How Easy Is It for New Visitors to Find Your Attraction Online?

Why it matters

Many visitors do not discover an attraction by walking past it. They plan on their phones, before the trip and during it. Google Maps has more than 2 billion users, according to Google’s CEO in the Alphabet Q3 2024 earnings message (2024). If your attraction is missing there, or the details are wrong, many possible visitors never even see your name.

Search is also changing. Google reported in its Alphabet Q2 2025 earnings message (2025) that AI Overviews has more than 2 billion monthly users in over 200 countries and territories. At the same time, Arival and Phocuswright’s Travel Experiences 2026 report found that only 33% of tours, activities and attractions were booked online in 2025, compared with 64% of the travel market overall. This gap is an opportunity. Attractions that are easy to find and easy to book online can stand out from the many that are not.

How to check where you stand

• If you search your attraction’s name plus your town, does it appear at the top with correct hours and a ticket link?
• Is your Google Business Profile claimed, verified and filled in, including category, hours, photos and accessibility details?
• If you search for a general phrase like “family activities in [your town]”, does your attraction show up?
• Does your website explain in the first lines what visitors can see or do, how long a visit takes and how to get tickets?
• If you ask an AI assistant to suggest things to do in your area, is your attraction mentioned and described correctly?

How to improve step by step

1. Claim and complete your Google Business Profile. Choose the most accurate category, such as museum, tour operator, zoo or amusement park. Add opening hours, seasonal changes, a direct link to buy tickets, and the main facilities like parking, toilets, cafe and step-free access.
2. Show the experience in photos and short videos. Add images of what visitors actually see and do, not only the building from outside. Include families, groups and the main highlights, so people can picture their own visit.
3. Write a plain “what to expect” section on your website. Say how long a typical visit takes, who it suits best (families, couples, school groups, history lovers), and what makes it different. Put this near the top of the home page.
4. Make ticket buying simple. Show prices clearly and offer a working online ticket or booking link. If tickets are only sold at the door, say so clearly, so visitors are not left guessing.
5. Keep details the same everywhere. Use the same name, address, phone number and hours on your website, Google, Bing Places for Business, Tripadvisor and tourism board pages. Mixed details confuse people and search systems.
6. Get listed with local partners. Ask your local tourism office, nearby hotels and travel guides to list your attraction with a link to your website.
7. Search like a tourist once a month. Try phrases a visitor might use, such as “what to do in [your town] with kids” or “indoor attractions near [landmark]”. Note where you appear and fix what is missing.

How AI assistants see this

ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Gemini, Perplexity and similar tools answer questions like “what should I do in this city for one afternoon?” They can draw on websites, maps listings, review sites and tourism pages to build that answer. If your attraction clearly states what it is, who it is for, how long a visit takes and how to book, these tools have a better chance of recommending it correctly. If key details are missing or do not match across sites, the tools may leave you out or describe you in a way that does not fit. Clear, plain text is one of the most useful things you can give them.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Listing only the address and phone number on Google, with no ticket link, no prices and old photos.
• Writing a website home page full of slogans but no simple answer to “what will I see and how long will it take?”
• Forgetting to update seasonal hours, special closures and holiday schedules across all platforms.

Key takeaways

• New visitors find attractions through Google, Google Maps and AI assistants, so you need to be clear and complete in all three.
• A full Google Business Profile with photos, hours and a ticket link is the most important first step.
• Plain answers about what to expect, how long it takes and who it suits help both visitors and AI tools.
• A monthly search, done like a real tourist, shows you exactly where to improve.

Frequently asked questions

Do small attractions really need a Google Business Profile?

Yes. A profile is free, and a complete one helps you appear when visitors search for things to do near you.

Should my attraction sell tickets online?

If you can, yes. Online tickets make it easier for visitors to commit to a plan, and they give you useful information about who is coming. If you cannot sell online yet, at least show prices and opening times clearly.

Why does my attraction not appear when people search for things to do in my town?

Common reasons include an unclaimed or incomplete profile, the wrong category, few recent reviews, or details that do not match between sites. Start by completing your Google Business Profile and checking that your name, address and hours are the same everywhere.

Sources

1. Google, Alphabet Q3 2024 earnings remarks by CEO Sundar Pichai: https://blog.google/inside-google/message-ceo/alphabet-earnings-q3-2024/
2. Google, Alphabet Q2 2025 earnings remarks by CEO Sundar Pichai: https://blog.google/inside-google/message-ceo/alphabet-earnings-q2-2025/
3. Arival and Phocuswright, Travel Experiences 2026: https://arival.travel/article/4-findings-for-experiences-market-2026/