Now that most cell phones can access the internet, you might think that you can quit worrying about public wifi for tourism. But more than ever, wifi is important to local tourism strategies, especially in small towns.
You understand that your visitors want to access the web while traveling. They are researching attractions, looking up events, loading maps, reviewing restaurants, and sharing all about how great you are. And you want that, right?
Reasons wifi still matters
- Your can’t control your town’s cell service. Not every town has great coverage for every type of cell service. Even if your visitors can make calls, they may not be able to load data. I have this exact problem in much of Kansas and Nebraska with my phone.
- International visitors hate roaming charges. Many avoid using any data services while traveling. That doesn’t mean they want to be offline.
- More devices love wifi. I’m writing this on a wifi enabled iPad, and I see them everywhere. Add in the smart phones, laptops, and netbooks, and all the other devices I don’t even know about. That’s lots of reasons to offer wifi.
Ways to give visitors more wifi
- Find out where wifi is available now. Ask. Ask everyone: schools, libraries, businesses, and even housing.
- Let people know about the wifi you found. Make big, consistent, simple and easy to read signs. Get those signs posted everywhere that public wifi is available.
- Pursue more wifi. Encourage your local government or telecom provider to get involved.
- Make wifi safer. In this era of simple hacking, wifi needs to be secured. Cooperate with your local chamber or tech school to host a workshop on how to make public wifi more secure. As of right now, setting a password, even if it’s publicly available, adds some protection.
New to SmallBizSurvival.com? Take the Guided Tour. Like what you see? Get our updates.
- The best things you can do for local businesses in light of coronavirus - March 27, 2020
- How to get more parking downtown without adding any spaces - March 7, 2020
- Exact Yeti Blue mic volume and Windows settings to reduce background noise - February 17, 2020
- Getting local businesses to cooperate with you: Shop Hopping Around Brownsville - December 16, 2019
- Survey of Rural Challenges 2019 results - December 5, 2019
- Shop Indie Local adds a new twist to tired Buy Local campaigns - November 11, 2019
- Better entrepreneur training for small towns - November 4, 2019
- Culture is the intersection of people and place - August 19, 2019
- For easier social media marketing, fill in the blank - August 5, 2019
- Need a downtown business idea? Try a Cookie Crawl - July 22, 2019
[…] look for businesses everywhere, including in small towns. The strength of cell signals and WiFi availability are important for tourism, and for small business capturing mobile customers. Rural businesses need to get mobile-friendly […]