Tourism can have a huge economic impact on any given community. Whether tourists come to town for live music, a sporting event or local attractions, it’s important to have “sub attractions” that appeal to tourists during their down time.

Retail stores are often good avenues to build upon a tourist’s visit and could possibly even extend their stay. Today there must be more than souvenir and gift shops to draw the visitor in. Funky coffee shops, unique clothing and novelty stores and rooftop bars/restaurants are a few examples that can add to the tourist experience. Tourists want to eat where the locals eat, shop where they shop and do what they do in town. Whether it’s a big city or a quaint little town, visitors come with an idea of what the place will be like – from trendy nightlife and dining to eccentric shops. Does your destination offer what tourists are looking for? If not, it might be time for an expansion program.

The first step in offering sub attractions that line up with visitor interests is understanding your visitor. You can collect key demographics that includes the visitor’s city of origin, number in the party, and length of stay etc. from local attractions and lodging facilities, sign in books from your CVB and can be supplemented with information from state tourism offices, regional tourism societies and third party research data.

This information can help you develop visitor profiles and segments, identify potential future visitors and uncover types of sub attractions your destination can add to align with visitor intent and expectation.

Want to talk more with us about how your destination can leverage retail to boost tourism? Let’s talk.