Discover Springfield culinary gems with new mobile Horseshoe trail

Thursday, January 11, 2024

Explore the Springfield Horseshoe Sandwich Trail, a new initiative by Visit Springfield, the official tourism and destination marketing organization for the City of Springfield, IL. Launching on January 11, 2024, this program aims to spotlight Springfield’s vibrant food scene and the longstanding tradition of the “shoe” in town.

The trail is a free and inclusive program open to both visitors and locals. At launch, it features 24 local businesses, with more expected to join. The passport, designed for easy navigation on mobile devices, highlights the best of Springfield.

“As the destination marketing organization for Springfield, we’re always seeking fun and unique ways to engage and delight our visitors. The Springfield Horseshoe Trail embraces the concept of a ‘phygital’ experience, using technology to seamlessly connect the digital and physical worlds, providing a unique interactive experience for users as they explore the city in search of these distinctive Horseshoes!” says Amy Beadle, Marketing Manager.

The passport’s development began in early 2023, leading Visit Springfield to collaborate with Bandwango, a renowned technology company in the travel space. Bandwango’s technology supports free and paid experiences, enhancing the offerings of destinations for both visitors and locals.

Utilizing this technology, Visit Springfield worked with local businesses to integrate their offerings into the Springfield Horseshoe Sandwich Trail program.

Brent Schwoerer, Owner/Founder/Brewmaster of Engrained Brewing Company, emphasizes the positive impact of local business collaborations: “Springfield is a great community with much to offer. When we collaborate to showcase something like the Springfield classic horseshoe, everyone wins!”

Upon launch, participants can sign up for the pass on a dedicated mobile trail landing page. After providing their name, email address, and mobile phone number, users receive a link that opens the trail site. They can add the button icon to their home screen for easy access, without the need for downloads or space-consuming apps.

Redeeming the pass is a simple process – users check in via GPS and earn points for their visits. These points can be collected or redeemed for unique logo trail prizes.

Restaurants interested in joining the pass can contact Visit Springfield for details on participation. This pass is expected to be the first in a series of experience passes to be introduced in the next two years.

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