Promote Tourism | Tourism | National Restaurant Association

Promote Tourism: How to Bring Tourists to Your Restaurant

Start by downloading our "A Seat at the Table" publication (PDF), which is loaded with promotional ideas, contact information, sample letters and more.

Become a tourist attraction

Give tourists a taste of regional specialties. Highlight local dishes, such as Maryland crab cakes, Southwestern chili or Denver grilled buffalo.
Tourists also like dining in familiar places. If you're part of a nationwide chain that tourists might have visited at home, make sure travelers know about your unit so that they can stop by for a taste of home. Let customers know about your locations around the country and overseas.
Offer entertainment for tourists who want a night out on the town. Whether it be a pianist, a five-piece band or karaoke, entertainment can make your restaurant more appealing to tourists. Consider highlighting local music, such as New Orleans jazz or Nashville country ballads.
Train your staff to answer questions about area attractions. Offer free, easy-to-read maps of the area. Tourists will often ask what there is to do around town and having your staff ready with an answer can build goodwill and repeat business. (Your state tourism board's Web site is packed with information.)

Team up with travel-and-tourism-industry organizations

Become a member of your state restaurant/hospitality association, and join both the local convention and visitors bureau and the chamber of commerce. These organizations serve as important links between restaurants and tourists. They generally provide a schedule of upcoming conventions as well as contact names and information. Contact conference planners several months in advance to offer the use of your restaurant for banquets and other events.
Network with the staff at local visitor's centers and state welcome centers. These people can pass on the good word about your restaurant.
Get to know the staff at tourist attractions; they're good sources of referrals. Consider putting a coupon on the back of the tickets for a local tourist attraction or simply giving a discount to each customer who shows his or her ticket stub.

Hook up with hotels

Get to know the concierges and front-desk staff at local hotels. These contacts can help direct tourists to your restaurants. Be sure to invite concierges to dine at your operation as your guest so that they'll be able to give firsthand recommendations. (Check out the American Hotel & Lodging Association and the National Concierge Association)
Give concierges priority when making reservations. If you can help them on busy nights, they'll usually reward you by recommending your restaurant on slower nights.
Make sure your staff can give clear directions to your restaurant from area hotels. Consider offering a free shuttle service to your restaurant from local hotels.

Spread the word

Advertise in visitor's guides and other tourism publications that are distributed to area hotels, visitor's centers and tourist attractions. Mention in your ad that you'll give a free appetizer to each party that shows an out-of-state driver's license.
List your restaurant on Internet dining and tourism guides. Be sure to have your operation cross-referenced in different dining categories so that it pops up during a variety of keyword searches.
Have a mini menu printed with directions to your restaurant and a 10 percent off coupon. Distribute the mini menus to hotels and visitor's centers.
Send an op-ed to your local newspaper to help spread the word about local tourism.
Above all, provide top-notch food and service. Your restaurant's record of excellence will spread via world of mouth. The locals will recommend your operation to tourists, and the tourists will tell other travelers about your great food and service.