Ideas for Fall Tourism Campaigns That Can Help Boost Your Local Economy

‍Why Now is the Best Time to Start Working on Your Fall Tourism Campaign 

With the summer sun still blazing, it may feel too soon to start thinking about sweater weather, but this is the best time to start planning your fall tourism campaign. Building the pass is quick, but now’s the time to define your theme, loop in partners, and prepare your marketing plan.

We’ve included a few idea starters below, but the fall-themed possibilities are endless. If your pass involves local businesses, reach out to them now to let them know about the initiative. This is also a great time to begin mapping out your marketing strategy. If you need help with that, Bandwango has marketing services available to help you promote your pass and maximize its reach. Tackling some of these tasks now sets you up for success and keeps stress low once it’s time to launch your pass. 

Creating a Short-Duration Campaign is Now Easier Than Ever

If you’ve never created a short-duration, seasonal pass, you may be wondering if it’s worth the effort. The short answer is yes! Even better, it’s easier than it’s ever been, and you can now build a pass in as little as a day with Bandwango’s new Experience Builder. There isn’t a large investment of time required to create the pass, and a pass that is live for one month, one week, or even one day can still show return on investment and be impactful in helping boost your local economy. 

Visit Fort Wayne Indiana is one of our many partners that has expanded their marketing strategy beyond year-round passes. They’ve used short-duration experiences to showcase local assets and engage visitors during specific seasons. Since their area is known for apples, last year’s fall tourism campaign included the Fort Wayne Apple Trail. They also kept the momentum going with another short-duration pass last winter – the Fort Wayne Holiday Lights Challenge. 

Five Fall Marketing Ideas for Tourism Boards

If you’re ready to find fresh ways to capture and engage seasonal visitors, here are five customizable ideas to inspire your fall tourism campaigns. Each one can be tailored to showcase the unique experiences your destination has to offer.

Create a Fall Flavor Check-In Challenge 

Put a fall-flavored spin on Tofino’s Hot Chocolate Trail. Their seasonal gamified check-in challenge incentivized visitors to try specialty hot cocoas from local businesses. You can do the same with fall-themed coffee or cider flavors. This flavorful fall tourism campaign helps drive traffic to local cafés and restaurants – and it’s an engaging way to celebrate the season’s best sips. Include enticing fall-themed prizes for passholders to boost participation.

Organize Fall Wine Events 

Take a page from the Keuka Lake Wine Trail’s playbook and create a fall event to help boost your local economy. Their Handcrafted Holiday event takes place in early November and features special tastings and holiday-inspired food pairings. You can use Bandwango’s ticketing platform for events to create a flawless experience for your attendees and participating businesses. 

Build a Black Friday/Small Business Saturday Savings Pass

Back in the day, shoppers checked the newspaper ads to find the best Black Friday and Small Business Saturday deals, but today’s shoppers want deals delivered digitally. Tourism Barrie has seen success with their My Barrie Coupon Pass that is available for use all year, but you also have the option of creating a short duration savings pass that just showcases deals for Black Friday and/or Small Business Saturday. 

Develop a Leaf-Peeping Itinerary Pass 

Many people travel to experience the scenic colors of the changing fall foliage. While leaf peepers have plenty of options for places where they can observe this, you can set your destination apart by creating a curated itinerary of the most scenic leaf-peeping spots in your destination. The itinerary pass is one of Bandwango’s new tools that is available to you and it is easy to create. 

Take Trick-or-Treating To Another Level and Increase Foot Traffic Downtown 

Encourage your local downtown businesses to stay open and distribute sweet treats to the little trick-or-treaters, while giving their accompanying parents something fun to do too. With a short duration pass that is available to use during the event, you can engage parents by incentivizing them to check- in at each location. Those that visit every location can be entered into a sweepstakes for their chance to win a prize.