A Newcomer's Perspective Led to One of Bloomington, Indiana’s Most Successful Tourism Initiatives – and is Driving Spending at Local Businesses

Smith had the unique opportunity to see the destination through a visitor’s eyes. When he first moved to the area, there was one thing that shocked him. “When I first came here and explored the city, I was really surprised and taken aback by the restaurant and the culinary scene here in Bloomington – especially the international restaurants.” He then started putting thought into how he could build excitement around the area’s dining scene. “It got me thinking of how I could make Bloomington the foodie destination of Indiana. I was thinking that maybe there was some sort of trail I could create.” 

Building the First Trail 

Smith then found himself at the Indiana State Tourism Conference, and started to connect the dots.  He said, “They were doing awards and there was a place in northern Indiana, Kosciusko County, that had several trails.” He started looking into what they were doing, and saw they were working with Bandwango on the array of check-in challenges. He then began researching other nearby DMOs to see what technology platform they were using to build visitor experiences. “I started looking at some of these other cities and saw that Visit Indy and Experience Columbus use Bandwango too,” he explained. 

He then participated in the Indiana Tourism Academy (ITA) last year, a professional development program for leaders in the tourism industry. One of the criteria for completing the program involves a final project. He thought back to his idea of building a trail and said, “This is the perfect idea for my project.” His first trail was the Bloomington Coffee Trail that launched in February 2026. “We started off with that, and it just exploded,” said Smith. Ironically, Smith was first inspired by another destination he heard about at an award ceremony, and he’s now preparing to enter Visit Bloomington’s trail into a tourism award competition. 

He has been pleased with the quick success of the trail, but he’s also thrilled about the process of working with the Bandwango team. “It's been flawless,” he said. “They're very accommodating and extremely helpful. I’ve worked with other companies on other types of things, and it's just kind of hard to reach them, but Bandwango's always there at the drop of a hat.”

Measuring Success

Various partners measure success and prove ROI with Bandwango in different ways. When asked how Visit Bloomington knows if they have accomplished their goals, Smith shared, “I view the success of these coffee shops and like to see that they are getting more business.” 

There’s another underlying financial factor that is motivating as well. “Our convention center expansion project is funded through a food and beverage tax,” explained Smith. “So the more people we have that go and spend money at these places, the more tax revenue is collected, which helps fund this initiative.”

He also likes to see that people are branching out to find new coffee shops to visit. Through looking at reporting data and hearing input from local businesses, he feels they have seen success with the campaign. He told us about a local retail shop called Oak that sells plants and has a coffee shop inside. “They were struggling trying to make people aware that they also serve tea and coffee there, and they thought this might help them out a little bit – especially during the colder months. During that time of year, their business dwindles a little bit, but the store has seen an increase of people stopping by – not to necessarily purchase the plants, but to buy coffee. The pass is generating revenue for her shop and keeping her in business.”

Results

• 963 sign-ups in four months 

• 606 check-ins at local coffee shops

One study reported by Yahoo Finance showed that the average amount someone spends during a visit to a coffee shop is between $12-$15. By those industry estimates, those 606 check-ins mean the Bloomington Coffee Trail could be responsible for between $7,272-$9,090 in spending at local coffee shops. 

Visit Bloomington’s 8 Tips for Success

Between coming up with a creative way to acquire prizes, to creating a great destination marketing campaign that supports the trail, Smith has identified some factors that have led to Visit Bloomington’s success. Here are a few of his tips for other destination marketing organizations who want to find ways to create an interactive and engaging experience in their community. 

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Make sure you’re promoting it

“You really get out what you put in. If you just put out these trails and have not told anybody about it, nobody's going to sign up for it,” he said. “Paid Meta campaigns and our email newsletter are our two biggest ways that we promote it. We also do a few magazine advertisements here and there.” 

Look for earned media opportunities

“Don't be afraid to reach out to some TV stations and see if they want to interview you about it,” he said. “They're always looking for some positive news, and this could be something that they would eat up.”

See the value in promoting your trail to locals

“We are always trying to bring in visitors, but there's so much that the locals don't know about what's going on, or what we have here in Bloomington,” he said. “Outreach to the local community to show them that there's some fun stuff to do.”

Look for strategic times to launch your trail 

He explained why the coffee trail was his first choice to launch in February, saying, “Everybody loves coffee, and with that being a time of year that people have set New Year's resolutions, are trying to exercise, and eat healthier,” he said, “I didn’t want to throw out a pizza trail or anything like that at the beginning.” Since the coffee trail, he has been strategic with the launch of other trails as well, though. For example, the Bloomington Burger Trail launched on International Burger Day. 

‍Consider bartering gift cards with local businesses to use as prizes 

On Visit Bloomington’s check-in challenges, passholders earn points for visiting each location on the pass, and they can redeem those for gift cards to local businesses. Smith shared how they acquired those and said, “We sell advertisement space in our visitor’s guide, and to make it a little more affordable, we offer trade-outs. It just kind of worked out beautifully. If the business wants to buy an ad, and they say it's a bit out of their price range, we will allow them to provide the difference in gift cards, which we then use for prizes. We don't have to buy prizes, because we already had them on hand.”

‍Continue evolving your trail 

One of the many perks of having a digital pass instead of a paper pass is that you can make changes after it has launched, and Smith takes full advantage of that. He said, “We're constantly adding things.” He also shared that it’s easy to do. “This thing is almost instantaneous whenever I add something, whether it's a new restaurant, a gift card, or a picture, I throw it on there and in probably five minutes or less, it’s there. I love how user-friendly it is, and how quick the updates are whenever I do add something new. This is  an amazing platform, absolutely.”

‍Don’t launch multiple trails at the same time

Smith encourages DMOs to stagger the launch of their trails. “People want something fresh,” he said. He feels that launching one at a time makes it more special for people, and makes each individual trail stand out more. 

‍But DO launch multiple trails – don’t stop at just one 

“The more trails you put out there, the more people will participate,” explained Smith. “They  love prizes, they love free stuff, and they love food.” In addition to the coffee and burger trails, Visit Bloomington has also launched a Barrels, Bottles, and Brews Trail – and there’s more to come. 

The Future

“I'm in the process of building three new trails right now,” said Smith. “A Shopping Trail, French Fry Trail, and a Farm Stop Trail. That one will include things such as the farmer's market, the orchard, the pumpkin patch, places to get fresh produce, flower nurseries, and that sort of thing.” There are also other trails coming, including a Pizza Trail, and another that is near and dear to his heart. “I'd love to do a Cultural Cuisine Trail,” Smith said. “We have Thai, Indian, Italian, Mediterranean, Greek, Tibetan, Burmese, and even an Afghan restaurant.” With the additional trails coming, Smith believes the destination's food story is only beginning to be told. "It could be the hidden foodie oasis of Indiana," he said. 

Conclusion 

Smith’s final advice to other DMOs:  “I'd say if you're going to make this type of trail, or this type of experience, Bandwango should be the first company you call.” 

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If you would like to learn more about creating a customized experience for your destination, reach out to the Bandwango team to set up a free demo.

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