The Print Tourist Maps That Apps Can’t Kill
Photo Credit: A tourist reads a map in Cascais, Portugal. Flickr / Pedro Ribeiro Simões
Skift Take
Mobile maps are great for navigating from point A to B, but don't give travelers a sense of place quite like a large printed map. High demand at visitor centers suggests tourists are looking for information and context before exploring on their own.
Despite the widespread use of mobile devices and travelers' growing reliance on their maps and apps, print maps remain a critical part of the tourism experience.
Destinations large and small across the United States continue to print thousands, sometimes millions, of maps every year to be handed out at visitor centers, park kiosks, and stands at public transportation hubs.
It comes down to an innate decision to know where one is at a certain moment, the search for the "I am here" dot on any map, and the context around that.
Some destinations sell advertising space around the actual map eit
