How to Design a Business-Boosting Walking Tour That Drives Downtown Foot Traffic

By Andrew Applebaum, Digital Tourism Expert

A walking tour app can help visitors explore more of your downtown when the route gives them a clear reason to keep moving. Start with one theme, choose stops that fit the story, test the route from the sidewalk, and give merchants a simple role.

The goal is not to promise purchases. It is to make local businesses easier to find and give your team a clearer way to measure engagement.

What is a business-focused walking tour app route?

A business-focused walking tour app route is a self-guided trail that connects local stories, points of interest, and participating shops through one easy-to-follow experience.

The route might focus on historic storefronts, independent makers, public art, local food, seasonal traditions, or a community event.

A useful route answers three questions for the visitor:

1. Why should I start?

2. Where should I go next?

3. Why does this stop belong in the story?

When those answers are clear, the route feels like an experience rather than a directory.

Choose one route purpose before adding stops

A walking tour can become difficult to follow when it tries to do too much.

Choose one primary purpose first. Your route might help visitors:

• Explore independent shops

• Find local food and drink

• Follow a heritage story

• Visit public art

• Take part in a seasonal activity

• Find festival specials beyond the main event area

The purpose should guide your stop selection.

For example, a local-makers route might include a studio, a gift shop featuring local products, a café with regional ingredients, and a public-art stop connected to the same story.

Before adding a business, ask: Would a visitor understand why this stop belongs on the route?

If the connection feels forced, leave the stop out of the first version.

Start with a route your team can maintain

There is no universal number of stops that works for every downtown.

A compact shopping district, a rural main street, and a festival footprint create different conditions. Business hours, intersections, construction, accessibility, and seasonal traffic can all affect the experience.

Start with a route your team can test and maintain. You can add more stops after you understand how the first version works on the ground.

A practical first route should be:

• Easy to explain

• Easy to walk-test

• Easy for merchants to support

• Easy to update when business details change

• Easy to review after launch

Walk the route before launch

A map is a starting point. It is not the full visitor experience.

Observation from Andrew:“One detail I check is whether the route still makes sense when walked in person. A route can look logical on a map and still feel confusing on the sidewalk.”

Walk the route with your phone in hand. Approach each stop the way a visitor would.

Check whether:

• The starting point is easy to find

• The next stop feels obvious

• The route crosses an awkward intersection

• Construction creates a detour

• A closed shop creates a confusing gap

• Storefront signage is visible from the sidewalk

• QR codes are easy to scan where they are placed

• The route remains understandable when the street is busy

• Accessibility or safety issues need attention

This sidewalk review can catch problems that are difficult to notice from a desk.

Keep merchant participation simple

A local-business route can lose momentum when merchants are asked to take on too much work. Keep the first request low-lift. A participating business might contribute:

• A short story

• A historic detail about the building

• A product connected to the theme

• A seasonal special

• A small reward

• Permission to place a sign near the entrance

• A quick staff briefing

The right request depends on the route.

A heritage trail may only need a story and a sign. A festival trail may include a special offer. A scavenger hunt may ask visitors to find a clue connected to the business.

Give each merchant a one-page briefing

Front-line staff should understand the experience before the first visitor asks about it.

A one-page merchant briefing can include:

• The route theme

• The launch date

• The visitor steps

• The location of the sign or QR code

• The offer or reward details, when relevant

• The answer to common visitor questions

• The team contact for support

• The date when signage should be reviewed or removed

Keep the instructions short enough to scan during a busy shift.

Use street-level signs where visitors naturally pause

A digital route still needs physical visibility.

Consider placing signs where visitors already stop or slow down:

• Storefront windows

• Checkout counters

• Visitor centres

• Hotel front desks

• Event welcome tables

• Parking areas near the route start

• Public gathering spaces

Keep the message simple.

For example: Explore the local makers trail. Scan to start.

Test every QR code from the visitor’s position. A sign that looks clear inside a shop may be harder to scan from the sidewalk, especially through reflective glass.

Make responsibilities clear

A walking tour app route works better when each participant understands their role.

Person	What they need to do	Why it matters
Tourism or BIA team	Choose the theme, map the route, confirm content, place signs, and walk-test the experience.	This helps catch navigation issues and missing information before launch.
Partner or merchant	Display the sign, brief staff, and confirm offer details when relevant.	Visitors should receive a clear answer when they ask about the route.
Visitor	Open the route, follow the trail, and interact with the stops that interest them.	This creates measurable engagement with the experience.

Consider assigning one team member to review the route after launch. That person can collect merchant feedback, check signs, and review the available data.

Case study: Downtown Tempe used a specials trail during a festival

Downtown Tempe turned festival offers into a digital trail during Tempe Blooms. The route helped visitors find participating food, drink, and retail specials beyond the main floral installations.

The activation included 19 points of interest and one tour.

It recorded:

• 1,948 POI views in 2 days

• About 225 views for the most-viewed special

• More than 100 views for 12 points of interest

POI views show attention to participating locations and offers. They do not prove purchases or physical store visits.

The narrower lesson is useful: a digital specials trail can make local offers easier to find during an event and give the organizing team measurable engagement data.

Read the Downtown Tempe specials trail case study.

Measure attention, participation, and spending separately

A walking tour app can provide useful reporting data, but the language matters.

Metric	What it shows	What it does not prove
Views	Attention to the tour or an individual stop	A store visit or purchase
Scans	Access to a link or digital experience	Completion of the route
Check-ins	Recorded participation at a location	A purchase unless spending is tracked separately
Redemptions	Use of a specific offer	Total spending unless sales data is recorded
Tracked purchases	Verified spending connected to the campaign	The same outcome will happen in every destination
Merchant feedback	Operational context from participating businesses	A complete picture of visitor behaviour

Views, scans, and check-ins can show engagement. Economic-impact claims require verified spending or purchase data.

That distinction matters when you report results to merchants, board members, or municipal partners.

Walking tour app route review checklist

Use this checklist before launch:

Route purpose

•  The route has one clear purpose.

•  Every stop fits the theme.

•  A visitor can understand why each participating business is included.

Sidewalk experience

•  The starting point is easy to find.

•  The next stop feels clear from the sidewalk.

•  The route has been tested on a phone from start to finish.

•  QR codes are easy to scan where they are placed.

•  The route remains understandable when a business is closed.

•  Construction, accessibility, and safety issues have been reviewed.

Merchant readiness

•  Each merchant has received a one-page briefing.

•  Front-line staff know the route exists.

•  Signs are visible and unobstructed.

•  Offers or rewards, when used, are easy to explain.

•  A team contact is available for questions.

Measurement

•  The team knows which metrics it will review.

•  Views, check-ins, redemptions, and spending are reported separately.

•  Merchant feedback will be collected after launch.

•  The final report avoids claiming more than the data supports.

Keep the product bridge simple

Once your route plan is clear, a digital platform can help turn it into a visitor-facing experience. Driftscape offers main street digital engagement tools for BIAs, BIDs, and Chambers.

Take the next step

Planning a route for your downtown? Explore main street digital engagement tools.

Book a demo

Explore more articles about local economic impact

About the author: Andrew Applebaum is a digital tourism expert at Driftscape who helps destinations, BIAs, museums, and tourism teams create self-guided visitor experiences rooted in local stories. He writes about practical ways to improve visitor engagement, support local businesses, and make tourism initiatives easier to launch and manage.

View Andrew’s profile and connect on LinkedIn.