Best-practice visitor experience in an attraction

1 Help visitors plan their journey before they arrive

For many travelers, the adventure begins when planning their trip. Ensuring they know about the guided or self-guided options attractions offer is important. To spread the word, use SmartGuide’s complimentary visuals (included in the welcome package), which include links and QR codes for your guide, on social media, leaflets, or posters distributed at tourism offices and hotels.

                                                                                  Links and QR codes of guides on SmartGuide's visuals     

2 Inform visitors about the digital guide on your web 

Travelers increasingly start their trip planning online. SmartGuide’s advanced web widget allows them to explore an interactive preview of your guide directly on your website. This experience shifts into the app, offering features useful on the move, like geolocation, audio, or offline access. If your site requires offline guide downloads, encouraging visitors to do this from home helps ease the demand on your onsite WiFi.

3 Boost your digital guide distribution at the tickets' point of sales

If you choose to sell SmartGuide to visitors, just like many museums sell their audio guides, the best approach is to offer it directly at the cashier with the ticket purchase. Visitors are far more likely to spend a bit extra for a guide when it's conveniently bundled with their tickets rather than purchasing it separately later. Keep the price of a self-guided product in the range of single-digit Euros or an equivalent for an easy, attractive add-on.

Include guide's QR code on a ticket with SmartGuide

If you prefer to restrict access to your content until visitors have purchased an entrance ticket, you can keep it private and only reveal it when they scan a QR code. This code can be included on the ticket itself or displayed after passing through a ticket checkpoint.

4 Instruct your staff and inform visitors effectively when they arrive

Visitor-facing staff should be well-versed in the available guide options and offer the most suitable recommendations to guests. For instance, if SmartGuide is used for foreign languages, staff should suggest the guide when international visitors arrive.

                                                  Informing visitors about SmartGuide on arrival

5 Link physical and digital maps through QR codes

The key moment visitors want to learn about the self-guided option is when they enter the attraction premises. Most visitors will appreciate a map, recommended routes, and tips on how to visit the site and what to see. A big physical map of the attraction at the entrance is useful for visitors to get oriented and it should be equipped with a QR code that visitors scan to get the digital geolocated map in SmartGuide on their phone. Besides maps, you can use posters or other information boards.

When visitors scan the QR code from SmartGuide, it will automatically direct them to the relevant content in the app, adjusting to their preferred language based on their phone settings. If they don't have SmartGuide installed, the same QR code will detect whether they use Android or iOS and guide them through the installation process.

6 Ensure visitor satisfaction with offline guide access

By default, SmartGuide operates online, downloading only the content needed to minimize mobile data usage. However, visitors have the option to download the entire guide, including maps, locations, tours, text, images, audio files, and short videos for offline access. This feature is particularly valuable for sites with poor mobile reception, such as castles with thick walls or underground attractions. It’s also helpful for international visitors concerned about roaming charges. Typically, visitors will download the guide at the entrance when they learn about it. If offline access is key to the visitor experience, SmartGuide can prompt users to download the guide. Make sure you provide fast WiFi at the entrance to accommodate large groups downloading simultaneously.

                   Availability of offline mode in SmartGuide digital audio guide app

7 Align the digital and offline content for consistency

Furthermore, visitors expect the digital guide to align with physical information boards, maps, and brochures—using the same routes, place numbers, and locations. However, digital guides can offer longer text, more images, additional languages, and even more points of interest, as they are not limited by space like printed materials.

8 Let visitors explore fully self-guided with GPS-triggered autoplay

Visitors can enjoy the SmartGuide app as a personal audio guide in their preferred language, right on their own phones. Using GPS, the app helps them navigate the attraction, displaying nearby points of interest. They are free to explore at their own pace, avoiding crowds while having all the essential information at their fingertips. The app also highlights the must-see points of interest, ensuring first-time visitors don’t miss out on key spots.

9 Disperse crowds with AI-driven guide and personalized recommendations 

Akin to YouTube or Netflix, SmartGuide provides personalized recommendations that automatically align with each visitor's interests. Through AI, the app understands content and visitors’ preferences, guiding visitors to hidden gems that match their unique tastes. By providing diverse content, attractions can better manage visitor flow and highlight less crowded areas.

                                           Personalized recommendations in SmartGuide digital audio guide app

10 Connect places of interest into a self-guided tour

Approximately half of visitors prefer following a guided tour that offers a comprehensive introduction to the attraction, as if they were with a live guide. This tour should cover all must-see spots and offer an overview ideal for first-time visitors, starting at the entrance.

11 Be more relevant with tours for different audiences

Moreover, to engage most visitors, attractions can provide tours for different audiences, for example, a different tour for children and adults, an accessible tour, or a detailed tour for history geeks. From the tour name and introduction, the visitor should be able to understand which tour is best for them.

              Different guides for the same tours for different demographics in SmartGuide

12 Use specific QR code for each POI to open the correct content

Whether following a recommended tour or exploring the attraction freely, visitors will receive notifications when they approach a point of interest. For those who prefer not to enable notifications, QR codes placed at various sites allow them to access relevant content by scanning with their phones. This ensures that visitors always have information at their fingertips, regardless of how they navigate the attraction.

                                                  Placement of QR codes for SmartGuide's audio guides

13 Prepare a good audio track to help visitors immerse in the experience

Visitors can enjoy listening to engaging stories from local guides highlighting what makes each location special, ensuring the experience is engaging and fun rather than a dull history lesson. Well-crafted audio guides allow visitors to immerse themselves in their surroundings, rather than focusing on a screen. However, some places may benefit from additional visual content like historical photos or videos—such as a historical industrial sight in action, or a now-ruined building—to enhance the story being told.

For instance, Sternberk Castle replaced its underutilized paper guides with SmartGuide and was pleasantly surprised to find that 80% of the digital content was being consumed—proving that a switch to an interactive guide can make a significant impact on visitor engagement.

And for those without headphones, audio can be quietly played through the phone speaker, held to the ear like a phone call, ensuring that they don’t disturb others while still enjoying the content.

                                                     Visitors without headphones can play audio like on a call so as not to disturb others

14 Incorporate AR elements for a more engaging experience

Augmented Reality (AR) offers an exciting way for visitors to engage with historical sites and events. By bringing these elements to life, AR allows guests to virtually interact with objects they can't physically touch, adding layers of enjoyment and discovery.

Augmented reality feature in SmartGuide's digital audio guide platform

15 Add navigation suffixes to tell visitors where to go next

As visitors complete each stop on their tour, they receive guidance on where to head next, aided by an interactive map displaying the tour route and their current location. Along the way, they gain additional background information, enriching their journey with context and stories.

                                                               SmartGuide's navigation suffixes tell visitors where to go next

16 Add custom surveys or interactive quizzes easily

A simple quiz helps visitors test what they've learned when concluding the tour. Successful participants can receive a delightful reward, such as a postcard, making their visit memorable and rewarding.

                                            Custom quizzes in SmartGuide digital audio guide

17 Collect feedback and let happy visitors share the guide

Invite your visitors to share their delightful experiences of exploring your attraction with SmartGuide. With just one button, they can easily spread the word about their favorite tours and places to friends and family. For areas that could use a little enhancement, visitors are encouraged to "Suggest an Improvement," allowing feedback to be addressed directly or passed along to you.

                                       "Suggest an improvement" feature in SmartGuide

18 Improve visitors experience based on big data and heatmaps 

SmartGuide also gathers comprehensive data on user acquisition, content engagement, and visitor pathways to deliver insightful analytics. These fact-based insights help refine the visitor experience continuously. As more tourists engage with the guide, the quality of insights from big data analytics improves, offering a clearer picture of visitors’ behavior and preferences. For those seeking even deeper insights, the option to distribute custom surveys to visitors is also available, ensuring that feedback is both extensive and actionable.

                                  SmartGuide's data analytics tools - data dasboards and GPS heatmaps