When MixMap started, people in Dundee were so unsure about the word “tourist” that “visitor” was printed instead.
And more than a decade on, the company has witnessed the city’s transformation into a top destination first hand.
Founding partner Bobby Anderson has watched his firm rise from a student information pamphlet to a well-loved city feature, promoting independent businesses to visitors, and locals.
MixMap was launched in 2013, to improve the point of contact between tourists, accommodation providers and attractions in Dundee and Broughty Ferry.
Companies including Ron Lawson Gallery, Black Mamba restaurant, Block 10 gym and Gallery 48 are all featured on the current map, plus many more.
Thousands of maps are printed and delivered, with Bobby and the MixMap team delivering the majority of them by hand.
MixMap for tourists and students
MixMap offer two editions a year — one geared toward tourists, and another designed to help students arriving in Dundee during fresher’s week.
“We find people visiting Dundee and also people who have lived here their entire lives, are discovering new places on the map,” he said.
“The map helps drive footfall in our independent shops, bars and restaurants and encourages people to explore the city a little bit more.
“We try and keep our prices as reasonable as we can.
“There are a lot of businesses on the map who are small, or in their first year of trading. So we do everything we can to keep costs down for them.
“There has been a shift lately, businesses are being a bit more cautious with spend. That is why, for me, our clients get the best value we can deliver.
“Ultimately, it is our job to promote the city as best we can.
“We work with local artists and graphic designers too. This means we can offer services that don’t come ‘straight off the shelf’.
“This helps their spend go further, they get a more unique product.”
Hotels provide feedback
Once the map is published, Bobby feels he no longer has ownership of it, he explains.
Instead, front-of-house staff in hotels and other tourist information points become the point of contact for users.
He said: “A lot of our feedback comes from front-of-house at the city’s hotels.
“For example, if one of the reception staff at the Apex are getting asked a lot about a particular site or store, then we will make sure it is featured in the next issue.
“It is not so much our product, as much as it is the front-of-house staff, or workers at the train station who are using it to guide visitors.”
“The city has changed massively in the last decade. There is a confidence in Dundee now which maybe has not been talked about too much in the past, which is quite subtle in a lot of ways.
“When we initially did the map in 2013, the reaction we got when we used the word ‘tourist’ was bizarre. We had to use the word ‘visitor’ on the first ones we put out, the word ‘tourist’ got such a backlash.
“It just shows the difference a few years can make. Now the city is heavily focused on tourism.
“And lots of tourists this year visiting the city are doing so as part of a road trip. Traditionally it would have been the North 500, or a tour of the West Coast, but now people are venturing into Dundee.”
Conversation