15 Creative Travel Campaign Ideas That Will Transform Your Tourism Marketing
A Senior Creative Designer on why the best travel marketing campaigns work - and how you can transform your next project
Want your travel business to stand out? Well, so does everyone else.
The travel industry is more competitive than ever, with tourism boards, airlines, and travel companies all vying to capture attention of a global audience. Gone are the days when simple print ads featuring sun-drenched beaches could cut through the noise. Today's best travel marketing campaigns have to get more creative to make a lasting impression on travellers.
As someone who's worked first-hand on travel campaigns - and analysed loads more - I've identified the key elements that make travel campaign ideas truly memorable. And I've rounded up the best. From experiential activations to user generated content strategies, these examples showcase how travel brands can stand out in an oversaturated market, while delivering messages that resonate.
Ready? Let's go.
1. S7 Airlines: "I Am You"
Authentic visual storytelling that beats stock imagery
Campaign Type: Creative Video Content
S7 Airlines' 2017 short film "I Am You" combines beautiful cinematography with glitchy VFX to highlight the insincerity of travel content on social media and how detached it can make us from the real world. The narrated clips encourage the audience to interact with the world in a more genuine way.
Why It Works: The neon glitches and flashes are artfully crafted into the footage, and the dark contrasty grading gives it an indie music video vibe. Halfway through, the voiceover asks viewers to "look at yourself," at which point the video cuts to black so you can see your reflection in the screen. This poignant moment gets people to consider how detached we can become when we're online.
Key Takeaways: This shows how travel brands can create a single video with big impact. The gritty style is a far cry from stock, sunny holiday ads, which adds credibility. Sometimes the most powerful travel marketing comes from acknowledging the problems with travel marketing itself.
2. Born Free Foundation: "The Bitter Bond"
Animation that moves hearts
Campaign Type: Social Media Campaign with Emotional Storytelling
Wildlife charity, The Born Free Foundation made the world think differently with their award-winning 2019 short film that campaigned against lion hunting. Featuring 3D animation and set to "Born Free," It shows the heart-wrenching life cycle of an "Instagram lion". The film gathered over 13 million views, 300,000 shares, and over 275,000 petition signatures.
Why It Works: The unique animation style was created with a combination of handmade sets and 3D animation, giving it a slight stop-motion feel. The buttery colors and fluffy lion is highly distinctive, and delivers a kind of texture that heightens the sensation of actually being there. It makes the final scene even more of an emotional gut punch, making it almost impossible not to sign the petition.
Key Takeaways: Despite not being technically a travel brand, there’s a lot to learn from this example. It’s a reminder not to dismiss animation as an effective storytelling approach. When done right, it allows viewers to feel emotions that live-action might struggle to convey, making it a great way to create engaging video content - and capture the essence of a location without huge travel costs. It’s a great tip for cutting through a crowded ad market.
3. Vienna Tourist Board: "Microdose Vienna"
Trend-jacking with a mysterious twist
Campaign Type: Experiential Marketing with Social Media Integration
Vienna Tourist Board jumped on the trendy concept of microdosing by creating a campaign where a scientist distills the essence of Vienna into six pills, each capturing a particular part of its culture. The campaign included a promotional short video, high-quality photography of each pill, and a limited-edition box collection.
Why It Works: Going to the effort of making each pill and collection box increased the realism while providing opportunities for striking visuals. It allowed them to feature Vienna's most iconic sites and people without feeling like a classic travel ad. The concept created an air of mystery and intrigue that encourages people to visit if they can't get the exclusive microdose pills.
Key Takeaways: Imagine if your holiday came in a box? This is a fab example of making people think about travel differently - and how travel companies can jump on seemingly unrelated trends to transform them into excellent destination marketing. Turning intangible concepts into physical products is a unique spin on exclusive offerings that can capture attention across digital marketing channels.
4. German Rail: "No Need to Fly"
Data-led PR that proves a point
Campaign Type: Data-Led Digital Marketing Campaign
Using a lookalike algorithm, German Rail and Getty Images created dupe images of iconic landmarks worldwide to show Germans didn't need to leave their country to see beautiful destinations. Using Facebook data, they targeted holidaymakers interested in specific destinations with video ads featuring real-time prices comparing local German alternatives to expensive international flights.
Why It Works: The algorithm didn't just find landmarks that looked similar, but matched perspective, scale, and colouring - an impressive technical feat. The wide library of comparison images (close to 10,000 creative assets) added credibility to the idea that you could travel around the world without leaving Germany.
Key Takeaways: The joke of teenagers mistaking telegraph poles for the Eiffel Tower has existed for almost as long as social media itself, but clever data can now make this the basis of a memorable campaign. It shows the importance of recognising how influential social media campaigns are for decision-making among younger generations. Dupe culture is also huge online now, and the clever use of targeted ads made each creative feel tailored; proving that data can drive both cost-effective and highly relevant advertising.
5. The Spirit of Amsterdam: "The Spirit"
An experiential activation that glows
Campaign Type: Experiential PR Stunt
The Spirit of Amsterdam festival opened over 35 churches, mosques, temples, and synagogues to host arts programs in response to rising polarisation. The unique launch featured a glowing neon keyhole sign mounted on a bike that a man rode around Amsterdam at night, creating mystery and intrigue as it appeared to glide across the city.
Why It Works: As Amsterdam is known for its lively night scene, a post-daylight activation was perfect for gaining intrigue while hiding the rider so the keyhole appeared to float mysteriously through the streets. The keyhole generated curiosity as it was spotted across Amsterdam, alluding to how it would allow visitors into historic sites they'd never seen before.
Key Takeaways: This campaign distilled some of the most memorable elements of Amsterdam - bicycles, distinctive historic streets, bohemain nightlife and (like it or loathe it) the red light district - and turned it into something entirely new. The nighttime shoot and neon lights produced stunning visuals that wouldn't have the same mystery and excitement in daylight. This experiential launch also highlighted the ephemeral nature of the festival - fleeting but with lasting impression, showing how tourism campaigns can promote deeper cultural connection beyond typical city's offerings.
6. Bear Naked Granola & Gaia GPS: "Naked Trails"
Niche audience, big impact
Campaign Type: Influencer Collaboration with Product Innovation
This hilarious campaign partnered Bear Naked granola with Gaia GPS on World Nudity Day to launch the first nude-friendly hiking trail system. They created a specially designed hiking belt that strategically covers certain areas with granola bags, plus a microsite with humorously titled articles, and employed four outdoorsy influencers to rate trails using secret emoji codes.
Why It Works: The visuals were silly, strategic, but surprisingly aesthetic. Combined with ingenous product creation, brand collaboration, microsite development, and influencer content, it's no surprise this campaign won several awards. The real-world activation allowed audiences to interact with the app and visit actual trails (nudity optional).
Key Takeaways: This exemplifies how travel brands shouldn't be afraid to find and celebrate a niche audience. It's a classic example of successful "opposites attract" campaigns, proving that even the most unexpected brand partnerships can create memorable experiences that explore new frontiers in travel marketing.
7. EasyJet: "Lovesick"
User-generated content with heart
Campaign Type: UGC Contest with Emotional Connection
For Valentine's Day, EasyJet launched a poetry competition supporting long-distance relationships after discovering 29% of passengers were in long-distance love. Customers wrote poems on sick bags from flights, shared them on social media with #LoveSickSonnets, and the winner received free tickets anywhere on EasyJet's network.
Why It Works: This campaign inspires creativity in a closed environment where people don't have internet access, relying only on their abilities to put pen to paper. The imperfection of handwritten text on shiny sick bag paper, shared online by customers themselves, creates heartfelt vulnerability that feels genuine.
Key Takeaways: When Valentine's Day is typically commercialised, this travel campaign focused on human connection with unique authenticity. The prize reinforced the importance of connection over commerce, showing how user generated content can create real stories that resonate more than polished brand messaging.
8. WeRoad: "The Holiday Reaper"
Genre-subverting creative
Campaign Type: Creative Video Content with Trend Integration
WeRoad created a vintage-style 90s horror ad featuring a classic narrator describing the wrath of the Holiday Reaper on workers who don't use their annual leave. Launched on Halloween, it utilised all horror genre tropes: bloody wall writing, grainy cinematography, and close-ups of gore with expressions of terror - all set in a dreary office environment.
Why It Works: The 80s/90s nostalgia trend remains hugely popular, and WeRoad jumped on it perfectly. By launching on Halloween, they hit the perfect timing when employees had finished summer holidays but likely still had unused leave. The horror film set in an office added humorous, relatable elements that left a lasting impression.
Key Takeaways: Horror’s not the obvious first choice for travel marketing, but this campaign demonstrates how subverting genre stereotypes can work for stopping the scroll (vital for attracting millennial and Gen Z travellers). Instead of typical summer holiday ads, they used data showing how often people don't use vacation time, creating timely, relevant content that stands out from traditional travel advertising approaches.
9. Duolingo x Carnival Cruise Line: "The 5 Year Cruise"
April Fools with serious production value
Campaign Type: Brand Partnership PR Stunt
Duolingo doesn't do marketing by halves, but this would be their most ambitious project yet: a collaboration creating a 5-year cruise featuring high-value production video trailers, musical numbers, giant mascots, and classic Duolingo chaos, like passenger ejection for missing daily lessons. But despite the realistic webpage on Carnival's site, it was actually part of their running April Fools tradition.
Why It Works: The huge production value, high-quality cinematography, and realistic webpage made the campaign so believable that people searched for booking buttons. This commitment to detail and questionable humour made it instantly shareable. Hosting the fake cruise on Carnival's website increased traffic as people headed there for details and naturally discovered other cruise offerings.
Key Takeaways: This shows how brands can attract younger audiences by partnering with TikTok-famous companies, even when largely unrelated. Don't be afraid to create something crazy that doesn't actually exist - it can put your brand on the map and demonstrate that fun, unexpected collaborations can capture audience attention.
10. Visit Oslo: "Is It Even a City?"
Reverse-psychology marketing
Campaign Type: Social Media Content with Unconventional Messaging
Visit Oslo took a unique approach by having an unsmiling local ask "Is it even a city?" while "complaining" about accessibility, lack of museum lines, and restaurant availability. By positioning itself as a forgotten underdog, Oslo set itself apart from overrun destinations like Venice, Tokyo and the Greek islands.
Why It Works: The vlog style has a local feel following the Oslo native through the city, adding to the friendly vibe. It cleverly plays on people's rebellious nature by telling viewers not to go there, while the dry Nordic humour appeals particularly to British audiences who have a similar kind of wit.
Key Takeaways: This reminded me of social media trends where people list reasons not to buy products that all turn out to be good things. It's a great tactic for increasing engagement and retention, showing how tourism boards can use reverse psychology to make their destinations more appealing than typical promotional approaches.
11. First Choice x CALM: "Better Boys Holidays"
Challenging toxic culture
Campaign Type: Influencer Collaboration with Social Impact
First Choice challenged friends to go on a "lads holiday" with a difference, recruiting influencer George Clarkley for wholesome Prague activities. They partnered with Everpress to redesign classic offensive holiday t-shirts with subtle graphics featuring mental health support messages like "my bros make me feel safe and supported."
Why It Works: George Clarkley's YouTube video gained 898k views in two weeks, showing its popularity. The campaign coined the term "Better Boys Trips" and marks a poignant move against toxic masculinity culture. The website linked video content with bookable activities, creating actionable inspiration for potential travelers.
Key Takeaways: Sometimes calling out the elephant in the room - or the problematic behavious associated with travel - can be a great starting point for poignant change. This campaign challenged negative stereotypes and promoted positive masculinity. The content resonates with audiences seeking more meaningful travel experiences, proving that purpose-driven campaigns can drive both engagement and bookings.
12. Air New Zealand: "A New Way to Fly"
Creative use of limited space
Campaign Type: Innovative Outdoor Advertising
Celebrating ten years of digital escalator panels in London Underground stations, Air New Zealand transformed narrow ad spaces into airplane windows. The campaign repeated along escalator lengths with slightly shifting images, giving viewers the impression they're actually on a plane viewing beautiful New Zealand landscapes.
Why It Works: The bright, idyllic landscapes contrast perfectly with dingy London Tube stations, instantly making commuters wish they were on holiday. The subtle moving images catch attention and make people pause, proving far more memorable than buzzy, confusing ads that try too hard.
Key Takeaways: This shows that subtle approaches can work as well as obtuse ones - it just takes thoughtful application. Sometimes the most effective campaigns come from creative constraints, transforming limitations into opportunities for innovative visual storytelling that captures attention without overwhelming audiences.
13. Wizz Air: "Let's Get Lost London"
Mystery marketing that builds hype
Campaign Type: Influencer Campaign with Experiential Element
Wizz Air invited 35 competition winners and 36 influencers on trips to "destination unknown." Influencers received cryptic briefs, packing lists, and blank plane tickets, discovering their Turkey destination only upon landing. The campaign generated over 700 pieces of social content and 31 million impressions while winning two awards.
Why It Works: As younger generations are generally more spontaneous and thrill-seeking, Wizz Air knew they needed excitement. The mystery element built incredible hype, with influencers and audiences genuinely curious about the destination. The authentic surprise reactions created more engaging content than typical sponsored trips.
Key Takeaways: Mystery and intrigue can build project hype - and Gen Z love it (why else would they be obsessed with mystery box toys like Labubus?). Rather than revealing everything upfront, strategic information withholding creates anticipation and genuine excitement that translates into more authentic, shareable content. Think “viral unboxing video” but for a whole holiday.
14. Pure New Zealand & The Hardest Geezer: "Running New Zealand"
Authentic adventure content
Campaign Type: Long-form Influencer Partnership
Facing declining 18-30 year old visitors, Pure New Zealand partnered with The Hardest Geezer (known for running across Africa) to run New Zealand's full length while trying various activities and learning about Māori culture. It felt refreshingly genuine, showing highs and lows of ultra-marathon challenges.
Why It Works: Younger generations prefer authentic content over polished brand deals. This content felt genuine while bringing audiences along for the journey. Russ hasn't finished yet, but New Zealand bookings have already risen 5%, proving the campaign's effectiveness.
Key Takeaways: People want someone to show them what a country really offers. Rather than inviting celebrities on luxury trips, invite different kinds of ambassadors or influencers for real experiences that feel more original and engaging. Grittier storytelling wipes the floor with glossy production when building trust with younger travellers.
15. Airbnb “Live There”
Real life storytelling to dive into
Campaign Type: Influencer and UGC partnerships
Airbnb's 2016 "Live There" campaign shifted focus from just booking accommodation to really immersing travellers in local experiences. It encouraged guests to "live like a local" by exploring neighbourhoods and attractions recommended by hosts. The campaign leveraged user-generated content by prompting users to share their experiences with the hashtag #LiveThere, resulting in over 40,000 Instagram posts and more than 5 million social media interactions. They also collaborated with local influencers and photographers to elevate the campaign.
Airbnb then repurposed the best creative for use in OOH advertising, using a framing device that plays on the experience of real life outside of the bits we capture on social.
Why it works: It’s a clever way to highlight Airbnb’s positioning as a platform for travel experiences that feel more like a “home from home”. The UGC element makes the campaign feel like a moment to join in. Meanwhile, the hero creative feels real and textural - and combined with stellar ad copy, it’s a memorable message that makes you want to move in.
Key takeaways: Mix up your content formats - and don’t forget the power of great copywriting! This is a perfect, simple message that (literally) strikes home.
Key Elements for Successful Travel Marketing Campaigns
When you analyse these winning campaigns, several patterns emerge for creating effective tourism marketing:
Visual storytelling remains king: Whether through video content, photography, or innovative outdoor advertising, striking visuals cut through noise and create an emotional response. Think about how to leave generic travel imagery behind.
Choose authenticity over polish for young audiences: Gen Z and millennials value real stories over perfectly produced content. User generated content and genuine experiences outperform more traditional approaches - and helps people already envisage themselves in your travel destination.
Cultural relevance rules: The best campaigns tap into broader cultural conversations, trending topics, or social issues, making them feel relevant beyond just travel promotion. Work out what your audience care about, and bring your unique voice to it.
Multi-platform integration will level you up: If you work across multiple channels, from social media to experiential activations, you create cohesive experiences that reinforce key messages. Connecting the dots between different channels makes audiences feel involved in a movement.
Focus on emotional connection: Whether through humour, surprise, nostalgia, or social impact, campaigns that create emotional responses generate more engagement and lasting impressions. Cut deeper into why your audience travels, and you’re onto a winner.
More inspiration for your next campaign
The travel industry has never been dull, I’ll give you that. But today it’s evolving at a rapid pace. New technologies and platforms make for crazy competition - but they’re also incredible resources for creating fresh, creative campaigns. From TikTok challenges to virtual reality experiences, travel brands have more tools than ever to do things differently.
The key is understanding that today's travellers seek more than just destinations - they want stories. Whether you're promoting Northern Lights adventures, Rio de Janeiro culture, or London's hidden gems, focus on what makes your offering unique and how it connects with your audience. The most successful travel marketing campaigns help potential travellers envision not just where they could go, but who they could become through travel. That's the kind of creative thinking that will always capture attention.
Use these examples as inspiration, but don't be afraid to push boundaries and create something entirely new. After all, the best travel campaigns are the ones that make us want to explore - whether that's a new destination or a new way of thinking about travel itself.
And if you want to talk to a team brimming with creative ideas? Get in touch. I’d love to talk about how we can bring creativity to your next travel campaign.