Florida Craft Spirits Association Reboots FL Distillery Trail App w/ Brand New Passport Features from Local Explorers

BOCA RATON, FLA — Local Explorers, an award-winning creator of mobile apps for Destination Marketing Organization (DMOs), tourism boards, and other promoters of regional tourism and commerce, has teamed again with the Florida Craft Spirits Association (FCSA) to relaunch the popular Florida Distillery Trail app with new features to incentivize repeat visits to favorite venues.

The app, first built for the Florida Craft Spirits Association by Local Explorers in 2023, allows users to learn about and plan visits to 44 of the state’s best distilleries. App users can explore the distilleries’ offerings, events and hours of operation and get real-time navigation to distilleries they want to visit. In addition, the app incentivizes exploration with a virtual passport program that awards points toward prizes such as digital badges when users check in with the app at participating distilleries.

The refreshed app enhances the already engaging passport program with a new point system that rewards repeat visits to participating venues as well as first-time visits. ” Destination marketing is about boosting local businesses by encouraging stakeholder engagement,” explained Susan Erickson, co-founder and vice president of Local explorers. “And while we want visitors to explore as many new venues as they can, a sure sign that a business is doing something right is when customers want to go back again and again. So, the app rewards those businesses—and helps build lasting connections between visitors and the community—by encouraging repeat visits.”

Smart destination marketers also know that engaging locals can be just as important as engaging out-of-state tourists, and with the new passport features, the Florida Distillery Trail app can better serve them too. “Florida is a big state, and many Floridians have favorite weekend getaways an hour or two from home, Erickson said. “The new Florida Distillery Trail app not only incentivizes them to try new places but rewards them for revisiting old favorites. And the app not only gives distilleries exposure, but useful visitor behavior insights that can drive their marketing efforts. Either way, it’s a win for both app users and local commerce.”

The team at FCSA is grateful to have Local Explorers’ expertise and creativity at their disposal. “Working with Local Explorers to re-launch the Florida Distillery Trail app was great!” said Mat Allen, treasurer of the Florida Craft Spirits Association. “They had a ton of new ideas and we’re so excited to add all the new ways for users to earn points and prizes.”

“Working with Local Explorers to re-launch the FL Distillery Trail app was great! They had a ton of new ideas and we’re so excited to add all new ways for users to earn points and prizes.” -Mark Allen, Treasurer of the Florida Craft Spirits Association

Local Explorers are designed to help communities better connect with visitors and local consumers by making it easy for them to discover and patronize local businesses and attractions. Each app is custom branded for the community it serves, and the Local explorers team offers ongoing, proactive support from development to training to regular maintenance and updates.

Contact Steve Wilson at 561-206-6290 to discuss how the Local Explorers platform can help your organization drive foot traffic, engage residents and support local businesses.