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Destination Marketing Organizations: Roles, Funding Models, and What Success Looks Like
Ever wonder how some towns always seem to have a buzz? It usually comes down to the work of Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs). In this post, Andrew breaks down how these organizations actually work, how they secure funding without taxing residents, and how small teams—from BIAs to Chambers—can use digital tools to see huge engagement spikes.

Andrew Applebaum
17 hours ago3 min read


Turn Your Local Events Into Year-Round Visitor Experiences
Stop letting your festival momentum disappear on Monday morning. Andrew explains how BIA and DMO managers can use a digital engagement scavenger hunt to turn one-off events into year-round visitor experiences. Learn from real-world examples like Riverview and Carleton Place on how to drive foot traffic, support local businesses, and save money on print materials—all while giving visitors a fun, interactive reason to explore your town every single day.

Andrew Applebaum
Jan 14 min read


A Passport to Savings: How Holiday Shopping Campaigns Can Drive Foot Traffic (and Fun)
Ready to turn holiday shoppers into local explorers? Discover how digital rewards and a passport to savings can boost foot traffic and sales for your BIA or town centre. Instead of paper cards, a mobile-based system encourages people to visit multiple businesses by gamifying the experience. This low-friction, high-fun approach drives measurable engagement, as seen in examples like Downtown Brampton's 3,000+ check-ins. Focus on mapping out the fun, and using a simple reward st

Andrew Applebaum
Nov 20, 20254 min read


Behind the Magic: How One Festival Created a Living Digital Experience with Driftscape
As an event coordinator or festival planner, you pour your heart into creating unforgettable moments. You dream of every attendee feeling truly immersed, discovering new artists, and staying connected long after the last curtain call. But how do you extend that magic beyond the physical event space, especially when your audience is on the go and hungry for more? (It’s a real challenge, making an ephemeral event leave a lasting digital footprint!)

Andrew Applebaum
Oct 22, 20254 min read


How to Launch a Heritage Walk That Locals & Visitors Love
Is your town's history hiding on dusty plaques? Learn how a modern heritage walk app can transform historical sites into a dynamic, self-guided adventure for locals and visitors. This guide provides a 5-step checklist for creating a compelling heritage walk, from unearthing stories to gamifying the experience for greater engagement.

Andrew Applebaum
Oct 6, 20254 min read


How Food Trails and Coupons Can Inspire Autumn Exploration
Looking for a new way to get visitors exploring this fall? Learn how a seasonal food trail and a smart coupon management app can drive foot traffic, boost local business, and create an immersive culinary experience. This guide will show you how to use digital coupons to turn a simple activity into a profitable community campaign.

Andrew Applebaum
Oct 3, 20253 min read


Shop Local, Stay Longer: 10 Ways to Help Visitors Discover and Support Local Businesses
You want visitors to experience your community's unique heart, not just the chain stores. Learn 10 ways a discover visitor app can help tourists find and support local businesses, turning a casual visit into a memorable, community-building experience that boosts your local economy and creates a lasting connection.

Andrew Applebaum
Sep 26, 20254 min read


Why a Museum App Isn’t Just for Exhibits: 6 Ways to Extend Visitor Engagement Outdoors This Fall
Don’t let visitor engagement end at your museum's doors! Learn how to use a museum tour app to create self-guided, outdoor experiences that connect your institution to the community. From seasonal scavenger hunts to historical walking tours, discover six creative ways to leverage the autumn season and keep visitors engaged with your stories long after they've left your exhibits. It's a simple, powerful way to extend your reach and show that the best stories are found right ou

Andrew Applebaum
Sep 24, 20254 min read


How to Create a Fall Farm Tour with an Interactive Tour Guide App
It's a huge opportunity for local farms and businesses this fall, but how do you make it all feel like one cohesive event? Learn how an interactive tour guide app can connect farms, local shops, and visitors into a seamless, self-guided tour that boosts foot traffic and celebrates the best of the season.

Andrew Applebaum
Sep 15, 20253 min read


Fall Strategies for Helping Visitors Shop Local and Stay Longer
The busy summer season is over, but fall is a huge opportunity to keep the momentum going. A local culture app helps you create engaging campaigns that inspire visitors to explore your entire town, supporting local businesses and extending their stay. Learn how to launch a themed tour with gamification and rewards to drive foot traffic and track your success.

Andrew Applebaum
Sep 12, 20253 min read


Create a Fall Heritage Walk: A Self-Guided Tour to Explore History, Foliage, and Local Shops
Fall is the perfect time for a heritage walk! Learn how a digital app for heritage sites can help you create a seasonal self-guided tour that drives visitor engagement and supports local businesses. This guide covers everything from mapping your route to adding scavenger hunt elements and using a mobile tour platform to bring history to life.

Andrew Applebaum
Sep 8, 20254 min read


Back-to-School, Back to Exploring: How Travel Guide Apps Can Inspire Local Fall Adventures
The post-summer lull is a perfect time to inspire local exploration! Learn how a customizable interactive travel guide app can create engaging, self-guided tours that motivate residents and visitors to support local businesses. This guide helps you create themed adventures, gamify the experience with rewards, and promote the story to boost engagement.

Andrew Applebaum
Sep 2, 20253 min read


7 Quick Wins to Get More Out of Your Tourism App This Summer
Make your tourism app work harder this summer with 7 quick wins. From QR code signs to mini-tours and photo refreshes, these simple tweaks boost visitor engagement—no big budget or time needed. Perfect for BIAs, museums, and DMOs looking to drive real impact fast.

Andrew Applebaum
Jun 17, 20254 min read


How a Sightseeing App Helped the Downtown Carleton Place BIA Create a Hit Self-Guided Tour
Carleton Place, like many small towns, faced a familiar challenge: how to bring forgotten stories back to life—and foot traffic back to the town centre. Their sightseeing app solution? A self-guided, story-rich scavenger hunt powered by Driftscape. Here's how it worked—and what your destination can learn from it.

Andrew Applebaum
Jun 14, 20255 min read


Boost Visitor Engagement: Creative Ideas for Destination Marketing in 2025
Boosting visitor engagement is a consistent challenge for tourism professionals today. As visitors increasingly rely on their screens for information, destinations, events, museums, and historic neighbourhoods must find effective ways to bridge the digital and physical worlds. Engaging visitors meaningfully requires immersive digital solutions. However, it takes more than a basic map; visitors need to experience your destination authentically, interactively, and emotionally.

Andrew Applebaum
Mar 10, 20255 min read
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