How to build a self guided walking tour that boosts local business

Oh, I get it. You’re a tourism coordinator or BIA manager, and you’re tired of the same old "shop local" flyer campaigns that just don’t seem to move the needle on foot traffic (it’s a tough spot to be in, believe me!). You have amazing local businesses and fascinating stories, but connecting the two in a way that’s actually fun and measurable feels like a huge mountain to climb.

It doesn’t have to be that way, I promise. The secret to boosting local business isn't a bigger billboard; it's getting visitors to spend more time exploring your main street on their own terms.

And the best tool for that? A great, hyper-local self guided walking tour.

How Can a Self Guided Walking Tour Directly Support Local Shops?

The goal of your tour shouldn't just be to tell a story; it should be to create intentional foot traffic. A static sign or a historical plaque gets a glance. An interactive, self guided walking tour, however, gets a 15-minute stop, a digital check-in, and ideally, a purchase.

When you design a tour, you’re not just mapping history; you're mapping a route for commerce. You’re guiding visitors from a parking lot to a point of interest (POI), and from that POI, the next logical stop should be a local coffee shop or a boutique.

Tourism Reality: The difference between a "walk" and a "tour" is the direction and the destination. A tour gives people a clear reason and a path to spend time in a business district, rather than just walking through it.

3 Practical Steps for a High-Converting Self Guided Walking Tour

The most successful self-guided walking tours blend history, quirky local stories, and direct incentives. Here’s a simple, three-step formula I use when helping BIAs design their mobile campaigns:

1. Map for Discovery, Not Just History

Don't just place POIs at historical landmarks. Place them near or inside businesses that align with your story.

• Theme and Anchor: Pick a theme that naturally incorporates businesses. For example, a "Downtown Coffee Crawl" (which is one of the most popular self guided walking tour themes, by the way) or a "Local Makers Trail." This is how you leverage cultural tourism to drive sales.

• The Proximity Rule: For example, if a POI is a historic statue or mural, the very next logical stop on your map should be the locally owned bookstore right beside it. You can connect the history to a present-day incentive by offering a 10% coupon when they check in digitally at the store.

2. Gamify the Experience with Incentives

This is the non-negotiable step to drive direct sales. Making the tour a fun game with prizes turns passive walkers into active shoppers, creating a deeply immersive travel experience. We've seen this work for places like with the Downtown Carleton Place BIA, where a simple, story-based scavenger hunt led to over 1,300 completions in just 30 days.

The Crescent Heights Village BIA saw incredible success when they used mobile gamification and POIs to spotlight Asian-owned businesses with points and digital coupons, ultimately saving them $6,850 in print costs alone!

Engagement Feature	Business Benefit
Digital Check-Ins	Verifiable foot traffic data to share with stakeholders.
Digital Coupons	Direct sales conversions linked to the tour (e.g., "Show this screen for 15% off").
Points et récompenses	Encourages visitors to complete the entire route and visit multiple locations.
Chasses au trésor	Increases the time a visitor spends in a specific zone or shop.

3. Make It Effortless for Everyone

If your tour is hard to find or complicated to use, people won't finish it (or even start it!). (Trust me, if they have to download an 80MB app, you've already lost them.)

• Mobile-First, Always: Use a digital tourism platform that hosts your self guided walking tour content on a simple, no-download-needed web browser, or offers an easy-to-use self-guided tour app (like Driftscape). This keeps the barrier to entry low.

• Keep it Short (but Sweet): Aim for 5–10 POIs. A three-hour marathon tour is too much. People should be able to complete it in 60-90 minutes and have time to stop for lunch.

• Partner, Don't Command: Give businesses simple, clear instructions. They only need to put up a small sign with a QR code or know what to say if a visitor asks about the tour.

Foire aux questions (FAQ)

Q: What's the best way to create a self-guided tour app for a small town?

A: The best approach is to start with a mobile tour platform (not building a custom app from scratch). Look for a system that’s easy to update (so you aren't reliant on a developer) and that can incorporate rich media like audio, video, and gamified elements like check-ins and rewards. Crucially, it needs to track simple analytics (like POI views and completions) to prove your ROI to the local council or board. This keeps the focus on low-staff time and high-impact results.

Q: How do I measure the success of a self-guided tour for my local businesses?

A: You measure success by tracking conversion-focused metrics, not just downloads. Track things like the number of digital check-ins at business POIs, the number of digital coupons redeemed, and the number of tour completions. If you can integrate a simple rewards program (like Bruce County Tourism did to get 1,300+ downloads and 18,000+ visits with no extra staffing), you can also track rewards redeemed, which directly shows you local engagement.

Q: Can a self-guided tour be updated seasonally?

A: Absolutely! The beauty of a digital self guided walking tour is its flexibility. You can create a core tour that runs year-round and then create seasonal overlays that you activate for specific events—like a "Sussex Lights Up Holiday Tour" in December or a "Summer Business Scavenger Hunt." This keeps the content fresh and gives locals a reason to walk the same streets again.

Q: How do BIAs use digital engagement to drive foot traffic?

A: Successful Business Improvement Areas (BIAs) use digital tools like mobile-friendly tours and contests to give visitors a clear, interactive mission within their district. This approach leverages the fact that many BIAs are already key players in local economic development and community building, as noted in reports by the Toronto Association of Business Improvement Areas (TABIA) on their role in the visitor economy. By offering a digital incentive to visit a specific sequence of storefronts, BIAs effectively turn a casual stroll into a measurable, guided shop local trip.

It all comes down to making the experience of exploring your town rewarding for both the visitor and the business. Don’t just tell people to shop local; give them a fun, guided adventure that leads them right to the checkout counter (and maybe a prize!). This makes your next self guided walking tour a true win-win.

Ready to transform your main street into a measurable, interactive attraction?

Book a demo to explore the Driftscape digital tourism platform and start building your high-converting self guided walking tour.