Segmenting your email list: locals vs tourists, first-timers vs repeats
Why one big email list is holding you back
You have a list of past customers and website subscribers. You send the same email to everyone: a spring newsletter, a summer promo, maybe a holiday discount. Some people open it. Most don’t.
The ones who do open it see content that’s only half relevant to them. A local who lives 20 minutes from your launch site does not need a packing checklist. A first-time visitor from Dallas doesn’t care about your Tuesday evening paddle special.
Segmenting your email list fixes this. You split subscribers into groups based on who they are and how they’ve interacted with your business, then send each group content that actually applies to them. Mailchimp’s benchmark data puts the difference at about 14% higher open rates and nearly double the click-through rate for segmented campaigns versus unsegmented ones. For a business that runs on seasonal revenue, that gap shows up in bookings.
Below are the four segments that matter most for outdoor recreation businesses, what to send each group, and how to keep the whole thing from becoming a second job.
How to identify locals versus tourists in your list
For most outfitters and guides, this is the most useful segment you can create. Locals and visitors have almost nothing in common when it comes to how they book and what they need to hear from you.
Start with data you already have. Your booking system or CRM probably captures a billing zip code or mailing address. If someone’s zip code falls within a 60- to 90-mile radius of your operation, tag them as local. Everyone else is a visitor. If you don’t collect addresses at booking, add a single dropdown to your email signup form: “Are you local to the area or planning a visit?” Two options, one click, done.
TOMIS, a booking and marketing platform used by hundreds of tour operators, found that locals typically book within days or weeks of an activity, while tourists book months in advance. That difference alone should change what you send and when you send it.
For a rafting outfitter in West Virginia, this might look like tagging anyone with a 25xxx or 26xxx zip code as local and everyone else as a visitor. A fishing guide on the White River in Arkansas might draw the local radius at 75 miles, covering the northwest Arkansas metro area, and treat everyone beyond that as a traveler.
What to send locals versus tourists
Once you have the split, the differences in what each group needs become obvious.
For locals, think short lead times and repeat usage. A kayak rental company in Bend, Oregon, can send locals a midweek email on Tuesday morning: “River levels are perfect this week, water temp is 58 degrees, afternoon slots open Wednesday through Friday.” That message is useless to someone in Phoenix who needs to book flights and a hotel. But for someone who can drive over after work, it fills an otherwise empty afternoon slot.
Locals also respond to community-oriented content. Event recaps, partnerships with local breweries, seasonal updates about trail conditions or water levels. You’re part of their regular life, not a once-a-year vacation.
For tourists, lead with trip planning. What should they pack? Where should they stay? What else is there to do in the area? A zipline tour company in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, might send visiting subscribers a pre-trip sequence: a packing list, a guide to nearby restaurants, a reminder about the cancellation policy. That kind of sequence builds confidence and reduces the pre-trip anxiety that leads to cancellations.
Tourists also need longer lead times on your promotional emails. If you’re running a spring special, locals can hear about it two weeks out. Tourists need six to eight weeks to plan travel around it. Stagger your sends accordingly.
If you’ve already built out trip guides that rank in search results, repurpose that content in your tourist-facing email sequences. The research you did for the blog post is the same information a visiting subscriber wants in their inbox.
How to separate first-timers from repeat customers
The second axis is experience with your business. Someone who has never booked with you needs different handling than someone on their fourth trip.
Your booking system is the data source. One completed booking means first-timer. Two or more means repeat. Most booking platforms let you export this data or sync it to your email tool through a Zapier connection or native integration.
Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign, and Klaviyo all let you set up automated tags based on purchase count. Every time a booking completes, the tag updates. No manual work after the initial setup.
A fly fishing lodge in Montana might define the segments this way: anyone with one completed trip is tagged “first-timer,” anyone with two to four trips is “returning angler,” and anyone with five or more is “regular.” You don’t need all three right away. Starting with just first-timer versus everyone else gets you most of the value.
What to send first-timers versus repeat customers
First-timers need education and reassurance. They picked your business but might not know what to expect. A whitewater rafting company can send first-time bookers a three-email sequence: what to wear and bring, what the day looks like from check-in to takeout, and a quick FAQ on fitness requirements and safety. That sequence cuts phone calls, reduces no-shows, and makes the experience itself better because people show up prepared.
After the trip, send first-timers a thank-you email with a link to leave a Google review. If you want to build a steady flow of reviews, asking right after a positive experience is the most reliable method.
Repeat customers don’t need the orientation emails. They know what to wear. They know where to park. What they want is recognition and access.
Send them early booking windows before you open availability to the public. Give them a returning-customer rate or a small upgrade. A guided hiking company in Moab could email repeat customers in January with next season’s trip calendar, two weeks before it goes on the website.
Repeat customers are also your best source for referrals. An email that says “Know someone who’d enjoy this? Forward this email and they’ll get 10% off their first trip” costs you nothing to send and brings in warm leads.
Collecting the data without overcomplicating your forms
The hard part is usually not the email platform. It’s getting the right data into it.
Keep your initial signup form short. Email address only. Gather segmentation data afterward through a welcome email that asks one or two questions: “Where are you located?” and “Have you visited us before?” Link each answer to an automated tag.
Your booking flow is the richest source. Billing address gives you geography. Booking count gives you first-timer versus repeat status. Activity type gives you interest segments if you run more than one kind of trip. This data already exists in your booking system; getting it into your email tool is a one-time integration.
Post-trip surveys fill in the rest. A short survey, three to five questions sent the day after the trip, can capture preferences and intent to return. Even a 20% response rate adds useful data to your segments over time.
If your website is set up to convert visitors rather than just display information, the forms and booking flows are already doing most of the data collection work. Segmentation is just a matter of routing that data to your email platform.
Setting up your first segments this week
You don’t need a complicated system to start. Here is a practical sequence.
- Export your current email list from your booking system or email platform.
- Add a “local” or “visitor” tag based on zip codes or addresses. If you don’t have addresses, send a one-question survey to your existing list.
- Add a “first-timer” or “repeat” tag based on booking count.
- Create two email sequences: a pre-trip orientation series for first-timers, and an early-access or loyalty email for repeat customers.
- Set up one automated trigger so new subscribers get tagged correctly going forward.
Most of that is a one-afternoon project. You can refine from there with activity-based segments or seasonal triggers, but the local/visitor and first-timer/repeat splits will carry you through at least a full season.
What to measure once your segments are running
After a few sends, compare the performance of your segmented emails against your old unsegmented blasts. Open rates and click-through rates matter, but bookings that came from email matter more.
Klaviyo’s benchmark data shows segmented lists return about three times the revenue per recipient compared to unsegmented sends. You will probably see that pattern on a smaller scale within your first month.
Watch unsubscribe rates too. If one segment is unsubscribing faster than the others, the content is not matching what that group expects. Adjust what you send, not how often.
None of this needs to be complicated. The person who rafted with you last July should hear from you in March with a message that acknowledges they’ve been before. The first-timer browsing your site should get enough information to feel confident booking. Two different people, two different emails. That’s the whole idea.
Segmentation turns one generic list into a set of content that actually drives bookings instead of just getting clicks.
