Historic Scotland (now Historic Environment Scotland) needed a way to replace traditional printed guides and modernise how visitors planned and experienced their trips to historic sites across the country. With over 70 locations and countless stories to tell, they partnered with Ping Creates to develop a user-friendly tourism app – a digital companion to inspire exploration, provide practical planning tools and connect visitors to Scotland’s rich cultural heritage.
The Challenge
Visitor expectations had shifted – tourists wanted up-to-date information at their fingertips, tailored recommendations and intuitive digital experiences. The challenge was to design an app that could:
- Replace static guidebooks with dynamic, mobile-friendly content
- Help visitors discover sites nearby or plan longer itineraries
- Offer digital membership cards, events listings and real-time updates
- Deliver all this in an elegant, user-friendly interface
The goal wasn’t just functionality – it was about inspiring people to explore more of Scotland’s heritage.
Our Approach
At Ping Creates, we focus on creating user-friendly digital journeys. Working closely with Historic Scotland, we mapped the user experience around three strategic pillars: Inspire, Plan and Activate.
- Inspire: A dedicated “Inspire Me” screen highlighted featured content, seasonal events and itineraries designed to spark curiosity.
- Plan: Searchable categories, a “What’s On” calendar and integrated local travel information helped visitors organise their trips.
- Activate: Real-time prompts like nearby attractions, special offers and ticket purchasing options encouraged immediate action.
We designed a sleek, image-led interface that loaded quickly, conformed to Apple and Google Play guidelines and supported both iOS and Android users.
The Solution
The Historic Scotland app became a comprehensive digital travel companion:
- Geo-location features like “Near Me Now” displayed nearby attractions on interactive maps.
- Site detail pages offered rich content for over 70 historic sites.
- Digital membership cards gave members secure, mobile access to their benefits.
- Social integration pulled through live social content, connecting users to the wider community.
Crucially, we built the system with MODX content management integration, meaning the Historic Scotland team could easily update site information, events and media directly – keeping the app fresh and relevant.
Impact
The results spoke for themselves. Against an initial download target of 12,000 in the first year, the app achieved nearly 20,000 downloads within nine months. Downloads soon surpassed 120,000, with an impressive average rating of 4.4/5. Users praised its ease of use, intuitive navigation and real-world value:
“For anyone living or visiting Scotland, this is a really informative and useful app. All Scotland’s historic sites in one place. Great for families and inspiration for exploring Scotland’s history. This gets my vote.” – user review
The app was shortlisted for a Marketing Society Star Award, a testament to its impact on digital heritage engagement.
For Ping Creates, this project was a milestone in merging design, technology and storytelling to help people discover Scotland’s rich past in new and inspiring ways.
Dreaming of an app that inspires and engages thousands of users?
