Pigeon Forge vacation bundling brings local retailers together to attract growing tourism from Arizona, capitalizing on the natural beauty of the Great Smoky Mountains and Tennessee’s legendary hospitality. The key is to promote experience bundles through the right marketing channels, such as travel websites, reviews, digital coupons, “top things to do” blogs, easy search tools, and partnerships.

This article highlights the different ways destination retailers can reach Arizona tourists while also applying strategies like dwell time optimization, revenue sharing, QR code redemptions, and voucher tracking to boost tourist spend and grow local economies.

Vacation Experience Bundles in Action

Imagine a family of tourists from Phoenix flying into McGhee Tyson Airport (TYS) in Knoxville during a shoulder season, armed with affordable Pigeon Forge vacation packages to enjoy off-season deals, mild weather, and fewer crowds. Their packages include: 

  • Quaint cabin stays
  • Dollywood tickets
  • Dixie Stampede dinner show tickets
  • Guided ATV tours of the Smoky Mountains
  • Arcade City discounts
  • The Comedy Barn Theater

Using the “Things to do” tab on the vacation package site, the family made a list of souvenir shops and eateries to visit on their trip, including the Antiques Mall, Mountain Cove Trading Post, Timberwood Grill, Huck Finn’s Catfish, and, of course, The Island in Pigeon Forge.       

By planning their Pigeon Forge vacation from one hub, the family from Phoenix discovered even more local retailers before setting foot in their destination. Meanwhile, taking advantage of more package deals actually increased their average tourist spend, since they invested in a wider variety of experiences.   

Boost Dwell Time

Dwell time is a critical metric for brick-and-mortar retailers in tourist destinations. It refers to how long a visitor stays in one location. The longer a tourist stays, the more likely they are to buy and increase their average order spend.

For example, the collective of retailers located on The Island in Pigeon Forge, like The Sneaky Squirrel, The Island Trading Post, and Beef Jerky Experience, benefits from the dwell time of neighboring shops and the entire shopping attraction. 

Joining bundled marketing promotions and offering discounts through travel sites can attract tourists from Arizona, but getting them to stay inside a shop even longer requires clever and creative in-store design. For instance, local retailers can create decompression zones; instead of bombarding tourists with sales displays, these zones allow them to relax into the shopping space, enabling more peaceful transitions from one store to the next.   

Retailers can also create interactive experiences with touchscreens, demo stations, and product testers, transforming passive browsers into more active brand participants. Reducing checkout wait times with self-checkout kiosks also decreases basket abandonment rates while increasing impulse buys near kiosks.    

Proactive Partnerships

Bundled vacation packages and travel guides bring local shops and attractions together to help future visitors envision their trip to Pigeon Forge. Local retailers can capitalize further on these marketing opportunities by forming partnerships with other merchants. 

For example, when bagging souvenir cups, shop clerks can include free drink coupons (with scannable QR codes) for a local soda fountain in tourists’ shopping bags. Museums and theme parks can include diner discounts with visitors’ admission tickets and maps. Hotels are perfect for proactive partnerships, as they can promote a host of local retailers, like breakfast spots, parking garages, outdoor attractions, and souvenir shops.      

Retailers can take these partnerships a step further by joining revenue-sharing programs. By utilizing a centralized point-of-sale (POS) system or a shared digital ledger, merchants can divide revenue fairly. 

For example, suppose a visiting tourist from Arizona buys a $150 bundle that includes a $50 bed and breakfast credit, a $50 dining voucher, and a $50 souvenir shop credit. The funds from this bundle would be distributed to each respective business based on actual redemptions. 

Voucher Redemptions and Tracking

Digital redemption codes are also trackable. Bundle marketing strategists and partner merchants can track the codes for their own analytics and revenue operations. Importantly, stakeholders can track the “halo effect” in marketing, where a tourist with a redeemed voucher turns a $15 credit into a $50 purchase.   

Boost Local Tourism

Tourist destinations like Pigeon Forge have plenty to offer visiting Arizonans. Local merchants are encouraged to partner with travel websites that can bundle experiences for greater visibility, dwell time, and revenue.

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