Turn Your Local Events Into Year-Round Visitor Experiences
- Andrew Applebaum
- 7 days ago
- 4 min read
We’ve all been there. You spend six months planning a massive weekend festival, the streets are packed, and the energy is high. Then, Monday morning hits. The tents come down, the crowds vanish, and your downtown feels a little too quiet. It’s heartbreaking to see all that momentum disappear in forty-eight hours (trust me, I’ve seen many coffee-fueled planning sessions end this way). But what if you could bottle that festival magic and keep people coming back every single weekend?
The struggle for BIA managers and DMOs is real. You have a limited budget, a tiny team, and a constant need to show local businesses that you’re driving foot traffic on a Tuesday in November, not just during the big summer bash. Moving from simple events to a sustainable engagement scavenger hunt is the bridge that gets you there.
How do engagement scavenger hunts keep visitors coming back?
A digital scavenger hunt turns your town into a giant, interactive game board where visitors earn rewards for exploring specific locations. By gamifying the experience, you give people a reason to visit your main street even when there isn’t a parade or a concert happening. It transforms a standard walk into a truly immersive travel experience.
Moving Beyond the One-Weekend Wonder
When you shift your mindset from "hosting an event" to "building an experience," your marketing dollars go much further. I remember chatting with a colleague in a small town who was frustrated that their historic plaques were being ignored. We talked about how people today crave interaction. They don’t just want to read a sign; they want to solve a mystery or win a prize.
Adding a digital layer to your physical assets (like shop windows, statues, or parks) creates a "permanent festival" atmosphere. This approach is a lifesaver for time-starved teams because once the hunt is set up, it runs itself. It’s a great way to bolster cultural tourism without needing to hire more weekend staff.
Why your budget will thank you:
Boosts Foot Traffic: Encourages visitors to explore "hidden gems" they usually walk right past.
Supports a "Shop Local" Mandate: You can set "check-ins" inside local businesses to drive direct sales.
Data Collection: You finally get hard numbers on where people are going and what they like.
Sustainability: No more printing thousands of paper maps that end up in the bin.
Success in Action: Lessons from Riverview and Carleton Place
You don’t need a massive team to see massive results. Take the Town of Riverview, for example. They launched a "Business Bee" scavenger hunt to highlight local shops during the summer. It was simple and effective. They saw over 4,000 POI views, and nearly half of all their digital engagement came directly from that scavenger hunt.
Then there’s Downtown Carleton Place. Their BIA leaned into their local history with a "Hardy Boys" themed hunt. By connecting a story to their streets, they saw over 1,300 completions in just 30 days. That’s 1,300 times a family actively engaged with the town’s brand because of a clever engagement scavenger hunt.
Tourism Reality: Visitors aren’t just looking for things to see; they’re looking for things to do. Gamification is the easiest way to turn a passive observer into an active participant.
Quick Comparison: Paper vs. Digital Scavenger Hunts
Feature | Paper Scavenger Hunts | Digital Scavenger Hunts (Driftscape) |
Cost | High (Printing & distribution) | Low (SaaS model, no print costs) |
Tracking | Manual & often inaccurate | Real-time analytics & heatmaps |
Flexibility | Hard to update once printed | Update in seconds from your desk |
Reach | Limited to people on-site | Discoverable via a self-guided tour app |
3 Steps to Launch Your First Scavenger Hunt
Pick a Theme: Whether it’s "Hidden History" or a "Holiday Lights Tour" like they do in Sussex NB, a strong theme ties everything together.
Choose Your Points of Interest (POIs): Pick 5–10 spots. Mix in some public art, historic sites, and definitely some local businesses to encourage people to shop local.
Set the Reward: It doesn’t have to be expensive. Digital coupons or a small piece of "swag" from the visitor center works wonders.
Pro Tip: Use what you already have. If your town has a popular "haunted" history, use that as the narrative hook for your hunt on a digital tourism platform.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: What is the best way to create a self-guided tour app for a small town?
A: The most efficient way is to use a visitor experience platform like Driftscape. Instead of building a custom app from scratch (which is expensive and hard to maintain), you join an existing ecosystem. You simply upload your points of interest, and visitors can access it immediately.
Q: Do scavenger hunts actually help local businesses?
A: Yes. By placing "check-in" points inside or near local shops, you create a trail of foot traffic. The Crescent Heights Village BIA used this to spotlight Asian-owned businesses, saving nearly $7,000 in print materials while driving real-world interactions.
Creating Year-Round Momentum
Creating a year-round experience doesn't require a massive budget or a 50-person committee. It just takes a bit of creativity and the right digital tools to turn your streets into a destination. If you're tired of the post-festival "ghost town" feeling, it might be time to see how a well-designed engagement scavenger hunt can keep your community buzzing all year long.
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