Tourism Illustration Services

Detailed illustrated map by Anna Simmons of Tenerife in sunny yellows and turquoise, featuring hand-drawn landmarks, beaches, towns, and natural parks and hand-lettered title “Treasures of Tenerife” in a decorative script style.

A detailed illustrated map of Tenerife designed to engage and inspire travelers through custom visuals tailored for travel brands.

Custom Maps and Visuals for Travel Brands

I create custom illustrations for tourism boards, destination marketers, and visitor guides - helping people picture the places they want to go. From illustrated maps of cities, states, and shopping districts to branded destination campaigns, my work brings locations to life across print, digital, and interactive platforms.

My maps help destinations stand out.

Here are a few from tourism campaigns, city guides, and national travel features

Photograph of a double-page Metro newspaper spread on a coral background, featuring a colourful illustrated map of Tenerife by Anna Simmons, titled Treasures of Tenerife, with icons and travel tips.

Double-page illustrated map feature for Metro newspaper and British Airways, promoting year-round travel to Tenerife.

Treasures of Tenerife for British Airways and Metro UK

This illustrated map of Tenerife was commissioned for a double-page travel feature in Metro (UK), created in partnership with British Airways and Tenerife Tourism. The goal was to inspire year-round travel by combining destination highlights with reader-generated tips.

The map ran nationally in print as part of a broader campaign positioning Tenerife as a culturally rich destination. The full spread includes a hand-lettered title, annotations across the island, and a zoomed-in city map of Santa Cruz - a map within a map.

The artwork spans the whole island, from Mount Teide and UNESCO forest parks to beaches, markets, and towns, with each point of interest illustrated and labelled in a custom A–Z key.

Blending editorial storytelling with promotional aims, the hand-drawn collage style gave the spread a crafted, immersive feel while fitting lots of information into a tight layout. The hand-lettered title pulled everything together with a characterful, friendly tone.

Close-up of Mount Teide from the illustrated Treasures of Tenerife map by Anna Simmons, shown as a rocky peak with surrounding landscape.
Small illustration of a man looking through a telescope, extracted from the Treasures of Tenerife map by Anna Simmons.

One of the reader quotes featured in the A–Z key: “Rent a car and drive up Mount Teide for the most beautiful sunset and stargazing you will ever see!”

I’ve illustrated editorial maps for other tourism campaigns too, like this promotional travel map for a print feature encouraging visits to Holmes County, Ohio. The numerical layout worked as a visual aid: helping readers navigate the key and break down the content at a glance.

To see the project in full visit my portfolio here.

Visitor Map for South Dakota Tourism

This illustrated map of South Dakota was commissioned as a double-page spread for the official state tourism guide; a clean, focused visual to help visitors navigate key destinations across the region.

The brief called for a pared-back style with minimal lettering, and an emphasis on my icon illustrations. The layout needed to balance accurate wayfinding (including Interstate 90, Highway 29, and tourist information centre locations) with a style that still felt friendly and engaging.

The result was a clear and approachable map that gave the guide strong practical value, supporting self-guided road trips and encouraging exploration across the state.
It was used in both print and digital formats, helping reinforce South Dakota’s position as a road trip-friendly destination.

Flat blue colour South Dakota visitor map in layout with colourful icons and highways, illustrated by Anna Simmons

A user-friendly South Dakota visitor map combining accessible travel information with colorful icons and clear wayfinding to prevent text overload.

Bring destinations to life

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Make places feel discoverable

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Add charm to practical information

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Bring destinations to life - Make places feel discoverable - Add charm to practical information -

Themed Trail Maps for Georgia Tourism

I illustrated custom tourism maps for the Georgia state travel guide, each highlighting a different themed route: the Chieftains Trail (historic sites) and a wildlife trail through the state’s wetlands and forests.

The client specifically asked for a textured, printed look; something organic and inviting that reflected the landscapes and gave the maps a tactile feel. I used hand-drawn icons, layered collage elements, and tailored palettes to give each trail its own identity within the visual theme.

These themed routes were designed to spread tourism beyond the usual hotspots—encouraging longer stays and helping less-visited areas attract attention.
The maps were featured in Georgia’s official travel guide, distributed regionally and used in targeted visitor campaigns across the southeast.

Tourism map illustration for the Georgia State Travel Guide, showing the Chieftains Trail route through key historic sites. Illustrated by Anna Simmons in warm oranges, reds, turquoise and green

This hand-drawn route connects key Native American heritage and frontier-era sites. The layout paired the vertical illustration with travel copy and custom icons.

This illustrated route highlights conservation centres and wild habitats, brought to life with native species and lively colour.

Custom illustrated maps for tourism campaigns

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Visual guides for cities and regions

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Illustration for destination branding

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Custom illustrated maps for tourism campaigns - Visual guides for cities and regions - Illustration for destination branding -

Holiday Shopping Map for Choose Chicago

I created this illustrated map of Chicago’s Magnificent Mile for Choose Chicago’s winter visitor guide, designed to highlight the area’s luxury retail and landmark buildings during the festive season.

They came to me for my collage-style illustration, something with energy and texture that would feel elegant but still welcoming.

The map includes stores like Cartier, Tiffany & Co., Saks Fifth Avenue, and Versace, alongside the famous Wrigley Building, 360 Chicago, and trees strung with fairy lights. I used a cool, frosty palette to give it a wintry feel without being twee.

The illustration helped position the Magnificent Mile as a holiday shopping destination, supporting seasonal tourism campaigns and giving visitors a visual reason to explore.


It was published in print guides across the city, hotels, kiosks, and tourism centres - offering strong local visibility and brand alignment.

Suggested image alt text: Holiday shopping map of Chicago’s Magnificent Mile illustrated and hand lettered by Anna Simmons, featuring high-end retailers and iconic landmarks.

Tourism shopping guide of Michigan Avenue, Chicago - a seasonal retail map illustration designed to support city tourism and highlight local landmarks

Supporting place, identity and wayfinding

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Supporting place identity and wayfinding

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Used in print, digital, and editorial formats

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Supporting place, identity and wayfinding - Supporting place identity and wayfinding - Used in print, digital, and editorial formats -

San Francisco Neighbourhoods Map

I created a hand-drawn map illustration for Visit San Francisco’s printed visitor guide, breaking the city into clearly defined neighbourhood zones using flat colour, organic edges, and bold icon illustrations. I used hand lettering for each neighbourhood name to make it clear and easy to navigate, so visitors could get a sense of the city without feeling overloaded.

Illustrated map of San Francisco with bold shapes and primary coloursby Anna Simmons, shown in print layout for a neighborhood guide; each illustrated district links to matching editorial content in the spread.

Illustrated map of San Francisco for a printed neighbourhood guide—designed to integrate seamlessly with editorial content and connect directly to featured districts.

They liked it enough to use it in repeat editions of the Visitor Guide, reuse it in their Travel Trade Meetings Guide, and later turn it into an interactive map for their website, where it’s still live. The map has a handmade look, but it’s fully digital, making it easy to adapt across formats without losing its feel. It’s always satisfying when a piece of work keeps finding new uses - and adapting composition and geography to different layouts is the sort of problem-solving I enjoy.

To help bring the interactive version to life, I worked with the web team to deliver organised, isolated layers; breaking the full map into components they could structure to respond to rollovers and clicks, opening up more information about each neighbourhood.

Put your destination on the map!


Get in touch to commission an illustration that does more for your campaign.
For different styles and formats, explore my illustrated map services.

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