4 Intriguing Travel Marketing Campaign Examples

January 26, 2020
Zaky Prabowo (he/him)
3 min read

Searching for some inspiration for your next travel marketing campaign? Over the years, we have seen some great examples online. Fortunately for travel marketers, there is no shortage of beautiful scenery, interesting people, and amazing experiences to inspire an audience into making that ever valuable travel booking.

In a bid to provide you with a little food for thought, we have selected 4 intriguing travel marketing examples from across the web. In each case, the company thought out of the box to grab their audience’s attention and drum up some PR for their brand or destination.

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Intriguing Travel Marketing Examples From Across The Internet

1. Inspired by Iceland – Iceland Academy

Inspired by Iceland is the official tourism website for travelers to the Nordic island nation. In 2010, the eruption of Eyjafjallajökull saw a massive drop in flights to the country and major disruption to the tourism industry. The resulting estimated shortfall of income into the economy was significant, and the tourism board knew it had to act fast in order to change traveler perceptions.

The answer was to create Inspired by Iceland. The various stakeholders, along with their marketing agency, worked on putting together an informative website that showcases the beautiful country to interested travelers. Most notable are the marketing campaigns they have come up with over the years.

One of the travel marketing examples in question is the Iceland Academy - a humorous series of videos that educate travelers on various dos and don'ts when visiting the country. This particular campaign followed on from others which had successfully boosted travel to the island state. With the influx of new visitors, came the need to educate them on how to travel responsibly throughout the country.

In the clip below, Stina advises travelers on how to take selfies safely without putting themselves in danger. The entertaining video showcases some of the beautiful scenery that Iceland has to offer while putting a humorous take on getting the best images for social media.

With over 5.7 million views over 16 academy videos, the campaign was a hit. Putting a real message out in a humorous way meant that travelers were open to receiving the message.

2. Sweden Tourist Board – The Swedish Number

Who better to give travelers insights to a country than the people who call it home? In 1766 Sweden was the first country in the world to abolish censorship. To mark the 250th anniversary of this landmark date in free speech, the Swedish Tourist Association set up a campaign which they called The Swedish Number.

The premise behind it was people from all over the world could call in Sweden to speak to a random Swede on any topic they choose. From Northern lights to meatballs to hiking to feminism – the choice was up to the caller. Over 26,000 Swedes signed up to answer the calls and speak to complete strangers about topics close to home.

The results for the tourism board were impressive. In the 79 days that the campaign ran, random Swedes spoke on 197,678 calls to travelers from 190 countries for a total call time equating to 367 days. According to the MMA marketing trade association, the campaign had 9.107 billion media impressions and a media value of $146 million.

3. South African Tourism – 24 Hours of Wow

Making use of content already existing in their archive, South African Tourism created an interactive video tool called 24 Hours of Wow.

The idea behind this dynamic video was to showcase the many activities the country has on offer and encourage people to explore more. While it is widely known across the globe as a safari destination, the reality is that South Africa offers up a very diverse range of travel experiences.

Once on the site, people can shuffle and change the travel experience they have by shifting time across a 24-hour clock. A collection of 144 video clips make up the visual experience, which includes footage of coastlines, vineyard tours, fishing adventures, football games, and more.

The Content Editor of South African Tourism reported that, since it’s launch, the site had received over 600,000 visits - the average stay being 3 minutes. Straight after its launch, this was closer to 10 minutes. Considering these dwell times, it is safe to say that travelers now know to explore the country beyond being just a safari destination.

4. Albania Tourism - Taken By Albania

While eyebrows have certainly been raised over Albania Tourism’s latest campaign, there is little denying that it is one of the latest travel marketing examples to catch people’s attention.

In the video addressing actor Liam Neeson, Albania Tourism showcases some of the best the country has to offer in terms of travel. They suggest he should visit Albania to be ‘taken’ by their spectacular scenery, amazing history, and friendly people among other things. In it, they include links to Active Albania, a local adventure tours group.

The angle is that the movie, Taken, has painted the country in a negative light, and various official organizations behind the campaign wanted to change that. Albanian locals, government officials, and public persons go on to invite Liam (and travelers) to visit the beautiful and safe country in their video message. Their goal is to get 10 million tourists to Albania.

To date, the YouTube video has had just over 381,000 views. Whether or not the target number of visitors get to the country, the campaign has gotten people talking about Albania. In any case, it is a country worth visiting.

Final Thoughts

While travel companies don't have to go to quite as extreme lengths in their promotional campaigns, as we have seen from the travel marketing examples in this post, creating something with a fresh take can generate a lot of interest. The key is to get your message to tell a story that travelers can resonate with.