See how custom maps promote tourism

Now that travel is opening up again, many municipalities and businesses are planning their marketing for next spring and summer. Maps are a big part of a tourism marketing strategy.

Keep reading to see examples of how other businesses and cities use custom maps to promote travel and tourism.

Attract visitors

Cities add maps to online and printed guides to attract visitors. These guides, along with wayfinding maps, help promote the area, help visitors and locals navigate, and support local businesses.

Brantford has wayfinding signs throughout the city to help people navigate, and I helped update those earlier this year. Now I’m working with them to create a map of the downtown area for their visitor guide.

This year I worked with the City of Vaughan on a new tourism map for their visitor guide, which will be available in the new year.

detail from City of Vaughan visitor guide map

Education and marketing for travel agents

For several years I worked with a company called TravPRO Mobile, creating maps for their app to educate travel agents about various destinations. I’m working with them again this year on maps to show an overview of attractions in the Orlando area.

Businesses that cater to tourists

Earlier this year I helped a tour company in Ottawa, Escape Bicycle Tours, with data for their base map. They did most of the design themselves (as budding cartographers!), and their maps help their customers find the best bike routes in the city.

Beach Vibe Rentals & Sales in California commissioned a custom map to show their customers where to ride their rental e-bikes and golf carts. This map will be a large poster on their wall with a smaller size given to all their customers. It is a fun way to promote their own business, as well as other restaurants and attractions highlighted on the map. We have also added it to Avenza Maps, so customers can use GPS to navigate with this custom map!

area map of Carlsbad, Oceanside, and Encinitas in California - Beach Vibe Sales & Rentals tourist map of ebike and golf cart areas and points of interest

Another fun project just started is a trail map for South Algonquin Trails. They offer trail rides and camps, and want a brochure that helps their customers find all the trails. For this particular map, since many of the trails are not in any dataset and aren’t visible in satellite imagery due to tree cover, the owners are using their devices to track their routes and send me the details. There are many hiking maps of Algonquin Park, but there are still many trails missing, so a custom map is very beneficial.

Let’s talk about your maps

Contact me for a free, no-obligation consultation to learn how you can use maps to promote your business or city. 

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