How Tourism Can Benefit From Points and Rewards Programs
- Andrew Applebaum
- Apr 23
- 5 min read
Updated: Nov 3
Attract more visitors. Support local businesses. Deliver better experiences.
Tourism is more than attracting visitors; it's about guiding them through meaningful, local experiences that benefit both travelers and your destination. One of the most effective and often overlooked ways to do this is by using points and rewards programs.
A well-planned rewards program can significantly improve visitor engagement, support small businesses, and increase economic impact. When paired with self-guided tours and digital tools, these programs become even more powerful for DMOs, BIAs, and tourism organizations looking for smart tourism solutions.
What Is a Tourism Points and Rewards Program?
A points and rewards program gives visitors incentives for exploring your destination. It can be as simple as earning points for visiting local attractions, joining tours, or attending events. These points can then be redeemed for rewards like discounts, gifts, or exclusive access.
It's a simple, proven way to encourage exploration while directly supporting the local tourism economy.
Why DMOs Should Use Rewards to Boost Visitor Engagement
Points programs benefit tourism organizations in many ways, making them a cornerstone of modern visitor engagement strategy:
Encourage Deeper Exploration: Visitors are motivated to discover more when they know there is something to earn. Rewards help guide people to less-visited places, hidden gems, and partner locations.
Support Local Businesses: Include rewards from local cafes, galleries, shops, and other businesses. This drives direct spending and creates stronger, more measurable partnerships within your community.
Build Visitor Loyalty: Visitors are more likely to return when they feel appreciated and have a reason to engage again. Rewards give them a tangible reason to explore your destination repeatedly.
Improve the Visitor Experience: Points and check-ins make travel interactive. Instead of passively walking through an area, visitors become part of an active journey, which enhances satisfaction.
Collect Smart Insights: With app analytics, you can see where people go, what they enjoy most, and what rewards they engage with. These data-driven insights help you measure success and improve future campaigns.
Key Takeaway: Implementing a points and rewards program is a powerful way to turn passive sightseeing into active, measurable exploration that supports local commerce and increases repeat visits.
How to Deliver a Tourism Rewards Program
There are different ways to offer rewards in tourism. You can choose the method that fits your destination's size and goals best:
Mobile Apps and Digital Passports: Use a tour guide app or visitor passport. These digital tools let people earn points by visiting places, checking in, or completing routes. This method is the most effective as it gives you access to real-time visitor data and enables geofencing.
QR Code Cards or Printed Passes: Simple printed cards or booklets with scannable codes can still be effective. Visitors can scan at locations to collect points. This is great for use in visitor centers or kiosks.
On-Site Bonuses and Flash Offers: Offer time-sensitive or themed bonuses. For example, “Double points when you visit three local coffee shops this weekend.” This adds a sense of urgency and fun to encourage immediate exploration.
Launch Your Rewards Program with Driftscape
With a mobile-first platform like Driftscape, tourism organizations can launch a rewards-based digital passport in under 30 minutes, without needing a developer. It's designed specifically for DMOs and BIAs to improve the visitor experience and collect actionable data.
Here is what a rewards program built on Driftscape includes:
A self-guided, customizable digital map of your destination
Points and rewards tracking for every stop on a route
Visitor check-ins and location-based triggers using geofencing technology
Support for rich media like images, audio, descriptions, and business hours
Easy-to-use app analytics to measure campaign performance and visitor flow
You can also easily highlight featured businesses and add customized messages to specific locations. Everything is designed to help you launch a successful visitor engagement program.
Getting Started with Tourism Rewards
You don't need a big budget or a large team to begin. Start with a few partners and build as you go.
Here are a few quick tips for a successful launch:
Start Small: Choose a small area or short tour (e.g., a "Downtown Coffee Trail"). Focus on perfecting the experience before scaling up.
Keep It Simple: Avoid complicated rules. One point per check-in or one reward per route is often enough to get people interested.
Make It Visual: Use high-quality photos and friendly language to make the experience feel fun and easy to understand.
Promote It Widely: Use social media, on-site signage, newsletters, and staff to tell people about the rewards. Make the program clear and visible.
Measure and Improve: Use your app analytics data to track what works and adjust the program over time. This helps you make smarter, outcome-driven decisions.
A tourism rewards program is not just a nice idea; it’s a practical and powerful tool for growth and improved visitor outcomes. By implementing a points system, you can engage more people, directly support local businesses, and create stronger, lasting visitor connections.
By starting with simple tools and clear goals, any destination can launch a points and rewards program that works. Driftscape makes it easy with mobile-first features, customizable maps, and the data you need to prove your impact.
Ready to test it out? You can explore our self-guided tour solutions and see how simple it is to add rewards to your next campaign.
FAQ: Points and Rewards in Tourism
Q: What is a tourism rewards program?
A: A tourism rewards program gives visitors points for exploring local attractions, joining tours, or supporting small businesses within a destination. These points can then be redeemed for discounts, prizes, or exclusive experiences that encourage deeper exploration and repeat visits. It’s an effective way to gamify the visitor experience.
Q: How can rewards programs help destination marketing organizations (DMOs)?
A: Rewards programs are an essential tool for DMOs because they significantly increase visitor engagement, help promote less-visited areas ("hidden gems"), and directly support local economies by driving spending to partner businesses. Crucially, they also generate valuable data insights through app analytics and check-in tracking.
Q: Do I need a mobile app to start a rewards program?
A: While you can use printed materials, using a mobile app or self-guided tour platform like Driftscape is highly recommended. Digital tools make setup easier, allow for powerful features like geofencing and push notifications, and automatically track visitor behavior, providing essential performance data.
Q: What is geofencing, and how can it help tourism rewards?
A: Geofencing uses GPS technology to trigger specific content, messages, or rewards when a visitor enters a designated physical area. In a rewards program, it ensures points are automatically awarded when a visitor physically arrives at a location, enhancing the accuracy and seamlessness of self-guided tours.
Q: How do points and rewards programs improve the visitor experience?
A: They make the travel experience interactive and goal-oriented. Visitors are rewarded for discovering new places and completing routes, which increases their overall satisfaction, encourages them to lengthen their stay, and boosts their spending at local businesses highlighted within the program.
Q: How can small towns or local businesses use rewards programs?
A: Smaller destinations can start simple by linking a few key local businesses and using digital check-ins on a mobile map. Even a small-scale program can effectively attract repeat local visitors, showcase community pride, and provide valuable information on visitor interests.
Q: What kind of data can I get from running a rewards program?
A: Using a platform with integrated app analytics, tourism organizations can track key performance indicators such as total visits, most popular attractions, route completion rates, time spent in specific areas, and the most redeemed rewards. This data is critical for shaping future tourism marketing strategies.
Ready to test it out?
Book a demo to explore our self-guided tour solutions and see how simple it is to add rewards to your next campaign. Explore Points & Rewards
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