Posted on June 8, 2026 in Gift Ideas, Top Destinations, Travel News
There’s something happening right now that feels almost countercultural: people are actively choosing to put their phones away. They’re tired of staring at screens for every little thing, and they’re rediscovering the quiet satisfaction of using their hands, their eyes, and their own sense of direction to navigate the world.
Maps are the perfect symbol of this shift — no signal required, no battery anxiety, no algorithm deciding where you should go. Just look at the love for the series, Race Across the World, for proof.
There’s also a special kind of modern frustration reserved for the moment you’re visiting a new place. As you desperately try to locate yourself, you download a travel app, expecting the information you need fast. You wait for the download and tap through the permissions – location, notifications, contacts (why do you need my contacts?). You hand over your email to a company you’ll forget, only to find the app doesn’t have what you need. Three screenshots later, you’re on another unnecessary mailing list, and you’re ready to delete the app. Somewhere, a marketer has added you to a segment called “engaged traveller”. But you are not engaged. You are exhausted.
Add all that up, and that’s exactly why PopOut maps make such an enduring travel companion. If you’re in the travel business, it’s also why PopOut maps make the perfect promotional giveaway. While most branded merchandise gets a once over, then forgotten, people pick up this beautifully designed map and actually use it. It earns a spot on the desk, in the travel bag, or on the bookshelf – which means your brand earns that same real estate long after the initial handover.
Whether your business is a destination or attraction, a hospitality brand or hotel, a business with a story to tell, or an event that wants to leave a lasting impression, a bespoke map does something a tote bag or a pen simply can’t. It makes people stop, engage, and think. And in a world of endless and often irritating digital noise, that’s a genuinely rare thing.
Find out more about creating a custom PopOut map for your brand below. See the full range of destinations on offer here.