A Practical Guide to Boosting Foot Traffic with a Scavenger Hunt App

Andrew Applebaum
Apr 14, 2020
4 min read

Updated: Aug 4

We all face the same challenge, don't we? As tourism and BIA managers, we work hard to support every local business, but it can feel like an uphill battle getting visitors to explore beyond the main drag. You can print maps and brochures, but how many of those end up forgotten in a back pocket? You need to give people a reason to turn that corner and discover that amazing boutique or café.

I remember talking to a BIA director who felt her destination’s hidden gems were, well, a little too hidden. She knew that if she could just get people to walk one block over, they’d fall in love with a whole new set of shops. The problem is breaking people's habits and turning their passive stroll into an active adventure.

So, what if you could use the tool they’re already looking at—their phone—to make exploration a game? This is where a modern scavenger hunt app transforms from a novelty into a powerful economic development tool. It allows you to guide visitors with a fun, interactive challenge that has a very real-world objective: getting them to the doors of your local businesses.

Proof: How a Small Town Drove Big Engagement

This isn't just a theory. Early on, we piloted a "Driftscape Community Scavenger Hunt" in Toronto's Junction Triangle neighbourhood. The idea was born from a desire to give people something fun to do while also giving local businesses a boost. The enthusiasm was incredible and it showed us that people are hungry for this kind of interactive, community-focused activity.

We've seen this model refined and scaled with incredible results since then. Take a look at the Town of Carleton Place. They wanted to engage local families and students with their unique history, so they created a self-guided scavenger hunt themed around the original Hardy Boys author, Charles Leslie McFarlane, who lived there.

The result? Over 1,300 completions in just 30 days, with fantastic participation from local schools. It’s a perfect example of how a simple, story-based scavenger hunt can revive heritage pride, spark youth engagement, and increase visitor engagement with minimal overhead.

The Benefits of a Scavenger Hunt App

For a BIA, DMO, or tourism coordinator, the advantages of this approach are incredibly practical:

Drives Measurable Foot Traffic: Instead of just hoping people see a sign, you can guide them to specific zones and track completions, giving you real data on engagement.
Increases Visitor Dwell Time: A fun challenge encourages people to stay longer and explore more widely than they otherwise would, increasing the chance of secondary purchases.
Saves on Print Costs: A digital scavenger hunt can replace or supplement costly printed passports and maps, which are expensive to produce and quickly become outdated.
Creates a Family-Friendly Activity: It gives families and visitors of all ages a free, fun activity to do together, generating positive word-of-mouth for your destination.
Supports All Your Businesses: You can strategically design the hunt to highlight businesses that are off the beaten path, ensuring everyone gets a piece of the economic pie.

Tips for Building A Scavenger Hunt

Start by choosing 5 locations that are within walking distance of one another.
Think of a 5-letter word where you can use a letter for each clue. For example, you may choose 'local' as your solution word.
Create clues for each letter of your solution. If you're using 'local', then your first clue may be 'this is the first letter of a place to check out books.' The answer would be 'library', so the answer would be 'l' and the location would be the local library.
Design clues for each of the rest of the letters.
Work with Driftscape to set up your hunt.
Add photos and get ready to launch your tour!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. Is it complicated to set up a scavenger hunt? Not at all. The platform is designed for tourism staff, not developers. You can easily add points of interest, write clues, and launch your hunt from a simple dashboard. Plus, we provide hands-on onboarding support.

2. How do we convince businesses to participate? It’s an easy sell. Participation is free for them, it costs them no staff time, and its entire purpose is to drive potential customers directly to their location.

3. Do people actually finish these things? Yes! The results speak for themselves. With over 1,300 completions in Carleton Place, it's clear that when the hunt is fun and the experience is smooth, visitors are highly motivated to complete it.

4. Is this just for big cities? Absolutely not. It’s a perfect fit for small towns and main streets. It encourages a deeper look at the community and works wonderfully in a walkable downtown core, just like it did in Carleton Place.

5. How does this fit into our broader economic development goals? It’s a direct strategic tool. By increasing foot traffic and dwell time, you are creating the exact conditions needed for local economic growth, a key goal for any organization like the Ontario BIA Association (OBIAA).

Creating a successful visitor experience with a scavenger hunt app is one of the most effective and enjoyable ways to meet your destination’s goals. It’s about adding a layer of fun that pays real dividends.