Unlocking Your Destination's Soul: The Power of a Local Culture App

Andrew Applebaum
Sep 22, 2020
7 min read

Updated: Aug 5

As tourism professionals, we know that what truly captivates visitors isn't just scenic views, but the vibrant tapestry of local life – its history, art, traditions, and unique charm. How do you make that authentic essence easily discoverable? The answer lies in leveraging a powerful local culture app. It's the key to transforming a casual visit into an unforgettable, immersive travel experience, fostering genuine connections and showcasing the very soul of your destination.

Beyond the Surface: How a Local Culture App Elevates Visitor Experience

Empowering Self-Guided Discovery and Local Exploration

Today's travellers crave autonomy and a sense of genuine discovery. A top-tier local culture app excels at providing this, acting as a smart, self-guided tour app in their pocket. Visitors can explore at their own pace, delving into heritage tours of historic districts, discovering hidden alleyways, or finding charming local spots that often go unnoticed. This flexibility encourages longer stays and richer local exploration, allowing visitors to feel like they're truly uncovering your destination's secrets.

Weaving Authentic Narratives for Deeper Connection

Your destination has a compelling narrative – its founding, its vibrant arts community, its quirky local legends. A powerful local culture app allows you to bring that story to life through rich multimedia. Imagine visitors listening to audio narratives about historic landmarks, viewing archival photos, or even interacting with augmented reality elements that highlight significant cultural details. This approach transforms cultural tourism into a dynamic, engaging, and deeply personal destination storytelling experience.

Real-World Impact: St. Marys' Success with a Local Culture App

Showcasing Hidden Gems and Driving Local Commerce

Nestled in Southwestern Ontario, the historic Town of St. Marys is a true "hidden gem" with a rich heritage. Recognizing the need to make these treasures easily accessible, St. Marys partnered with Driftscape. The local culture app allows visitors to effortlessly navigate nearly 75 "worth discovering places," from historic landmarks to vibrant shopping districts and diverse dining options. By highlighting attractions like the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum (a major tourism driver) or offering insights into local favorites like Gordy's (a historic limestone post office turned eatery) and Hearn's Ice Cream (a family-run staple), the app actively promotes local exploration and encourages visitors to shop local and dine at authentic spots.

Connecting Visitors to Heritage and Community

The Driftscape app acts as an on-the-go guide for St. Marys, providing detailed information about the town's history, like the significance of the Historic Water Tower dating back to 1899. This not only enhances heritage tours but also helps support the DMO’s ongoing initiative to vitalize economic growth throughout the town by notifying visitors of unique tourism highlights as they explore. The partnership ensures that visitors and locals can easily access real-time information, transforming a day trip into an immersive travel experience steeped in history and community engagement.

Measurable Impact

Since launch, St. Marys has seen over 8,500 POI views and more than 1,230 region visits from 35 different postal regions, with many users spending over an hour exploring. That means more feet on the ground, longer stays, and deeper engagement with local stories and businesses.

Choosing Your Local Culture App: The Driftscape Advantage

Seamless Content Management & Real-Time Updates

With Driftscape, managing your destination's cultural narrative is intuitive and efficient. Our platform allows you to easily map new points of interest, update existing content, and share real-time information with both visitors and locals. This ensures your mobile experiences are always fresh, accurate, and responsive to the dynamic nature of your attractions and events, enhancing overall visitor engagement without a heavy administrative burden.

Actionable Insights for Strategic Destination Storytelling

Beyond providing a great user experience, Driftscape offers invaluable anonymized analytics. You can gain insights into visitor interests, popular routes, and engagement with specific cultural sites or local businesses. This data is gold, enabling you to refine your destination storytelling strategies, target marketing efforts more effectively, and make informed decisions that foster long-term growth and promote your authentic cultural tourism.

Conclusion: Ignite Discovery with the Right Local Culture App

In today's competitive tourism landscape, a strategic local culture app is essential for capturing the attention of modern travelers. It empowers you to deliver rich authentic cultural experiences, champion your unique heritage tours, drive foot traffic to local businesses, and transform casual visits into unforgettable immersive travel experiences. Don't let your destination's soul remain hidden; bring it to life.

Ready to showcase your local culture to the world? Explore Driftscape and unlock a new era of discovery for your destination!

FAQ: Local Culture App for Tourism

1. What is a local culture app? A local culture app is a digital tool that helps visitors explore a destination’s unique culture, history, landmarks, and businesses through interactive maps, multimedia storytelling, and guided experiences.

2. How does a local culture app benefit tourism? It enhances visitor engagement, encourages longer stays, supports local businesses, and makes destinations more discoverable.

3. Can smaller towns or regions use local culture apps effectively? Absolutely. Tools like Driftscape are designed to support destinations of all sizes with flexible content and user-friendly tools.

4. Is it hard to get started with a culture app? Not with Driftscape. Our onboarding takes just a few weeks, with a clear roadmap and support at every stage.

5. How does it promote local commerce? By highlighting restaurants, shops, and cultural sites, apps drive foot traffic and promote spending at local businesses.

6. Is this only useful for tourists? Not at all—locals use it too! It helps communities rediscover their heritage and access up-to-date events and experiences.

7. What kind of content can we include? Photos, videos, audio clips, AR features, historical context, walking routes, and more.

8. Is there data to measure performance? Yes. You get anonymized analytics showing what visitors explore, how long they linger, and where they come from.

9. Can the app be updated seasonally? Definitely. You can swap in content for festivals, winter trails, art walks, or holiday markets.

10. What makes Driftscape different?

We combine cultural sensitivity, rich features, and easy management—all built with the needs of tourism professionals in mind.

What to see & Where to eat at St. Marys - A Driftscape Guide

Nestled in Southwestern, Ontario is the historic Town of St. Marys - one of the oldest towns and a true hidden gem with something for everyone! From rich heritage to recreational activities, there is plenty to discover here, and the Driftscape app is your guide to it all!

What to see and where to eat in St. Marys with Driftscape

With a plethora of options to choose from, it can often get confusing or overwhelming, and so, we at Driftscape went over nearly 75 “worth discovering places” in St. Marys to create a short and quick guide on “what to see and where to eat” when at St Marys for a day! Keep reading to find out more...

See St. Marys - Driftscape Top 3 Picks of the Day

First up we have a place that will pique the interest of baseball fans - The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame Museum

Originally located in Toronto, St. Marys won the bid for the new location in 1994. The museum is now a local favourite and a major driver in tourism for the town. So grab your fellow baseball enthusiasts and spend a couple of hours reliving all of the monumental Canadian baseball moments through the years! This stop will for sure be a home-run on your trip through the town.

Second on our list is Sarnia Bridge - A perfect mid-day adventure!

Explore the Thames River Bridge with Driftscape

Take a stroll through the Grand Trunk Trail and cross over one of St. Marys most popular tourist attractions. For those into photography, you can get some great shots from the bridge of the Thames River! The Grand Trunk trail runs 3.2 km and you’ll hit the bridge about halfway through, so give yourself about 2 hours to walk it. By the end of your stroll, you’ll get why it’s such a popular landmark!

Finally, a trip to St. Marys is not complete without a visit to the Historic Water Tower.

This site is a major part of the rich history of St. Marys since 1899. You can clearly see the town’s slogan “St. Marys, The Town Worth Living In” on the side of the tower from a mile away - you can’t miss it!

Eat St. Marys - Driftscape’s Top 3 Picks of the Day

Mix the top 3 “See St. Marys” with a gastronomic experience from our “Eat St Marys - Driftscape Top 3 Picks of the Day”!

For lunch head to Social Thirty One at the St. Marys Golf and Country Club!

This spot is perfect to enjoy a locally sourced salad, a handcrafted burger, or a handheld meal inspired by international cuisine. Grab a spot on the patio and overlook the beautiful golf course - who knows it might even inspire you to play a quick round after your meal! Whatever you’re craving, there will be something to satisfy you at Social Thirty One.

For dinner, check out Gordy’s - a local favourite!

Enjoy great food and delectable drinks while you mingle with some of the locals who will happily tell you their tales about St. Marys. Gordy’s is guaranteed to give you that small town vibe, leaving you feeling like a true local!

Fun fact: Did you know that Gordy’s is located in a historic limestone post office? So cool!

To end the day, head to Hearn’s Ice Cream for a cool and tasty treat!

Open since 1967, Hearn’s is a family run business and a proud member of the National Ice Cream Retailers Association. Serving St. Marys for over 50 years, they are a local staple and a “must-visit” to cool off on a hot summer day or to simply end your day on a sweet note!

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