Getting people to leave their hometown for a destination event isn’t that easy. The travel and hotel costs, which add up to a big total may not be feasible for every single TG member.
What happens if you’re hosting an event where travelling isn’t as glamorous as, say, travelling to a music festival in the outskirts of a city? Simply put, if you want your target audience to travel for your event, it all comes down to making it as simple as possible for event attendees to organise their trip.
Keep on reading to know how best you can motivate people to travel to your event.
1. Attract Attendees with Local Partnerships
If you know your location might act as a barrier for some event attendees (high flying costs, expensive hotels, etc), solve the issue by partnering with local organisations.
Local business partners can help promote your event to the local community in return. Give attendees more reasons to come to the event. List nearby attractions to entice guests to turn a “business” trip into a relatively longer vacation.
2. Make it Easy to Get to the Event Venue
When people are commuting to your event, you want to make it as easy as possible. Making your event more accessible, broadens your reach and makes your attendees feel welcome.
Here are a few ideas to make it easy for your attendees to get to and from your event.
Give insider tips on how to get to the city. Share a few secrets that only locals know about. Or maybe advice them on the best form of transportation that can be used.
- Include a dedicated transportation section in your FAQs. That way, people won’t need to use Google and waste time figuring out what’s feasible.
- Provide a range of transportation options: public transportation, parking and valet, designated bicycle parking, shuttle buses, and ride-share pickup and drop-off points.
3. Offer Unique Perks
Your goal should be to help people from far away feel as welcome to your event as possible. So, from small gifts to larger gestures, there are a couple of ways you can offer unique perks that will help them meet new people and connect with your event.
One way to lure attendees is by offering discounts. Use promos to make tourists feel like they’re getting a deal when they click “Buy.” Create special meet-up locations at your event to bring people together.
4. Target your Marketing Efforts
Evaluate your data to find where people are coming from to attend your event. Dig into your data for zip code and city information, so you can create lookalike audiences to target. Once you’ve identified your hotspots, you can tailor your messaging to attract attendees in these areas. For eg., if your event is in Delhi and you’re targeting people in states neighbouring Delhi your ad might say “The Top 5 Reasons Delhiites Love This Event.”
5. Global Sponsorships
If there’s long-distance travel involved in your event, consider going for global sponsorships with brands. Big brands can help you offer perks like reduced airfare that will really make it hard for attendees mulling over the travel expenses to say no.
Destination festivals might be a little trickier to plan, market, and grow, but when done right, they’re absolutely spectacular!
Feel free to add on a few more of your ideas in the comment section below.