Visit Keweenaw is Using Digital Passes to Promote Sustainability and Support Lodging Partners

Visit Keweenaw took a chance and partnered with Bandwango to take their Pasty Trail from paper to digital. Just nine months into the relationship, Content and Social Media Manager, Amanda Makela, shared her thoughts. “I can tell you that overwhelmingly, people find Bandwango extremely easy to use. You just sign up, it texts you, you have your pass on your phone, and you're just checking in. It's super easy. People actually enjoy using the product.”

She had similar thoughts to share regarding her own perspective on building passes, saying, “It’s not complex to get started. It does take some learning, but their staff is very great and they are very quick to respond to questions and give suggestions. They make sure that you have it set up in a way that basically, once it's set up, it just lives and functions. So I would say it's overall been a very positive experience, and I'm just grateful to be a part of the program.”

‍The move from a paper to digital pass

For years, Visit Keweenaw had a program called the Keweenaw Pasty Trail that was a way to showcase one of their area’s signature delicacies – the pasty. Makela described the regional food, saying, “The UP Pasty actually comes from the Cornish miners and it has become an amalgamation of many different cultures, so it's not a true Cornish pasty, but what it is up here in the UP is a root veggie and meat savory handheld pie wrapped in a crust with a crimped edge. Everyone kind of has their different take on it, and different combinations, hence why we have 13 locations on our Pasty Trail. Everyone has their slight interpretation of what it should be.” 

This food item defines their region. The Pasty Trail, which started as a paper brochure that people carried around, gave people a chance to explore the different variations of it. Visitors were able to earn points for tasting their way through the area, and it was a hit. But they wanted to make it an even better experience for everyone involved – including their partner businesses. 

“We already knew that the concept worked,” said Makela. “Bandwango gave us the opportunity to kind of expand this idea and make it more streamlined.” She explained that they were already investing in things such as printing costs and stamps for the paper passports, so they just traded those costs to invest in a license with Bandwango. 

They also found that the new digital pass also alleviated the workload of employees at participating businesses. She discussed the challenges they faced with the paper passes and said, “Over the years, you see things like businesses losing their stamps, or having employee turnover, so we're just trying to smooth the experience for everyone.” According to her, the process is much easier for Pasty Trail passholders and restaurant staff now that the pass is digital. “When they go to these locations, they're using that GPS check-in, they can do it on their own, and it's not causing any sort of additional work for staff.” 

Creating passes as a guide to dictate the journey of visitors

With the ability to build unlimited passes, Visit Keweenaw has also created a variety of other passes such as the Friends of a Feather Birding Trail, Keweenaw Waterfall Trail, and some short-duration passes centered around events such as Waterfall Week and Winter Carnival. They are using their new technology tool and finding ways to be intentional with their strategy. “We're trying to view Bandwango as a way to not just get people to popular destinations, but we're also, as a destination, extremely mindful of the growing traffic to our area,” she said. “We want to make sure that we're being good stewards of this area, and encouraging travel and exploration of lesser-known places.” 

However, careful thought goes into the locations chosen to be listed on each pass, and she added, “Some of those locations that are more precious are intentionally kept off of these lists. In general, there's a sustainability mindset to this. Whether it's economic sustainability, like trying to support our businesses, or sustainability of our natural destinations and landscapes.” 

For Visit Keweenaw, it’s all about balance. There are spots that need more attention and are included in their passes. However there are some hidden spots that they don’t draw attention to due to their sustainability concerns about protecting certain spots. 

Integrating sustainability messaging into their passes

In a destination with the level of natural beauty that can be found in Keweenaw, it’s important to make sure those natural resources last for years to come. The team takes sustainability very seriously, and has found a way to incorporate that into their passes. “Our desire across the board is to share the messaging that we want people to recreate responsibly and to care for these places as we do, and to leave no trace,” she said. 

They include links in some of the listings where people can read more about a location. “You might see a blog where we’ve talked a little bit more about how to treat a place respectfully,” she said. “We really try to leverage every opportunity to share that message – even through Bandwango. It’s a way to educate people a little bit and hopefully this just makes it a fun way that doesn't feel like they're being harped on.”

Helping encourage longer and repeat visits

Those links within the pass that push people back to their website also serve another function. It’s getting them to places where they can learn more about protecting the destination, but the destination website is also educating them more about the Keweenaw in general. “That then allows us to encourage them to book with a lodging partner, find other activities, or hop on the events calendar. So, you know, there is a strategic level to it all that ultimately, we want to keep encouraging this, longer, more rich stay in the Keweenaw.” 

The passes also serve as a way to get passholders into the visitor center, as that is one way they can obtain their prizes. When they can get guests in their visitor center, it allows another opportunity to help guide the visitor’s journey. It also could potentially encourage them to stay longer or visit again. 

A valuable tool for their lodging partners

Visit Keweenaw actively communicates with their lodging partners, but the passes have served as another reason to have face time with them. “It’s another talking point for the organization, and honestly, a way for us to communicate to them that we are actively thinking of ways to support them,” Makela shared. 

“They have to answer one question from visitors a million times a day – ‘What do I do around here?’ This gives them a tool. It's just another way to make it easy on everybody.” The front desk staff isn’t expected to know the intricate details of the pass, just that it exists as something that they can use to share with their guests. “They're just having good interactions with their guests and it’s easing conversations for the front desk staff.” All lodging properties are different and some have different limitations. Visit Keweenaw makes a variety of collateral pieces to accommodate their varying needs. They create table tents, rack cards, posters, and more. 

Results

In less than nine months, Visit Keweenaw is happy with the results they’ve seen so far. Those early numbers show that visitors are not only signing up for the passes, but actively using them in the destination. 

• 892 pass sign-ups
• 1,147 check-ins 
  

Visit Keweenaw’s Tips for Success

Think about what makes your area special 

“Take the time to think about what makes your place special. What draws people to this area? What makes me love this area? Does your area have an iconic food or drink? Build your pass initially based on that, because you have probably 10 passes already, just based on simple experiences like food trails and hiking trails. People are very motivated by food travel, and they're very motivated by natural experiences, too.“

Use it as a tool to help community partners

“We have historic locations and a lot of nature preserves that are so beautiful, and they don't quite get the attention as some of the more flashy locations. Think of how these things can also serve your community partners. For example, when I talk about nature preserves, we have many organizations like the Keweenaw Land Trust who put a lot of effort into preserving different locations, making trail systems, and creating educational signage. So for them a trail goes a long way, because now people are actually in these places that they've worked so hard to create, it gives them extra justification. Look at Bandwango as a community tool, and not necessarily always a pay-to-play thing. You could be providing another organization within your network with data that can track how many people go to this place in a way that they may never have been able to.”

Consider adding additional locations to event passes 

“If you have big draw events, think of how this pass can serve a visitor attending an event. For example, we have the Winter Carnival. For us, that is an event that's based on seeing certain locations that are going to be cold. You can then direct them to go to an iconic, nostalgic restaurant where they warm up. I also want them to go across the bridge and see these other ice statues. Just think creatively how you could guide a person's experience at a community event.”

Conclusion

“You have this tool that you can tell is so powerful, and there's so many different ways to utilize it. We're sort of only scratching the surface with it,” said Makela. “We always make it very apparent to our restaurant, lodging, or experience providers, if they feel like there are opportunities for passes, we're always an open book.” 

Visit Keweenaw is interested in creating other gamified passes, but is thinking about paid passes, too. She said, “We’re also definitely looking forward to expanding on what Bandwango has capability-wise, and how we can create different ticketed experiences. We've ideated on a sort of quintessential Keweenaw experience package, where one price gets them in through all of the mine tours, or a selection of different experiences across the Keweenaw.”

Bandwango offers a variety of technological solutions for destination marketing organizations, from check-in challenges like the popular Pasty Trail, to the paid attraction passes that Visit Keweenaw plans to build in the future. If your destination is looking for ways to help guide the journey of your visitors and promote sustainability, set up a free demo with our team.

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