1. A computer-implemented method for generating an electronic map display, the method comprising: receiving route information associated with a route having an origination point and a destination point; determining a location of a reference point along the route; assigning a spatial identifier to the reference point; determining a significance level of the spatial identifier; defining a search area associated with the spatial identifier based on the significance level; searching for points of interest (POIs) in the search area; comparing a density of the POIs in the search area with a predetermined density threshold; readjusting a size of the search area when the density of the POIs is lower than the predetermined threshold and conducting another search for the POIs in the search area; ranking, using a processor, the POIs based on distances of POIs from the location of the reference point; and providing POI information for an electronic map display, wherein the POI information is associated with one or more POIs and selected based on the ranking of the POIs.