15 Brilliant Travel Marketing Campaigns That Will Inspire You For 2019

Travel marketing campaigns offer creatives the chance to think big and get their target market inspired to make those big ticket travel purchases.

Big 7’s travel expert team has seen some great examples over the years, so to give you a little inspiration for your own tourism marketing in 2019 we thought we’d share some of the very best from the last couple of years – including full video case studies.

Travel marketing campaigns from around the world

1. SNCF – Europe, It’s Just Next Door

The French national railway operator wanted to encourage more people to travel to their neighbouring countries via train. Blue doors were placed around Paris, which opened and gave people an immersive digital experience of what they could be seeing “next door”. Read more here.

2. Jet Blue – Reach Across The Aisle

Back in 2016 the heat was on in the American elections, with discord at an all time high. Rather than shun the negative tone like many brands did, Jet Blue airline created a campaign which encouraged harmony and unity, aiming to build a connection with their passengers who in turn embraced the brand messaging. Read more about here.

3. Norway – Sheep With A View

When the Norwegian tourist board wanted to raise awareness about their outdoor lifestyle and stunning scenery they turned to their sheep. The campaign gave potential visitors a “sheep’s eye view” of the country and was seen by 8 million people. Read more about the campaign here.

4. Northern Ireland – Doors Of Thrones

When the trees along Northern Ireland’s famous Dark Hedges blew over in a storm, they set about saving that piece of Game of Thrones history for fans.

The wood was carved into a set of 10 intricate doors and hung across the country, with each one telling the story of a season 6 episode and thrilling fans while also creating new spots in the country to visit. Read more about the campaign here.

5. Switzerland – Yodel Ay Hee Hoo

This campaign was the perfect example of an idea that connected with busy city goers to encourage them to visit the countryside. A live video feed showed a man who would yodel, share tips about his village and even print off tickets in real time for passersby in the railway stations. Read more about the campaign here.

6. Oregon – Only Slightly Exaggerated

Oregon probably wouldn’t be at the top of the global hot list of places to visit if not for this anime inspired video. The animation added bunnies to some of their most popular sights and had people searching to see what the state actually looked like and to book tickets.

In a sector where so much marketing is formulaic this was a breath of fresh creative air.  Read more about the campaign here.

7. Visit Australia – Super Bowl Ad

Very few tourist boards or brands would have the budget for the $3 million it costs for a 30 second spot during the Superbowl. Australia backed themselves however, and the campaign was a spectacular success in traditional media and online. The Youtube video alone has over 7 million views. Read more about the campaign here.

8. British Airways – Look Up Digital Billboards

Courtesy of a little digital magic, the young man in this poster really does know when it’s a British Airways plane. And that really is the actual flight number and where it’s flying in from.

Very clever. Read more about the campaign here.

9. Quebec – Blind Tourist

An emotionally brilliant advert for a state that is known for its outdoors lifestyle and all the brilliant things you can see. By taking away visibility, however, this ad showed that the destination was about so much more. Read more about the campaign here.

10. Hong Kong – Timelooper

This campaign allowed people to see what the city looked like back in the 1960s and 1980s and really understand the transformation they were witnessing in front of their eyes. A great way of digital storytelling. Read more about the campaign here.

11. Helsinki Airport – Life In Hel

Helsinki airport was voted the best in the world in 2016 so they decided to capitalise on the success with a campaign featuring Chinese actor and TV personality Ryan Zhu as he lived in the airport for 30 days. He shared an endless stream of content across social media and video channels. Read more about the campaign here.

12. Visit Sweden – Airbnb Listing

The country decided to tap into the popularity of the sharing economy site by listing the entire country on the site.  The listing said it was available “365 days a year, accommodate everyone, has unlimited beds” and that check-in is available “whenever.”  Read more about the campaign here.

13. South Africa – Meet South Africa

TV spots and videos are the staple for most tourist boards but this video broke from the norm, being a 10 minute short film. It followed Bheki, a traditional South African dressmaker who is met with the toughest challenge of his career. He goes out on a search for inspiration.

Will he find it? That simple question was enough to capture the attention of 2 million people who watched along. Read more about the campaign here.

14. KLM Bonding Buffet

Airlines often ramp up their marketing over the busy Christmas period and Dutch airline hit the spot with this piece of emotional marketing that brought people together and strengthened their brand through connection. Read more about the campaign here.

15. Tourism Ireland – Fill Your Heart

Tourism Ireland invited a couple to holiday around the country wearing a camera connected to a heart rate monitor. They were tracked along the way and the moments that captured their heart made it into the final marketing video. An incredibly smart piece of emotional marketing. You can see the entire campaign here.

Have you seen any better travel marketing campaigns or done some yourself? Do share them in the comments if so.