tour and give visitors the opportunity to have unique and authentic experiences at the destination.
Cicerone plays a pivotal role in creating these tailored experiences. It isn’t limited to being a conventional tour guide. By harnessing the power of AI, we can create customised itineraries that allow visitors to discover and soak up all the local culture.
Cicerone can immerse tourists in the everyday life of a destination, introducing tourists to hidden corners, local traditions and unique culinary experiences.
It can also curate itineraries and activities based on individual interests and preferences by days, creating personalised experiences that leave a lasting impression.
Boost your city brand
When it comes to creating a city brand with personality, the characteristics of our municipality and its potential, think about creating something that’s consistent, attractive and catchy.
Studies confirm that it is easier for the brain to remember something that is eye-catching and structured. Besides using your city brand in a holistic way, you need to advertise and promote it via your website, advertisements, merchandising, etc.
Promotional material can be handed out to local shops for distribution, so that visitors can take your brand back home with them.
Digitalise your tourist information services
A great way to promote the points of interest in your town and reach visitors in their native languages is to employ new technologies to digitalise tourist information, making it accessible 24 hours a day in multiple languages.
Along with saving resources on printing guides and brochures (with the damage to the environment that this causes), this will let you keep your information up to date at all times.
You could develop and maintain an attractive, functional website as well as put QR code signs at your town’s points of interest as a way to access visitor information. This can add a lot of value for tourists. You can also check out our website, where you’ll find these types of solutions for sparking tourist interest.
Managing the supply and demand for tourism in each destination can be increasingly optimised thanks to data management, data that the city council can collect from different sources.
Use digital marketing to your advantage
The internet is vital for travellers when it comes to choosing a tourist destination and for destinations when it comes to attracting tourists, which is why you should pay close attention to our online reputation. And the best way to do that is to take care of your visitors, who are ultimately the ones who are sharing their experiences at your destination online.
Other ways that you can boost your visibility online include paid digital advertising campaigns on different online channels and social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.
Emotional communication supported by images or videos is essential on these sites, which is why towns and cities should plan their content well in advance to ensure it has the right quality.
Have fun with your visitors
You can run several initiatives to encourage visitors to go to specific places or follow specific itineraries by creating games for your tourists.
Geolocate points of interest, like treasures to be found, and when tourists collect them all they can exchange them for a prize (which can be claimed, for example, at the tourist information centre).
These prizes can range from typical local products (a good way for tourists to discover them) to merchandising that you’ve designed (which helps get the word out about your destination). This serves both to keep kids entertained and make the visit more fun for the adults in the family.
