The Answer to Boosting Tourism is Black and White (and Square)

In 2022, tourism from overseas brought the UK economy over £25 billion. Down on pre-Covid figures this may be, but things are getting back on track. In fact, it is predicted that just over 35 million people will visit the UK from abroad in 2023 spending an estimated £29.5 billion.

So there we have, in a nutshell, the importance of foreign tourism to the UK. Not only does it fuel the economy, it’s also responsible for the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of business owners.

So then, if our UK visitor attractions were to further enhance their appeal to foreign tourists, would that not be good news for all of us?

Looking at the stats, whilst Visit Britain data shows that the USA remains the most valuable inbound tourist market, the number of travellers landing on our shores from Europe is a great deal higher than those coming in from North America. And that means only one thing. They more than likely don’t have English as their mother tongue.

Now, if you can’t speak or read English, and you’re standing in the shadow of a British monument, poised over an interesting historical artefact or sat on the edge of a UK World Heritage site, and want to discover its history and significance, what are your options?

Maybe you could hire an audio guide, pick up a translated leaflet, or even join one of those whirlwind guided tours. But people these days want things a lot more contactless and at-their-fingertips than all of that.

And that’s why the multilingual QR code has to be the next biggest thing in tourism.

The Benefits of QR Codes for Tourism

Everyone knows that scanning a QR code opens up access to a wealth of information. So why aren’t more visitor attractions employing this technology?

The beauty of the QR code is that it has the power to open up the passage of information to anyone of any nationality. In fact, every single language in the world is supported by QR codes. And even better, the technology selects the appropriate language based on the user’s device.

Picture the scene. A non-English speaking German tourist arrives at the Tower of London. He’s keen to learn more about the monument. How old is it? Who built it? Why is it called the Tower of London? Is it haunted? He takes out his phone, scans the QR code on the information post, and hey presto, everything he ever wanted to know about what was once called the ‘White Tower’ (that’s a free fact) appears instantly on his screen, and in his mother tongue German to boot.

Then a French tourist scans the same QR code. And guess what? You’ve got it. Same information, but in her native French.

Keen to boost visitor numbers, improve accessibility and appeal to a wider audience? Your multilingual QR code generator awaits.

Here at Bangl, we believe public monuments and visitor attractions have been exclusively visual for non-English readers for way too long. And that’s why we’ve designed our Ban.gl QR codes for tourism to change that, for good.

Opening up visitor attractions large and small across the UK to a wider audience and drawing greater footfall into the area can only be a positive. And with a Ban.gl tourist QR code, you can do just that. Because you can literally configure them to communicate in any language in the world, delivering the fascinating facts and figures people want, in an instant, courtesy of a simple scan with a smartphone.

All multilingual QR codes from Ban.gl are customisable and offer the benefit of simple, no-nonsense pricing. They could even help with the recovery of the tourism industry post-pandemic.

Need to know more? Contact us. We’re here to help you make your visitor attraction more of a draw for the lucrative overseas tourist market.