The days where parks would have to print thousands of maps daily are over. As visitors’ needs change on a regular (if not daily) basis, digital solutions are key to keeping up and to guaranteeing the best visitor experience possible.
Sustainability is one of the biggest trends in the Attractions Industry, demanding venues all over the world to take action. This makes digital park maps grow a lot in popularity. Even huge industry players like Disneyland have announced that they would get rid of printed maps and prioritise such solutions in the near future.
If done correctly, a digital park map can be the heart of your visitors’ experience. So, why are maps so important for any attraction park and what are the best practices when it comes to adopting a digital park map? Let’s dig in…
First of all, think about the visitors. There is nothing more frustrating than having to cross an entire theme park in order to find the attraction you were looking for, and only then, just to find out there is an immense queue waiting …
Well, problem solved.
A park map can enhance visitor experience by allowing them to have a clear overview of everything the park has to offer, including attractions, restaurants options, as well as other amenities.
Moreover, digital park maps make it even easier to highlight important information that your visitor has to know, such as details of a ride inside the park, or real-time queuing, which make it for an improved visitor experience.
Visitors are not the only ones that can benefit from digital park maps, as they have many benefits for attraction operators, especially when it comes to optimising operations.
With a digital park map, the visitor has access to all the information they need, in real-time, directly on their device. This means that you can concentrate efforts that would have been put into customer service, into other areas.
On top of that, being digital simply means no more printing!
Not only is it more sustainable, but digital park maps reduce costs that would have gone into printing so they can be invested in something else. And again, this only shows the importance they have when it comes to optimising in-venue operations.
After talking about the benefits park maps have to offer, we're of course going to share the best practices when making your own park map!
All seamless digital park maps that allow for a better in-venue visitor experience have the following elements in common:
Your digital park map is a visual representation of your park. Therefore, having a clear design that allows visitors to easily locate what they are looking for, is key to a successful implementation of such a solution. Use colors that differentiate each type of attractions or amenities, group them under categories & include a search engine.
Another important aspect is making sure that the park map highlights all the points of interest of your park, whether these are attractions, dining options, or even amenities such as toilets or exits. We can guarantee that any visitor will appreciate that.
A digital park map can also be a place to provide all the information visitors need to know while visiting the park. Think about including queuing times, restaurants opening & closing hours, links to the shops, and you will be one step forward to improving the visitor experience.
Last, but definitely not least, your park map should be YOURS. It should not only showcase your park, but should also reflect your brand, while including all the elements we talked about earlier.
With Convious you can now easily set up your own park map on your website or even in your own app.
The Control Panel allows you to customise your park map as you want, so you can include all the elements, information and points of interest relevant for your visitors.
Want to improve your visitors’ experience with your own park map? Our team would be happy to help!