Warren Franklin, PresidentThat changed with Enhanced Visitor Experience (EVE), which dramatically expanded access through a smartphone app. It elevated the visitor experience by turning the phone into a storyteller that transforms each trip into an immersive, self-guided tour.
As visitors open the app, an image of the exhibit in front of them immediately fills the screen, alongside a short text or audio story. A nearby vintage farm machinery, displayed outdoors, comes alive with a short video and narrated backstory as they approach. As guests move through the grounds, distant items fade while the nearest ones sharpen into view, each paired with details that bring history to life. The app guides them toward exploring the best of what’s available on that particular day while leaving them intrigued for more.
EVE’s app is the answer for tourist destinations facing a resource crunch, offering the experiences visitors crave. It delivers personalized, in-the-moment storytelling that keeps people curious and entertained, without overextending staff or implementing complicated infrastructure. That deeper engagement strengthens a venue’s economic engine.
Chris Cummings, PartnerSmart Tech Elevating Visitor Journeys
Museums, zoos, aquariums, fairgrounds, downtown associations, heritage sites and even entire cities become walk-as-you-go adventures on the app.
Powered by GPS and a patented Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacon technology, the app automatically reveals information on exhibits and points of interest as visitors approach them. Once the app is activated on the visitor’s smartphone, BLE beacons guide them through areas as small as individual rooms. GPS-based tours span cities and highways, with content that can be activated from a quarter-mile to 30 miles away from a landmark. Organizers can use one method or blend both for seamless coverage.
Reimagining How Destinations Guide and Engage Visitors
Every destination that adopts the app comes closer to redefining how people rediscover the world around them.
The app’s curated content ensures visitors stay engaged and explore more. Tour organizers and event coordinators can build and manage their content library through an intuitive back-office portal. They can store images, text files, pre-recorded audio descriptions and short videos containing deeper insights from curators, zoologists, horticulturists and historians on the app’s platform, which is available to visitors at each designated stop. The EVE team can also handle the entire setup for them.
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Our goal is to serve as the digital companion for any visitor-focused organization looking to offer deeper on-site information, for a more engaging experience.
Many museums and event organizers are apprehensive of giving away too much information before visitors arrive. EVE’s app solves this by unlocking exhibit content only after a visitor has entered the venue. After the visit ends, organizations can continue the connection by sharing more stories through the History feature. They can also offer donation opportunities to visitors through the app.
In the History section, guests can see information on the viewed exhibits long after the tour ends. Teachers on guided student tours, for example, can use this feature to revisit the day’s learning and deepen classroom discussions.
“Our app gives visitors the ability to take a museum or historic site home with them,” says Chris Cummings, partner.
Push notifications that appear only when the app is in use are an extra value-add. Destinations can use these to ramp up their promotion through in-app messages. Event coordinators can schedule notifications in advance for multi-day festivals or ongoing programs.
An added benefit is improved on-site safety and communication. Organizers can instantly broadcast safety alerts or lost-child announcements to all users.
Engaging Visitors with Measurable ROI
Elevated visitor experiences translate into profits with EVE. A dedicated in-app section shows visitors discounts and promotions from participating vendors. Event sponsors can be featured through branded pages or listings that appear every time a user opens the app.
For venues, this opens up extensive monetization opportunities that can offset or exceed the app’s cost. They can also distribute premium content to visitors through access codes or in-app purchases. This flexibility allows each destination to decide what works best for their budget and visitor experience.
The best part is the cost savings. EVE gives them a full-featured, customizable experience at a fraction of the price of investing in custom applications for each venue. Visitors, too, find it convenient to use the EVE app in multiple destinations without needing to download a new one each time.
A built-in directory adds another layer of discovery. Travelers can open the app anywhere and instantly see participating locations within a chosen distance, making it easy to explore new attractions and destinations.
“Museums shouldn’t have to choose between financial constraints and delivering a modern, engaging visitor experience. That’s why we keep our app affordable,” says Franklin.
Events That Keep Visitors Coming Back
Beyond welcoming and engaging travelers, the app makes it seamless for destinations to attract repeat visitors. The EVE app enables them to run quests, scavenger hunts and prize-driven challenges that keep audiences coming back for more fun-filled, rewarding experiences. In turn, destinations experience boosted visitor engagement and increased foot traffic.
Downtown associations can use the app to boost foot traffic and engagement through its versatile quest system. One popular example is its “Quest for Cash” platform, which sends participants to multiple locations to answer questions and enter a prize draw. It supports three quest styles: visiting all stops, or a select number of stops, or solving clues that reveal a final mystery destination.
EVE also offers immersive digital highway tours on its app. Three of its fully developed tours span Oregon and stretch into Idaho and Utah, each giving travelers a guided, story-rich way to explore the open road. A new Highway 101 Northern California self-guided tour has recently joined the list.
Pushing the Boundaries of Visitor Experiences
While EVE is based in the Pacific Northwest U.S., its app can seamlessly onboard clients anywhere in the world. Whether it’s museums in the U.S., historic districts in Canada, or prominent tourist attractions abroad, it is designed to support destinations of all kinds.
The next chapter for EVE is to refine the app and expand its reach. The goal is to bring more destinations and visitors on board to strengthen the bridge between technology and storytelling.
Enhanced Visitor Experience opens doors for tour organizers and event coordinators to deliver elevated experiences that bring visitors closer to the stories waiting to be discovered at each destination.
