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9 Tourism Ads That Used Emotion, Humor, and Innovation to Win

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10 Characteristics of Advertising You Need to Know

The Ultimate Guide to Reaching Your Target Audience with Magazine Advertising

Tourism advertisements play a crucial role in enticing travellers to explore new destinations. These promotional campaigns serve as a window into the wonders of a place, capturing the essence of its culture, landscapes, and unique attractions. Through vibrant visuals and compelling narratives, such advertisements ignite the curiosity and wanderlust of potential tourists.

Consider the breathtaking images of pristine beaches, historic landmarks, and lively local markets showcased in travel ads. These visuals create a sense of longing, prompting individuals to go on a journey to experience these wonders firsthand. The power of persuasion lies in the carefully crafted messages that highlight the distinctive features and hospitality of a destination.

Moreover, tourism advertisements contribute significantly to the economic growth of a region by attracting visitors and stimulating local businesses. A well-designed campaign not only promotes tourism but also fosters cultural exchange and understanding. 

What is a Tourism advertisement?

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Tourism advertisement serves as a compelling window into the wonders of a destination, enticing potential travellers with a visual and narrative showcase. It is a strategic communication tool employed by regions, cities, or countries to promote their unique attractions, cultural heritage, and recreational offerings. These advertisements aim to capture the imagination of the audience, fueling a desire to explore and experience the featured locale.

Typically, tourism advertisements employ vivid imagery and engaging storytelling to highlight the scenic beauty, historical significance, and diverse activities awaiting visitors. From breathtaking landscapes to vibrant city life, these promotions strive to evoke a sense of wanderlust and adventure. The use of catchy slogans, upbeat music, and relatable experiences further enhances the allure.

By showcasing the essence of a destination, these campaigns contribute not only to economic growth through increased tourism but also to cultural exchange and mutual understanding between people from different parts of the world. 

Importance of Tourism advertisement

Tourism advertisements play a pivotal role in promoting destinations and fostering economic growth. These campaigns act as enticing windows into the diverse and captivating offerings of a place, captivating potential visitors. The significance of tourism advertising lies in its ability to create awareness and spark interest, driving people to explore new locales. It serves as a virtual introduction, showcasing the unique cultural, historical, and natural attractions a destination has to offer.

In addition to attracting tourists, these advertisements contribute significantly to the local economy. A surge in tourism leads to increased revenue for businesses, such as hotels, restaurants, and local artisans. The economic impact extends beyond immediate tourism-related sectors, positively influencing the overall prosperity of a region. Furthermore, successful tourism campaigns can enhance a location’s global image, making it a desirable and memorable destination.

Tourism advertisements act as powerful catalysts, stimulating both curiosity and economic development. They transform mere places on a map into vibrant, sought-after experiences, benefitting not only the tourism industry but also the communities that thrive on the influx of visitors.

Top 9 Tourism Advertisement Examples

Here are the top 9 Tourism advertisement examples!

“Incredible India” Campaign

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The “Incredible India” campaign stands as a shining example of effective tourism promotion, inviting people from around the world to discover the myriad wonders of the Indian subcontinent. Showcasing India’s diverse tapestry, the campaign paints a vivid picture of the country’s rich cultural heritage, historical treasures, and breathtaking landscapes.

Through a combination of captivating visuals and compelling narratives, “Incredible India” captures the essence of the nation, from the iconic Taj Mahal to the vibrant festivals and bustling markets. The campaign serves as a virtual journey, enticing travellers with the promise of a truly immersive and unforgettable experience.

Beyond its aesthetic appeal, the campaign plays a crucial role in promoting economic growth. By attracting tourists, it generates revenue for local businesses, hotels, and artisans, contributing to the overall prosperity of communities across the country. It stands testament to the power of tourism campaigns in not just attracting visitors but also in fostering a deeper understanding and appreciation of a nation’s cultural treasures.

“Pure New Zealand” Tourism

Pure New Zealand’s tourism campaign stands out as a captivating invitation to explore the enchanting landscapes and warm hospitality of this island nation. Through picturesque visuals and heartfelt narratives, the campaign showcases New Zealand as a dream destination for nature lovers and adventure seekers alike. It skillfully captures the essence of the country’s pristine beauty, from the majestic mountains to the breathtaking fjords and crystal-clear lakes.

The advertisement emphasises the diverse range of experiences available in New Zealand, from thrilling outdoor activities like bungee jumping and hiking to the serene beauty of its beaches and lush greenery. 

With a focus on authenticity and the friendliness of the Kiwi people, Pure New Zealand successfully creates an emotional connection with potential travellers. Beyond its aesthetic appeal, the campaign contributes significantly to the country’s tourism industry, attracting a global audience and boosting the economy. 

“Australia – There’s Nothing Like Australia”

Australia’s tourism campaign, “There’s Nothing Like Australia,” encapsulates the essence of the country’s allure in a captivating way. This campaign goes beyond showcasing the iconic landmarks like the Sydney Opera House and the Great Barrier Reef; it taps into the unique spirit of the continent. The advertisements emphasise Australia’s vast and diverse landscapes, from the arid beauty of the Outback to the pristine beaches of the Gold Coast.

The campaign cleverly intertwines adventure and relaxation, portraying Australia as a destination where travellers can experience a perfect blend of excitement and tranquillity. Whether it’s the vibrant cities, the rich indigenous culture, or the extraordinary wildlife, the message is clear – Australia offers a one-of-a-kind experience.

By highlighting the distinctiveness of the Australian lifestyle, the campaign creates a sense of curiosity and a desire to explore. It is not just about a place; it’s about an unmatched experience that leaves a lasting impression on anyone fortunate enough to visit. “There’s Nothing Like Australia” serves as an effective invitation, inviting the world to discover the magic and uniqueness that define this remarkable destination.

“Best Job in the World” – Tourism Queensland

Tourism Queensland’s “Best Job in the World” campaign stands out as a captivating example of destination marketing. In this innovative approach, the Australian region sought a caretaker for the Great Barrier Reef, turning the job search into a global sensation. 

The allure of the “Best Job in the World” stemmed from the promise of not just a job but a life-changing experience. The campaign successfully harnessed the power of social media and word-of-mouth, generating widespread excitement and global attention. It not only attracted applicants from around the world but also highlighted Queensland’s natural wonders, positioning it as an ideal destination for adventure seekers.

This campaign serves as a testament to the effectiveness of creativity in tourism marketing, demonstrating that an imaginative and unique approach can turn a destination into a global phenomenon, enticing travellers to explore the wonders that places like Tourism Queensland have to offer.

“Visit California Dream Big” Campaign

“Visit California Dream Big” stands out as a premier tourism campaign, enticing travellers to explore the diverse wonders of the Golden State. The campaign captures the essence of California’s allure, showcasing a tapestry of experiences that cater to every taste and interest.

With iconic destinations like Hollywood, Disneyland, and the majestic Yosemite National Park, “Visit California Dream Big” invites visitors to indulge in a myriad of adventures. 

Moreover, the campaign goes beyond showcasing attractions, emphasising the laid-back Californian lifestyle and cultural richness. Whether it’s surfing on the Pacific coast, hiking in the Sierra Nevada mountains, or exploring the tech hub of Silicon Valley, the campaign encourages visitors to dream big and immerse themselves in the diverse offerings of the state.

“Japan – Endless Discovery”

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“Japan – Endless Discovery” stands out as a compelling tourism advertisement, captivating hearts with its portrayal of a country that seamlessly blends tradition and innovation. The campaign paints a vivid picture of Japan’s allure, showcasing its timeless temples, serene gardens, and the iconic cherry blossoms that define its landscape. 

The essence of the campaign lies in the promise of endless exploration. It invites travellers to discover the profound beauty of ancient tea ceremonies, historic castles, and the captivating allure of geisha traditions. At the same time, it beckons them to explore the cutting-edge advancements in robotics and immerse themselves in the dynamic energy of contemporary Japan.

“Japan – Endless Discovery” isn’t just an advertisement; it’s an invitation to go on a journey that unfolds a tapestry of contrasts, where the past seamlessly integrates with the future. In doing so, it captures the imagination of those seeking a travel experience that transcends time and tradition.

“I Amsterdam” City Advertising

“I Amsterdam” City advertising stands out as a stellar example of tourism advertising, using a simple yet powerful message to attract visitors to the Dutch capital. The campaign encapsulates the essence of Amsterdam, focusing on its open-minded culture, rich history, and diverse offerings. The iconic red and white letters spelling “I Amsterdam” have become synonymous with the city, creating a visual identity that resonates globally.

The campaign cleverly promotes not just the city’s famous landmarks like the Anne Frank House and Van Gogh Museum but also the everyday experiences that make Amsterdam special – from cycling along picturesque canals to exploring vibrant neighbourhoods. 

This approach has successfully attracted a broad audience, making Amsterdam not just a place to visit but a city to experience. The campaign’s simplicity and authenticity make it a standout example of how effective tourism advertising can capture the spirit of a destination and inspire travellers to explore its unique charm.

“Malaysia, Truly Asia”

“Malaysia, Truly Asia” stands out as a compelling tourism advertisement that beckons travellers to explore the diverse wonders of this Southeast Asian gem. The campaign encapsulates Malaysia’s unique charm by showcasing its cultural richness, breathtaking landscapes, and warm hospitality. With a tagline that resonates, it promises an authentic Asian experience.

The advertisement takes viewers on a visual journey, unveiling the country’s multifaceted identity. From the bustling street markets of Kuala Lumpur to the serene beaches of Langkawi and the historic sites of Penang, it paints a vivid picture of Malaysia’s cultural tapestry. 

“Malaysia, Truly Asia” is not just a tagline; it’s an invitation to discover a nation where modernity meets tradition, and where every step is a venture into a new, enriching experience. Through this campaign, Malaysia captures the hearts of global travellers, making it a must-visit destination that lives up to its promise of being truly Asia.

“South Africa – It’s Possible”

“South Africa – It’s Possible” stands as a compelling tourism advertisement, beckoning travellers to explore the wonders of this diverse nation. The campaign paints a vivid picture of South Africa’s possibilities, from its mesmerising landscapes to its vibrant cultural tapestry. The advertisement showcases the majestic wildlife in its natural habitats, like the renowned Big Five, enticing animal lovers and adventure seekers.

Moreover, the campaign captures the essence of South Africa’s rich history and cultural heritage, inviting visitors to delve into its multicultural communities and experience the warmth of its people. The phrase “It’s Possible” serves as both an invitation and a promise, suggesting that whatever one dreams of experiencing, South Africa can make it a reality.

From the iconic Table Mountain to the golden beaches and bustling cities, the advertisement encapsulates the breadth of experiences awaiting travellers. By effectively combining stunning visuals and a positive, inclusive message, “South Africa – It’s Possible” succeeds in not only promoting tourism but also in creating a sense of optimism and excitement about the limitless possibility.

Final Thoughts

Tourism advertisements are like magical doorways that open up the world’s wonders. They use captivating images and stories to make you dream of far-off places, enticing you to pack your bags and explore. From Incredible India to the serene beaches of Malaysia, these campaigns not only showcase a destination’s beauty but also bring economic growth and cultural exchange.

Suksham Goyal

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6 ideas for travel and tourism advertising campaigns (with examples)

Want to create eye-catching travel ads like Expedia, Southwest Airlines, and KAYAK?

As travel starts to pick up again, it’s time to get serious about your advertising. Tour operators can hugely benefit from paid ads — but with so many forms of advertising available across different platforms, you may be wondering where to start.

In this post, we’re sharing actionable strategies to build better ad campaigns that appeal to your target audience, plus top-level examples from the brands who do it best.

Top factors to consider for travel advertising campaigns

Want to see more positive results from ads? Keep these strategies in mind when crafting your future marketing campaigns .

1. Define your target customer

Do you know who your customers are? Before you begin crafting an ad campaign, you need to know more about your guests.

Building a buyer persona is a strategic way for tour businesses to get to know their customers. A buyer persona is a visual representation of your ideal customer: Dig into their demographics, study their behaviors on your website, and send surveys to your email list to find out more.

The takeaway? You’ll find a much higher ROI with ad campaigns that specifically appeal to your target audience.

2. Understand the travel customer journey

It’s difficult to sell a tour to someone who hasn’t decided on a destination yet. Ideally, you want to show your ads to people when they’re most likely to book.

Understanding the travel customer journey can help you pinpoint when that is. Google defines the travel search process in four stages:

• Dreaming: Guests are looking for destination inspiration.
• Planning: Guests are researching potential travel dates, hotels, and activities.
• Booking: Guests are booking flights, hotels, etc.
• Experiencing: Guests have arrived and are searching for activities and attractions to experience.

Tour operators are likely to see more conversions in the “booking” and “experiencing” stages. For example, if you’re investing in Google Ads, it’s better to target narrow search terms like “best hiking tours in Colorado,” which is what someone in the booking or experiencing stage would search for.

People in the dreaming stage, on the other hand, would likely be searching overly broad terms like “best summer destinations.”

3. Choose the right platform

There are several different platforms to launch your advertising campaigns, and choosing the right one matters. Where is your audience most likely to see your ad? Where are they already hanging out?

Here are five popular travel advertising outlets:

• Google Ads: Show up at the top of Google search results for relevant keywords.
• Social media ads: Target specific demographics on Facebook and Instagram.
• Yelp ads: Appear to people searching for similar experiences on Yelp.
• Tripadvisor ads: Target people planning a trip to your destination.
• Email marketing: Offer discounts to your email list, one of the more cost-effective ways to advertise.

4. Pay attention to seasonality

Timing is one of the most important factors in travel advertising. Keep seasonality in mind when crafting your campaigns, and remember to edit previously launched campaigns as needed.

A skiing ad won’t make sense at the beginning of summer, so make sure to pause seasonally irrelevant campaigns.

5. Stay true to your brand

Your ad campaigns should reflect your brand identity. People who click on your advertisements are expecting to find the same tone of voice, visuals, and customer experience on your website.

6. Use geographic targeting 

Rather than making your ad visible everywhere on the planet, you can target specific locations your guests are likely to be in. For example, you can target other tourism websites in your state to lure in tourists who are already visiting.

By narrowing down your ad’s geographic reach, you can maximize your budget and focus on the areas that’ll bring you the most return.

7. Promote your sales and special offers

What better way to entice someone to click on your ad than to present them with an unbeatable offer? Advertisements are an effective way to promote your sales, especially seasonal offers. You can send out an ad offering a great discount during the low season to help replenish your bookings, for example.

Pro Tip: One of the simplest ways to do this is by creating coupon codes. Here is how easy it is to create a new coupon code in Xola.

8. Leverage user-generated content 

Sometimes you can generate an ad campaign with user-generated content alone. It’s another cost-effective way to bring more eyes to your tour company.

You can start by encouraging guests to use your brand’s hashtags, share their photos with their own followers, or even submit photos on your website. Apps, like Fotaflo , which integrates natively with Xola, make the process of curating UGC photos and videos easier. Tour operators can also offer incentives for anyone who posts on social media about your tours, such as hosting a giveaway for everyone who uses a hashtag related to your brand.

Tour operator Intrepid Travel asks guests to share their experiences on Instagram with the hashtag #BeIntrepid , for example, which has garnered over 50,000 posts.

Guests typically love seeing their content reposted on other accounts. Still, make sure to always credit the original owner. To avoid serious copyright issues, many brands ask followers to agree to a disclaimer about how and where the images will be used before re-posting them.

Reviews can also be considered user-generated content — but tour operators need to be very careful when it comes to encouraging guests to leave positive reviews. Tripadvisor prohibits brands from offering incentives in exchange for testimonials “because they can hinder the validity and accuracy of reviews.”

9. Use images and videos

Images and videos are the most powerful form of advertising in the travel industry. High-quality images of your destination and scenes from your tours can entice hundreds of clicks. An expertly crafted video can drive even more engagement.

Instagram and Facebook are great places to start experimenting with image and video ads; see a couple of great examples below.

6 examples of great travel advertising examples 

Ready to see these strategies in action? Here are six travel brands that have nailed their travel marketing — including examples of general ad campaigns, paid search ads, and social media ads.

Expedia’s campaign: “It matters who you travel with.” 

This Expedia campaign wants travelers to feel confident booking with the platform in a post-pandemic travel world. The tagline “It matters who you travel with” frames the company as a trusted travel partner rather than just a booking platform.

The company created a playful and very relatable video of a solo traveler who runs into several hiccups on her trip. That is until actress Rashida Jones steps in, embodying Expedia, and makes the trip more memorable.

The company chose a video to expertly convey its marketing message to travelers: Expedia promises a seamless trip and memorable experiences you can’t find on your own.

Southwest’s Transfarency campaign

Southwest Air Lines’ new campaign targets the controversial topic of ticket prices. The company has always billed itself as a transparent brand that cares about employees and customers alike. The new campaign called Trans fare ncy , a play on the words transparency and airfare, builds on that reputation.

The campaign promises customers no unexpected bag fees, change fees, or hidden fees. It’s a great advertisement because it fits perfectly within Southwest’s brand identity, and the airline delivers on the promise.

TourRadar’s travel and destination Facebook ads

Vienna-based TourRadar launched a Facebook campaign to increase bookings from people who had visited its website. The company used visually stunning travel ads to promote relevant tours to people who had browsed the same tours online.

The company also promoted relevant destination offers and tours to people who hadn’t visited their website yet but had shown interest in the destination. The campaign focused on the company’s core markets, including the U.S., the U.K., Australia, and New Zealand.

It was a success: TourRadar doubled its conversion rate over a year.

KAYAK’s video ads on Instagram

KAYAK ran video ads on Instagram to bring more people to its website, including one that shows how simple it is to filter flights by airline, price, number of stops, and destination.  

The company played around with ad placement in both Stories and the News Feed, and each ad had a “book now” or “learn more” call-to-action button that linked back to the KAYAK website.

The ads were shown to a lookalike audience based on the travel search engine’s existing audience, which increased the likelihood of clicks. As a result, KAYAK saw a 5x increase in incremental sales conversions.

Airbnb Experiences search ad

Airbnb is targeting people who search for outdoor activities in Colorado to promote its local-led tours. In this example specifically, Airbnb’s paid search ad for a hiking tour shows up under the search for “best hiking in Colorado.”

The title “Hiking in the Rockies – Year Round” quickly answers the questions of “where” and “when,” two details that directly impact the customer’s trip. The wording of the title narrows down the search for the searcher. The description focuses on Airbnb’s unique offerings — “hosted by expert locals,” “experiences vetted for quality,” and “small group sizes — further enticing readers to click.

It’s a great example of Airbnb using a feature other than its main accommodation services to bring people into its website.

Viator’s Brooklyn food tours search ad

Here’s another effective Google Ad example. Viator is promoting its food and wine tours in Brooklyn under the search term “Brooklyn food tours.” 

Unlike the other search ads that pop up, Viator specifically mentions the keywords that the customer will be skimming the page for and includes another enticing offer.

Viator includes “Book & Save Money” in its title, directly appealing to money-conscious travelers visiting a destination known for being very expensive. Therefore, this ad specifically speaks to budget or mid-range travelers who appreciate a good deal.

As you can tell from these examples, an effective ad campaign is crafted around your ideal audience. Top travel companies like Viator and Southwest use words, images, and videos to appeal to their target customers, and your campaigns should follow suit.

Now it’s time to implement these strategies into your own campaigns. Then sit back, relax, and watch those bookings soar.

Writer Carla Vianna

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How to Write Travel Advertising in 2021 (Or Any Other Year)

Even in the midst of a pandemic, it's possible to write good travel copy. Here are seven evergreen pointers to guide your writing in an industry facing notable challenges.

To say that the travel (let alone travel advertising) were hit hard by the pandemic may be the understatement of the year.

With lockdown still very much in effect, tight travel restrictions in place, and millions of people apprehensive about just leaving the house, it’s no wonder international arrivals are estimated to have dropped upwards of 80% in 2020.

That said, with vaccines being rolled out slowly but surely, the travel and tourism sectors may begin making a comeback sooner rather than later—and the savviest players will be well-positioned to capitalize on pent-up demand.

The signs of this resurgence are starting to appear in the media. The other day I came across this advertisement for Regent cruises: 

For travel marketers looking for ways to use persuasive copywriting to entice people out of the house, this ad provides some clues as to how it can be done:

1. Stop your reader in their tracks. 

If you fail at this step, nothing that comes after matters. It’s why David Ogilvy said you should spend 80 cents in your dollar writing headlines. In today’s scrolling culture, there’s more noise than ever—and your words need to cut through. This ad uses just four, paired with a perfect image, that force the reader to pause:

Do you feel it? 

This line works for multiple reasons. The question creates instant engagement. The reader can’t help but be involved. It? What is it ? You’ve got to read on to find out. Teasing your reader—creating curiosity and then delaying the payoff—is crucial to tugging them into the copy. Importantly, the line employs the most irresistible word to the human ear (or is it ego): “You.

2. Meet them where they are. 

You’ve momentarily arrested your reader’s attention—well done. But you won’t have it for long unless you can establish some rapport; something that says “I get you.” This writer does it by speaking to the current reality of the reader—someone who’s been in lockdown for a year, and perhaps longing for an escape, either consciously or subconsciously. It doesn’t take much: 

The world. It’s still out there.

“Ah yes,” nods the reader, “I’d almost forgotten.” No talk of new normals or uncertainty or any of the tired phrases that have become ubiquitous in the media. Instead, this travel advertising reaches beyond cliché, appealing to the reader’s imaginative side. In doing so, they unite writer and reader in a place of shared understanding— somewhere only we know , as a band once put it.

3. Speak to their aspirations

Having established some common ground, we can now make the crucial leap from what is to what could be . Creating this contrast is key to stirring desire. In her popular TED Talk , Nancy Duarte brilliantly illustrates how Martin Luther King Jr. employs this see-sawing back and forth between reality and possibility to great effect in his “I Have a Dream” speech. Here, the application is far more subtle, but no less effective: 

The city you’ve longed to explore.

The beach you can feel as you close your eyes and breathe it in. 

This is where we long to escape to, isn’t it? Notice how the writer touches on the yin and the yang of vacation—urban excitement and rural tranquillity—in two tidy examples, city and beach. A lovely economy; whichever you’re pining for, this ad has you covered.

4. Use sensory language. 

Close your eyes and breathe it in.

Who can read these words and not have a visceral reaction? If you’ve read this far, you’re interested. And this sensory bit brings you even further into the picture.

The natural wonder dancing in your soul, pulling you toward the door.

A bit lofty, yeah? But somehow they get away with it. Perhaps because, as a luxury cruise company, Regent knows they’re appealing to a more affluent audience. The people they’re addressing are likely economically unscathed by the pandemic and generally live their lives trying to satisfy the upper reaches of Maslow’s Hierarchy . So this ad can get away with a little puffery—as long as it sings like poetry.

5. Introduce yourself. 

At this point, the reader is officially in the mood for exploration. It’s now time to bring the story full circle—and make yourself known:

The world. It’s waiting for you.

We feel it too.

With a deft turn, Regents introduces itself into the picture. Suddenly we’re all in this quest for a new experience together. (And there’s that all-important “you” again).

6. Invite them into an experience. 

From here, it’s a matter of describing how Regent’s offering delivers on the promise—in this case, to whisk the reader off to the world they’ve been missing:

Come sale the most luxurious fleet in the world and rediscover the comfort and security found aboard our smaller ships, with never a crowd and with every luxury included. 

The copy evokes opulence and adventure, with a subtle nod to safety—just to reassure that, yes, Regents is using its travel advertising, in other words, to put health first.

MarketSmiths Case Study

Picturing a luxury holiday in the Caribbean is easy . Writing about it is far harder. That’s exactly the challenge Nick and Nicky Parker, owners of the Silver Moon catamaran fleet, faced before tapping MarketSmiths. Just as well they did: we soon brought their website to vivid life, helping readers touch and taste the treasures of Barbados all while sitting at their computers. By the time we were done, Nick and Nicky were thrilled with our work—and excited to welcome hundreds more holidaymakers to their corner of paradise. 

> Read the full case study here

7. Deliver a call to action.

Finally, of course, is the call to action—the part where you tell your reader what to do next:

Begin your journey with Regent.

The word “journey,” keeps this message right on theme, and brings the whole piece to an artful close—leaving the right reader excited to hop on board. 

Well-crafted travel advertising copy gets readers excited to go where you want to take them. If you’d like help creating that language, get in touch with MarketSmiths today. 

Paul Rosevear

What do you get when you combine the soul of a musician with the mind of a writer? Copy that sings. And for the last decade, that’s precisely what Paul has delivered for global brands, bootstrap startups, and everything in between. When he’s not hard at work crafting top-notch communications, you can find Paul hanging with his wife and two young daughters, singing and playing guitar for The Vice Rags, or roaming the streets in search of the nearest slice of pizza.

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10 best travel ads that will make you book your next vacation in seconds

May 10, 2024

As the world recovers from the pandemic, travelers are keener than ever to find their next vacation spot. And the companies’ and countries’ tourist offices are wasting no time trying to attract as many visitors as possible to their destinations. 

To show you some of the true gems in travel advertising, we’ve put together a list of the 10 best travel marketing campaigns that will make you want to book your next holiday ASAP. Plus, a little background on tourism marketing.

So let’s dig in!

What is tourism marketing?

Tourism marketing refers to strategically promoting travel destinations, attractions, and services to potential visitors. As part of tourism marketing, companies from the various aspects of the tourism industry develop targeted marketing campaigns on various channels to spread compelling messages to attract tourists.

Each tourism campaign aims to increase awareness, generate interest, and ultimately drive visits from local and international visitors.

10 best tourism marketing campaigns

Here are the ten best tourism campaigns and ads:

1. Switzerland – Yodel Ay Hee Hoo

Is there a better way to promote the countryside than by inviting various people from a train station to spontaneously take a day off from work and enjoy the beautiful and peaceful Alps?

That’s exactly what the Switzerland tourist office did in one of their endearing tourism campaigns and sent the important message of how often we forget to take a step back to relax from our busy daily schedules. 

The creators made the travel ad even more authentic by live streaming from the Alps, with an elderly man inviting everyone from the Zurich train station to come join him. 

Intending to inspire travelers, this innovative approach caught daily commuters off guard and made them question whether to take a free daily ticket to the Alps or to continue their regular trip to work. 

2. Travel Oregon – Only Slightly Exaggerated 

Whether you’re watching an ad for the latest toothpaste or a fantastic new trip destination, they all have one thing in common – they exaggerate how great they are. 

Travel Oregon used this common motive in their “Only Slightly Exaggerated” tourism campaign to paint Oregon as a unique, dreamy, cartoon-like destination. 

The ad shows that Oregon mountains are more magical than anywhere else, rivers hide secrets never seen, and the streets offer entertainment like nowhere else. Just like in your childhood dreams! 

3. Iceland – OutHorse Your Emails

Being able to disconnect from work when on vacation is something that many of us struggle with these days. Luckily, Iceland found a perfect solution for the problem – outsourcing your emails to Icelandic horses. All you have to do for that is come to Iceland, and the rest will be taken care of.

This quirky ad is an amazing example of how creative and funny countries can get in attracting new tourists. 

4. Sweden – Spellbound

Have you heard of Dark Tourism? If you’re a fan of horror stories and mystic movies, then you certainly did! And you’ll absolutely love what Visit Sweden released this year as an attempt to attract a specific target audience with their unique tourist marketing campaign.

Their Spellbound campaign invites mystique lovers to Sweden to explore beautiful nature while enjoying the unique experience of listening to a chilling audio story. The campaign was set up so that a Spotify playlist would only become available to visitors once they came to a specific location. 

This way, they had to visit the location to get the unforgettable and scary experience. Who would’ve thought that horror stories could be such a great way to advertise a country?

5. Tourism Ireland – What Fills Your Heart?

You can never go wrong with a heartwarming tourist marketing campaign that celebrates good spirits, brings nostalgia, and connects people to the nature and the culture of one place. Tourism Ireland managed to do all that in one of their recent campaigns titled “What Fills Your Heart?”

In a series of ads with famous Irish actresses in the main roles, including Derry Girls and Sharon Horgan , the Irish tourist board told the story of Irish history, culture, and customs. 

Source: youtube.com

6. Vienna – What Does A Belly Do In Vienna?

There is no better place for a hungry and heartbroken belly to indulge in life’s beauties than Vienna. That’s the story Vienna’s tourist board told in their highly creative and surrealistic short film. 

As the belly walks through the streets of Vienna, trying to forget his dear human who didn’t treat him well, we get a glimpse of what tourists can see and enjoy during their next visit to the city. 

The creator’s unique approach to promoting Austria’s capital wins the creativity award and is an excellent magnet for new tourists. 

7. Only in Scotland – Why Scotland Needs You

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries struggled to attract tourists. People were concerned about their safety and if the location could provide memorable experiences despite numerous restrictions. 

At that time, Scotland released a beautiful ad showing why Scotland needs people while showing tourists why they’re the ones who actually need a holiday in this astonishing place. The ad is in the spirit of hope, serenity, and relaxation – everything people needed during the pandemic. 

8. KLM – Live Hologram Bar

Imagine spending hours at the airport talking to almost anyone in the world. You could learn about different cultures, what to visit in your next destination, or chat to make the time go by faster. 

In their 2019 marketing campaign, KLM placed hologram bars in airports around the world and allowed travelers from different parts of the world to connect and exchange their stories. Not a bad way to spend your time waiting for your next plane. 

9. Croatia Full of Life – Ode To Joy

What is a summer vacation in Croatia other than your own yearly ode to joy? 

This famous symbolic motif is what Croatian Tourist Board chose for the promotional campaign in 2012, and earned a prestigious travel industry ‘Oscars’ award, ‘Das Goldene Stadttor,’ at the International Tourism Film Festival. 

Beethoven’s inspiring music narrative, led by cellist Ana Rucner carries the video highlighting the rich cultural, historical, and natural heritage of Croatia as well as many Croatian beauties. 

10. Chicago Not in Chicago

In 2022, Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot announced the launch of the “Chicago Not in Chicago” campaign to show how Chicago has inspired many other iconic cities worldwide. 

This creative campaign featured city tour buses across major US cities where people got a tour of Chicago instead of the city they were visiting. And by first confusing and then entertaining the visitors, the campaign sent a powerful message that every city has a story – a Chicago story. 

Final thoughts

When it comes to travel marketing campaigns, the sky’s the limit. Countries and companies can use many different sources of inspiration to tell unique stories about a location or a travel service. 

And these travel marketing campaigns are a great example of how creativity combined with emotional appeal is a recipe for success. The only question remains: “In which of these locations did you book your next vacation?”

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Tourism Marketing: A Guide to Effectively Market Your Tours and Experiences

Discover how to strategically promote your tours with our comprehensive guide on tourism marketing and elevate your brand visibility today

by Janelle Visser | 2 February 2024

If you build it, they will come, as the adage goes. But in today’s digital age, where anyone can build anything and put it online in moments, the question becomes: how will they find — and choose — you? 

In the dynamic world of tourism experiences, the key to attracting travelers lies in successfully marketing your tours, activities and attractions. And it’s not just about attracting tourists, it’s about creating unforgettable connections that turn one-time visitors into loyal advocates for your brand. 

Marketing is consistently ranked by Arival event attendees as one of the most important topics they are looking for insights on. As traveler preferences and booking habits change, so do the most effective ways to market to them. 

In this comprehensive guide, we will delve into the evolution and strategies of marketing for travel and tourism in today’s digital era, providing actionable insights for tour operators and attractions, and answering key questions that every tour operator grapples with. From crafting a marketing strategy to understanding the components of a successful tourism marketing campaign, we’ll explore how to navigate the competitive and ever-evolving landscape of tour, activity and attraction marketing, and create lasting connections with your guests.

Here’s what we’ll cover:

What is Tourism Marketing?

The evolution of tourism marketing, how to create a tour marketing strategy.

• Conduct Thorough Market Research
• Identify Your Target Audience
• Understand Your Customer Needs and Expectations
• Create Unique Selling Propositions (USPs)
• Build a Strong Brand
• Consider Offline Marketing for Tours
• Embrace Digital Marketing Strategies
• Leverage Modern AI Technology
• Take Advantage of the Current Trends
• Monitor and Evaluate Your Strategy
• Navigating the Future of Tourism Marketing with Arival

At its core, tourism marketing is a strategic approach to promoting destinations, tourism products and services to tourists. For operators, this primarily means promoting your tour, activity or attraction offerings. The aim is to understand and meet the needs and wants of travelers, creating memorable experiences that encourage reviews, repeat visits and referrals. 

In the context of the global tourism economy, where according to Arival’s latest data the in-destination experiences industry is expected to be worth $270 billion in 2024. Tourism marketing plays a pivotal role in the success of travel businesses, helping them to stand out above their competitors and serving as the bridge that connects them with their target audiences of travelers.

As travel marketing company Blend ’s Managing Director put it recently in an interview with Arival, “The simplest way to define [marketing] is what comes to mind when someone thinks about your brand or experience. And what you do through your marketing channels is help shape that perception.”

The landscape of marketing in tourism has undergone a profound transformation since the early 1900s when the Michelin Guide first encouraged motorists to explore the world beyond their own towns. Progressing from traditional tourism promotion methods like brochures and word-of-mouth recommendations to the digital age of Google searches and social media influencers, technology has played a pivotal role in shaping how destinations and experiences are promoted. 

Fast forward to today, where the advent of short-form video marketing and generative AI has added new dimensions, allowing every tour, activity or attraction operator to engage travelers in innovative ways. These tools provide opportunities for engagement, personalization, and storytelling that were once unimaginable, and have become integral to captivating the modern traveler.

Successful marketing for tourism starts with a well-defined marketing strategy, which will help ensure the effort and resources you put into marketing are effective. The following steps will help guide you through the creation of a marketing strategy for your tour, activity or attraction company.

1. Tour Marketing Strategy

Understanding the market is the foundation of any effective strategy. Thorough research into customer demographics, travel patterns, and consumer behaviors will provide invaluable insights as you create your marketing strategy. 

Arival conducts regular tourism market research to assist tour, activity and attraction businesses with this process. For example, Arival’s latest consumer research on the 2024 U.S. Experiences Traveler found that day tours are on the rise among U.S. travelers , and that younger millennial and Gen Z travelers in particular are moving away from traditional sightseeing tours and looking for more experiential tours , such as culinary tours and immersive experiences. See Arival’s latest research here . 

2. Identify Your Target Audience

Targeting your tourism marketing plan to a specific audience is crucial, as this will enable you to enhance the relevance of your offerings, improve engagement, and maximize the effectiveness of your marketing efforts.

Identifying your target audience involves a strategic process that combines market research as described above, data analysis, competitive analysis and customer profiling. Google and social media platforms, for example, offer analytics tools that provide insights into the age, interests, geographic location and income bracket of your followers, that can help you to develop detailed buyer personas that represent your ideal customers, and create a plan to reach and engage these audiences. 

In addition, analyzing the target audience of your competitors will help you build on this and identify gaps or underserved segments in the market that your tourism marketing plan can effectively target.

3. Understand Your Customer Needs and Expectations

Conducting tourism market research and identifying your target audience will help you with this step. Once you have an idea of who your target customers are, you can discover what their needs and expectations are, and how to develop a marketing strategy to reach them effectively. 

For example, if you offer sightseeing tours and you have identified younger Millennial and Gen Z travelers from the U.S. as a demographic you want to market your tours to, you will need to go beyond sightseeing to attract this demographic, according to the latest Arival research . 

How can you make your tours more immersive and experiential, and reflect this in your marketing to engage this demographic? Anticipating and meeting your customers’ needs and expectations can lead to higher customer satisfaction, fostering reviews and repeat business. Personalization is key.

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4. Create Unique Selling Propositions (USPs)

One of the challenges a tourism marketing strategy needs to solve is how to make you stand out above your competitors. Why do tourists choose some travel experiences over others? One way to differentiate your offerings is by identifying and highlighting unique selling points (USPs) that resonate with your target audience.

Let’s say you have identified younger Millennial and Gen Z travelers as a group you’d like to target with your marketing efforts. In your city there are multiple competitors offering similar tour products to yours, however you’ve realized that this target audience has an affinity for food tours. You find a way to work elements of culinary tourism into your sightseeing tour offering and your marketing to set yourself above your competitors and offer something unique in your region.

5. Build a Strong Brand

A consistent, strong brand fosters trust and ensures your tour company is memorable in the minds of potential guests. You’ll be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn’t recognize the logo of an apple with a bite taken out of it, or doesn’t know where the phrase “just do it” comes from. 

Brands are about more than creative logos and catchy slogans, however. Building a robust brand for your experience business involves defining a clear identity with a focused mission and incorporating those USPs described in the previous step. Then, reaching out to your target audience through engaging storytelling and content, bolstered by a strong online presence, will enable your customers to build an emotional connection with your brand. Ensuring you’re delivering high-quality customer experiences to your target audience is crucial to building trust in your brand, and encouraging positive reviews is essential to building your brand’s reputation and ensuring ongoing brand success. 

Arival Insider Pro Access members can learn more about the importance of building your brand here. 

6. Consider Offline Marketing for Tours

Before we go too deep into digital marketing in tourism, it’s important to recognize that traditional methods like print advertising, brochures, and partnerships with local businesses still have relevance and can complement digital marketing strategies.

Many travelers are still waiting to book their things to do until they are in-destination, which means there is an opportunity to meet these travelers where they are. For example, working with destination marketing organizations (DMOs) and other regional tourist organizations that operate tourist information centers can enable you as a tour or experience operator to get printed promotional material about your experiences physically in the hands of tourists looking in person for things to do. Reach out to destination marketers in your region to take advantage of this offline marketing opportunity. 

7. Embrace Digital Marketing Strategies

As travelers increasingly use digital channels to discover, plan and book their travel, operators can and should leverage a range of digital marketing strategies to effectively promote their tours and engage with potential customers. 

From Google Things to do to search engine optimization (SEO), from social media strategy to working with influencers, from effective email marketing to impactful content marketing, a strong tourism marketing plan will incorporate a variety of digital marketing elements to bring a wider audience to the top of the funnel, and engage with them throughout the funnel at various stages of their discovery, planning and booking journey.

Arival has developed a number of guides and articles to help experience operators navigate the world of digital marketing for travel and tourism. Here are a few resources:

• An Essential Guide to SEO for Tours & Activities
• Content Marketing
• Your Guide to Influencer Marketing in Travel and Tourism

8. Leverage Modern AI Technology

The popularity of AI in 2024 cannot be understated, however many companies in the travel industry have been using AI in various forms long before the release of ChatGPT in late 2022 brought Generative AI, or Gen AI to the forefront. Gen AI, though, has made it a lot more accessible for travel businesses and tourism marketers without a lot of technical expertise to integrate AI to personalize customer experiences, generate targeted content, and enhance decision-making in marketing strategies for tourism. 

Many companies in the marketing for tourism space have developed tools and resources for tour, activity and attraction businesses, some of which are listed on Arival’s list of AI Resources for Experience Operators . Find out more about what’s the latest with AI in travel and how tour and attraction businesses are using it at the next Arival event. 

9. Take Advantage of the Current Trends

Staying up-to-date with the latest digital trends in marketing for travel and tourism is essential to stay relevant and get ahead of your competitors. 

For example, over the last couple of years, short-form videos on platforms like TikTok have risen dramatically as a channel for travelers — younger Millennial and Gen Z travelers in particular — to find inspiration for travel experiences. Incorporating vertical and short-form video in your tourism marketing will help you engage this audience, enabling you to meet travelers where they are online and present the experience offerings of your tour, activity or attraction company in a format your audience is familiar with.

@j_buzzi I don’t think I’ll ever get over how amazing bioluminescence is! 🤯🌌 #bioluminescence #getupandgokayaking ♬ Another Rain (From “Halo 3: ODST”) – DS Music

Justin Buzzi , founder of Get Up and Go Kayaking , jumped on the vertical video trend and attracted millions of views and over one million likes on TikTok with this short bioluminescence video.

10. Monitor and Evaluate Your Strategy

A strategy without evaluation is like a ship without a compass. Regularly assess the effectiveness of your marketing strategy using key performance indicators (KPIs). KPIs to monitor the effectiveness of your marketing strategy could include website traffic, conversion rates, social media engagement, booking levels, and customer reviews and ratings. Consistent monitoring and evaluation ensure that you not only navigate the course but also make agile adjustments, keeping your strategy aligned with the ever-shifting tides of the tourism market.

1. What are the key components of a successful tour marketing campaign?

Success lies in a well-researched strategy with clear targeting built on tourism market research, compelling USPs that speak to the needs and expectations of your target audience, and a strong brand built on a balanced mix of offline and digital marketing, as well as a compelling tourism experience product itself. All of these components work together to make for a successful marketing strategy. 

2. How often should I reevaluate and update my tourism marketing strategy?

In the world of tourism marketing, trends and traveler preferences change rapidly. Check in regularly with travel trends (and let Arival research guide you). While you might evaluate the effectiveness of your overall strategies quarterly to stay responsive to market changes and ensure your strategy remains effective, more frequent monitoring of individual social media channels, website KPIs and SEO will help you be that much more effective.

3. How can I optimize my website for tour marketing purposes?

Your website is your digital storefront. Prioritize content marketing , then optimize for search engines ( learn more about SEO here ), ensure seamless user-friendly navigation and online booking system capabilities for both computer and mobile booking , incorporate visually captivating elements like photos and videos, keep your pricing and product listings up to date, and update your content regularly. 

4. Are there any specific strategies to attract international tourists?

To attract international tourists, consider ways to tailor your marketing messages for the specific regional audiences you’re interested in reaching. Look at tourism market research and trends for the different regions you intend to target — what works in the U.S. might not work in Asia and vice versa. Your local and regional destination marketing organizations (DMOs) may be able to help with this, as destination marketers often conduct research on the international travelers coming to your destination. Consider utilizing multilingual content to reach a broader range of potential travelers, and explore partnerships with international travel agencies. Check out Arival’s list of OTAs organized by geographic region to help you identify potential distribution partners in other languages and regions.

5. How important are customer reviews and testimonials in tour marketing?

Customer reviews and testimonials play a crucial role in tour marketing, acting as powerful social proof that influences potential customers. Positive reviews build credibility and trust, addressing concerns and reservations prospective customers may have. Encourage your satisfied customers to share their experiences on platforms like TripAdvisor or Google, or wherever they booked, and don’t forget to respond to these reviews, whether positive or negative.

6. What are some unique challenges in tourism marketing compared to other industries?

Tourism marketing faces unique challenges such as seasonality, unpredictable external factors (e.g., natural disasters ), and the need for real-time adaptability to changing travel trends. High competition demands innovative strategies to stand out, and the reliance on positive word-of-mouth makes ensuring customer satisfaction even in the face of unpredictable challenges critical. 

7. How can I use tourism marketing to cope with seasonal fluctuations in the industry?

To cope with seasonal fluctuations, craft seasonal promotions, diversify offerings to match changing preferences, and use marketing to highlight the unique experiences available during different seasons. Some strategies include implementing targeted off-season promotions, creating incentives for bookings during slower periods, and developing themed tours or events that align with seasonal interests and capitalize on festivals or holidays. Implementing dynamic pricing strategies , where prices vary based on demand, can also help maximize revenue during peak seasons and encourage more visitation during slower periods.

Navigating the Future of Tourism Marketing With Arival

Success in tourism marketing lies in learning about your audience, developing practical strategies to reach them, constant adaptation to keep up with changing market conditions and traveler trends, and utilizing tools and research like what Arival provides to stay ahead in a competitive landscape. 

Keep in mind that you don’t have to do this alone. There are multiple marketing agencies out there that specialize in marketing for travel and tourism companies, with some even focusing specifically on tours, activities and attractions. Check out our curated list of the tourism marketing agencies for tours and attractions here. 

Even better, join us at the next Arival event where we’ll dive into the latest tourism market research insights and trends in travel experiences, and share practical tourism marketing strategies and other actionable takeaways to help you reach your target markets, increase your bookings and grow your business.  

Become an Insider Pro Access member today and get access to the full library of Arival research, plus many other benefits such as free consulting sessions, special discounts and 20% off in-person events, starting from $179 per year.

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10 Awesome Travel Marketing Films That Are Worth Booking A Trip Over

Many countries are vying for tourists' attention, with some going to creative, peculiar lengths to impress the world via awesome travel ads.

Marketing campaigns are very much like Yorkshire puddings. Made well and baked in an oven that's having a good day (plus a sprinkling of luck), they rise to glorious heights — one could even say they're life-changing. A bad Yorkshire pudding, though, can ruin a Yorkshirian's week and all those who sample said pudding, bringing shame upon the maker's family and leaving disappointed taste buds with much to desire.

Joking, of course, but people can at least laugh about god-awful Yorkshire pudding — that indulgent, chunky, golden lump of baked batter, ruined (however, passionate Yorkshirans might get a little emotional about a truly horrendous one). That's a terrible analogy to try to make a point. Satire aside, the same can be said about marketing campaigns.

When they excel, they go viral. Bad? Laughable. That said, one thing's surefire: good or bad, they're memorable — and that's the marketing team's goal. Great success!

There's no force quite like a destination's tourism marketing nerds, especially at a time like now. After over two years of pandemic-related restrictions, borders are open, and countries are falling over themselves to garner tourists' attention. That's why the tourism marketing teams attempt to produce the next blockbuster travel campaign. 2022 was the first travel-friendly year since the pandemic began, after all — a period when restrictions eased up and vacation hotspots desperate for tourist cash bid for travelers' bookings.

Some destinations spent exorbitant sums of money on marketing, shooting stunning footage of their tourist offerings and authentic portrayals of their locations, with many even onboarding celebrities in their marketing content. This surge of national and regional tourist departments worldwide deploying fresh ads to entice international travelers to their lands led to some truly unique content. And, like a Yorkshire pudding, some of these campaigns were outstanding — even iconic. Others, however — well, keep reading to get the picture.

From emotional and beautiful country reopening videos to horror-themed quick flicks and call-to-actions inciting space exploration on Earth (hello, Iceland, you clever rascal, you) , these campaigns from several tourist destinations caught the spotlight in 2022 with their wonderful, wacky, and even weird videos to spark tourism. Indeed, perhaps the most bizarre (and hilarious) of them all was an actual belly touring one of Europe's most famous cities — yes, a rather large tummy evoking (and practically inciting) the important message of sheer indulgence even piggery on one's vacay. What happens on vacation, stays on vacation — and on the waistline, in some epically indulgent cases wherein some travelers go home with more baggage than when they departed.

10 Iceland: Explore Martian Lands (With Two Feet On Earth)

2022 was the year when big-name companies (not naming any names) urged people to travel to outer space for a vacation — an experience reserved for folks with the deepest pockets, that is (sorry, mere mortals with bills to pay).

What Iceland wants holiday-starved globetrotters to know, however, is this: a spaceship isn't necessary to relish a space-like adventure; all anyone needs to do for a once-in-a-lifetime Martian trip is to visit the Land of Ice and Fire instead.

Mission Iceland took tourism marketing to new heights — literally . It launched its first-ever space billboard (indeed, a billboard that reached the stratosphere). This genius campaign encouraged aspiring space tourists to consider Iceland as an alternative destination to the stars. Why?

Well, visitors can experience Mars-like landscapes, with Mission Iceland's core message evidenced by its extraterrestrial beauty and natural splendor: Iceland is a lot like outer space, but better.

There’s zero need to blast off into space (and spend a lifetime's earnings in doing so) when travelers can head to Iceland for a Martian vacation at a fraction of the cost, time, and, perhaps best of all, carbon footprint.

Rolling red hills, black sand beaches , bubbling volcanoes, and some of Europe’s largest glacial lagoons are right here on planet Earth — numerous in Iceland, specifically.

9 Vienna: What Does A Belly Do In Vienna?

What does a belly do in a place commonly cited as the most beautiful city in Europe ? The Vienna Tourist Board's October 2022 campaign answers that question in what's quite possibly the most hilarious yet bizarre advertisement yet from any tourism marketing department.

They even made it into a short film, documenting the life of a literal walking and talking abdomen on a Vienna vacation.

Herr Belly's journey in this video is heartfelt (right in the coronary) and honest: traveling should be a time when those everyday rules relax, and the belly is free to do as belly pleases (or the person, of course — it would appear that Mr. Belly is a comedic metaphor — but done so well in a way that generates sumptuous emotions and a belly full of laughter).

Related: Five Days In Austria: Planning The Perfect Vacation In Under A Week

The six-minute story documents a rotund gut who leaves his human, Harry — who's obsessed with working out. Belly thus jets off to Vienna, where it samples all the city has to offer, meandering through the streets, viewing artworks, and sampling some Sacher torte in its hotel bed.

Human Harry does come to find Belly eventually, which leads to them enjoying a nice date together in a Viennese restaurant.

The finishing line of this cinematic triumph: "The most beautiful way to love yourself is to indulge" — a message reigning true when on a weekend trip to Vienna or a weeks-long escapade anywhere else on the planet.

8 South Africa: Live Again!

Launched in March 2022 — a time when a sizable chunk of the world remained locked down — South Africa's three-minute video was a delightful take on the travel world post-Omicron (when nobody yet knew what was to come).

While the campaign was superb, it was indeed brave after the first cases of the Omicron variant were recorded in South Africa and the nation faced travel bans from many countries around the world.

In the video, a young woman looks fed up with it all in a dark and rainy-looking London — classic British weather (that's why they console themselves with doughy Yorkshire puddings).

She then emerges into the light in Cape Town, South Africa , and colors paint the scene bright with vibrancy — a faraway sight from the grumpy grays of England.

The woman experiences quintessential South African bucket list items, going off on a safari to the Drakensberg escarpment while the nation's natural beauty completes the picture. Despite the breathtaking scenery more than enough to convey the message, the story focuses on human connections that people missed during COVID-19 lockdowns.

Her massage, her mingling with surfers, her sunset beach rides, and her partying that ends the video — these are those connections that everyone took for granted before the pandemic, which became unthinkable throughout its timeline.

After showcasing imagery that leaves viewers feeling as though they know what South Africa is really like , the final message, "Come as you are, leave as you'll never be again. Live again!" ends the emotional journey — telling viewers to enjoy these previously unthinkable experiences once again.

Where better to do so than the sublime, culture-rich, nature-laden lands and shores of South Africa?

7 Sweden: Spellbound

Sweden has given the world many things. Gorgeous green spaces, Abba, IKEA, and Greta Thunberg, to name but a few. Last year, though, this Scandinavian nation delivered possibly the strangest (but coolest?) bid for tourism yet — a Blair Witch-style, cheesy horror flick filmed in the woods.

Right on time for Halloween in 2022, Visit Sweden released a two-minute-long horror short promoting the country. The video is narrated by "Sweden", with the scene set in a forest — representing the country's "soul".

Much like a Hollywood horror, it lulls viewers into a sense of security, showcasing idyllic images — before the quintessential, corny flasher thrills begin.

The story details the character "Sam", who meets a beautiful woman who is, in fact, unbeknownst to him, a huldra — an eerie, creepy forest nymph. The moral of the tale, narrator Sweden warns, is "What happened in the forest is something you will regard as a dream, but that is not how it is going to be."

Not exactly a way to attract tourists, is it? Unless they love scary movies.

Some of the context behind the short film comes from the very end of the film when it also promotes Kiln, a "chilling audio story" by Swedish horror writer John Ajvide Lindqvist, which, according to the ominous tale, is downloadable "in the Swedish forest" — whatever that means.

6 Rwanda: Lionel Messi

It was Lionel Messi's year — and what a way to end playing for his home country's team.

His 2022 World Cup win for Argentina wasn't the only awesome activity he got up to last year, though. Legendary Messi and his Paris Saint-Germain soccer co-star, Sergio Ramos, ventured to Rwanda for Visit Rwanda's 2022 campaign.

The campaign, titled "Tee off your next adventure in Rwanda", was released just before the new year to kickstart the country's tourism once again, featuring a handful of sporting stars to really grab the world's attention.

The 100-second-long video opens with former soccer goalkeeper Jérôme Alonzo, who is seen playing golf during his retirement. The camera follows his golf ball, which lands in the world-famous Parc des Princes stadium before getting kicked around by the players.

Next, the well-traveled ball flies off to Rwanda, gliding through the air over the nation's most breathtaking landscapes.

After some fun cinematography (and cameos from gorillas), the short video returns to the golf course, where a young girl ends the shot with a majestic hole-in-one.

5 Vilnius, Lithuania: Vilnius's Belated Birthday Cards

Lithuania and its attractions offer tourists plenty, particularly the capital city — but what does that even matter if people can't point it out on a map, let alone know it exists?

The city's tourism marketing team evidently understands this reality yet goes with it anyway, reclaiming the world's obliviousness and using it to create a witty video, which so bluntly gets it over and done with from the get-go.

"Nobody knows where Vilnius is", the video proclaims (perhaps even proudly?), and it's that self-deprecating humor that earns the content a spot on this list — it's likable, honest, and charismatic. It says it as it is without dishonest sugar-coating that travel ads are notoriously guilty of.

Even the city’s tourism marketing team can’t argue the truth; they know nobody knows where their city is.

Open up a new tab and look at a map of Europe (there’s a free hint) – five bucks and a bowl of Šaltibarščiai say finding the pot at the end of the rainbow is easier than pointing out Vilnius on an atlas.

Related: Vilnius And Why This Old Lithuanian City Shouldn't Be Missed

Those responsible for the city's tourism campaigns ran with the world's unfamiliarity with Vilnius in previous years, too; they rewrote a Christmas carol dubbed "Christmas in Vilnius: Amazing wherever you think it is" .

That self-mockery at work again — glorious marketing perfection. Heck, this theme is a darn sight more lighthearted than those former campaigns from Vilnius were laced in; in true, hilarious, audacious fashion, the city was branded under a somewhat NSFW but epic name at one point (perhaps check this one on Google; this site is family-friendly!).

Vilnius's latest campaign captures that same self-taking-the-micky-out-of-comedy value but shapes it into a cheeky birthday celebration.

It's all about the city's seven hundredth anniversary — indeed, Vilnius turns 700 in 2023. The retro, '80s-styled video explains, "After most of the world forgot Vilnius' last 699 birthdays, we came up with a solution for its 700th," — the solution being a "belated birthday e-card collection."

The ad showcases several entertaining birthday cards and instructs viewers to send their own.

4 Australia: G'day

Australia's fun, loud, and awesome personality is known worldwide, and its nine-minute film "G'day", captures its essence perfectly.

The video went pretty much viral, gaining 19 million YouTube views — in its first month. Starring Rose Byrne as Ruby, a toy kangaroo, and Will Arnett as Louie, a toy unicorn, the short movie took a leaf out of the long-loved Toy Story's book.

The campaign, "Come and say g'day," follows the pair on an Aussie adventure, starting with their escape from a Great Barrier Reef gift shop. They subsequently venture to Nitmiluk Gorge, Uluru, the Great Barrier Reef, and even the Sydney Opera House.

Finalizing the tale with "Down Under, 'g'day' is the start of every good adventure", Byrne closes the toys' chapter, further ending it with the one-liner, "It's our way of saying, 'If you're not a friend yet, you will be, mate" .

Friendly and endearing (even if feeling scripted), it's a wholesome take on a travel ad (with zero expletives — not what one would typically expect from an Aussie production. Just kidding, kinda ).

3 South Korea: Shall We Play #Korea

"Shall we play Korea " graced screens in November, entailing a fun, short-and-sweet glimpse at South Korea and its best places , and what it offers as a country (clue: it promises something for every kind of visitor — be it family-friendly attractions, fun for the elders, dreams for the kids and teens, and romantic retreats for couples.

From golfing and paragliding to road-tripping across the country, this campaign delivers an important message: there's fun for all. And how can anyone forget K-pop dancing? Well, when in Rome...

2 Morocco: Kingdom Of Light

Morocco means natural wonders , tradition, rich culture, mouthwatering food, remarkable historic attractions, and stunning scenery.

It's a land to which many visitors escape — to get away from the conventional western lifestyle and experience something beautifully different.

In a country like Morocco, tradition and customs are prominent and experiences in themselves, but the country's tourism campaign released in May took them and created a tasty cocktail with the new.

The tasteful video combines the treats that tourists visit Morocco for — the enchanting traditional gifts of Tajines, souks, and the exquisite Badi Palace in Marrakech — with modern Morocco.

Think contemporary dance in the breathtaking Badi Palace, golfing in the undulating Moroccan dunes , and dazzling art exhibitions in the desert. The wonderful background music is the cherry on top, too.

1 Virgin Atlantic: See The World Differently

This entry isn't a destination as such, granted. But give it a chance — it deserves its place on the list.

Virgin Atlantic is one of the world's most famous airlines; most people recognize the brand, and a heck of a lot more will now, thanks to its wholesome yet totally cool ad that does things, well, a little differently.

Titled "See the world differently" , the campaign certainly practices what it preaches. It starts out unassuming, leaving viewers with the ordinary thought, "urgh, another cheesy airline ad?".

Featuring smartly uniformed flight attendants, airport scenes, and travelers rushing through, indeed, the video does feel like nothing special — but that internal voice ends very quickly. The quirky passengers and fabulous airline staff break the norm seconds in.

They're no same-same Jane and John Does nor supermodels; they're funny-face-pulling punk rockers, fierce male flight attendants with fabulous glittering make-up (who can clearly walk like catwalk models, by the way), colorful suit-donning guys wearing shades indoors, and cute-n-cheeky kids, among other unconventional characters.

Wouldn't put it past them not to be sandals-and-socks wearers, too.

The picture's painted; it's a cool ad showing off the beauty of diversity in the human population — but it does it in such a fun, electric way that it's hard to pull the eyes away from the screen. And goodness , the soundtrack — it's sensational.

The backing tune is as positively upbeat as it is catchy, a cover by jazz/soul artist Lady Blackbird of the 1983 Broadway hit song "I am what I am" , which was originally composed by Jerry Herman for the musical La Cage aux Folles .

The music, perfectly blended with the filming, leaves the end of the ad feeling utterly wholesome as if viewers have just returned from a journey with these funky folks on board the sizable aircraft.

The ending? Cool as heck. It finalizes with a James Bond-like scene, a female pilot jetting her plane full of passengers off into the sunset horizon — what a way to inspire travelers and little girls simultaneously, the latter informed without any words that they, too, can become a pilot if they so desire. Seriously, just watch it and feel the feels.

Bravo, Virgin Atlantic , bravo. Is an encore too much to ask?

Space Tourism: Can A Civilian Go To Space?

2021 has been a busy year for private space tourism: overall, more than 15 civilians took a trip to space during this year. In this article, you will learn more about the space tourism industry, its history, and the companies that are most likely to make you a space tourist.

What is space tourism?

Brief history of space tourism, space tourism companies, orbital and suborbital space flights, how much does it cost for a person to go to space, is space tourism worth it, can i become a space tourist, why is space tourism bad for the environment.

Space tourism is human space travel for recreational or leisure purposes . It’s divided into different types, including orbital, suborbital, and lunar space tourism.

However, there are broader definitions for space tourism. According to the Space Tourism Guide , space tourism is a commercial activity related to space that includes going to space as a tourist, watching a rocket launch, going stargazing, or traveling to a space-focused destination.

The first space tourist was Dennis Tito, an American multimillionaire, who spent nearly eight days onboard the International Space Station in April 2001. This trip cost him $20 million and made Tito the first private citizen who purchased his space ticket. Over the next eight years, six more private citizens followed Tito to the International Space Station to become space tourists.

As space tourism became a real thing, dozens of companies entered this industry hoping to capitalize on renewed public interest in space, including Blue Origin in 2000 and Virgin Galactic in 2004. In the 2000s, space tourists were limited to launches aboard Russian Soyuz aircraft and only could go to the ISS. However, everything changed when the other players started to grow up on the market. There are now a variety of destinations and companies for travels to space.

There are now six major space companies that are arranging or planning to arrange touristic flights to space:

• Virgin Galactic;
• Blue Origin;
• Axiom Space;
• Space Perspective.

While the first two are focused on suborbital flights, Axiom and Boeing are working on orbital missions. SpaceX, in its turn, is prioritizing lunar tourism in the future. For now, Elon Musk’s company has allowed its Crew Dragon spacecraft to be chartered for orbital flights, as it happened with the Inspiration4 3-day mission . Space Perspective is developing a different balloon-based system to carry customers to the stratosphere and is planning to start its commercial flights in 2024.

Orbital and suborbital flights are very different. Taking an orbital flight means staying in orbit; in other words, going around the planet continually at a very high speed to not fall back to the Earth. Such a trip takes several days, even a week or more. A suborbital flight in its turn is more like a space hop — you blast off, make a huge arc, and eventually fall back to the Earth, never making it into orbit. A flight duration, in this case, ranges from 2 to 3 hours.

Here is an example: a spaceflight takes you to an altitude of 100 km above the Earth. To enter into orbit — make an orbital flight — you would have to gain a speed of about 28,000 km per hour (17,400 mph) or more. But to reach the given altitude and fall back to the Earth — make a suborbital flight — you would have to fly at only 6,000 km per hour (3,700 mph). This flight takes less energy, less fuel; therefore, it is less expensive.

• Virgin Galactic: $250,000 for a 2-hour suborbital flight at an altitude of 80 km;
• Blue Origin: approximately $300,000 for 12 minutes suborbital flight at an altitude of 100 km;
• Axiom Space: $55 million for a 10-day orbital flight;
• Space Perspective: $125,000 for a 6-hour flight to the edge of space (32 km above the Earth).

The price depends, but remember that suborbital space flights are always cheaper.

What exactly do you expect from a journey to space? Besides the awesome impressions, here is what you can experience during such a trip:

• Weightlessness . Keep in mind that during a suborbital flight you’ll get only a couple of minutes in weightlessness, but it will be truly fascinating .
• Space sickness . The symptoms include cold sweating, malaise, loss of appetite, nausea, fatigue, and vomiting. Even experienced astronauts are not immune from it!
• G-force . 1G is the acceleration we feel due to the force of gravity; a usual g-force astronauts experience during a rocket launch is around 3gs. To understand how a g-force influences people , watch this video.

For now, the most significant barrier for space tourism is price. But air travel was also once expensive; a one-way ticket cost more than half the price of a new car . Most likely, the price for space travel will reduce overtime as well. For now, you need to be either quite wealthy or win in a competition, as did Sian Proctor, a member of Inspiration4 mission . But before spending thousands of dollars on space travel, here is one more fact you might want to consider.

Rocket launches are harmful to the environment in general. During the burning of rocket fuels, rocket engines release harmful gases and soot particles (also known as black carbon) into the upper atmosphere, resulting in ozone depletion. Think about this: in 2018 black-carbon-producing rockets emitted about the same amount of black carbon as the global aviation industry emits annually.

However, not all space companies use black carbon for fuel. Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket has a liquid hydrogen-fuelled engine: hydrogen doesn’t emit carbon but simply turns into water vapor when burning.

The main reason why space tourism could be harmful to the environment is its potential popularity. With the rising amount of rocket launches the carbon footprint will only increase — Virgin Galactic alone aims to launch 400 of these flights annually. Meanwhile, the soot released by 1,000 space tourism flights could warm Antarctica by nearly 1°C !

Would you want to become a space tourist? Let us know your opinion on social media and share the article with your friends, if you enjoyed it! Also, the Best Mobile App Awards 2021 is going on right now, and we would very much appreciate it if you would vote for our Sky Tonight app . Simply tap "Vote for this app" in the upper part of the screen. No registration is required!

Home » Slogans » Catchy Slogans » List of 101 Creative Tourism Catchy Slogans and Taglines

List of 101 Creative Tourism Catchy Slogans and Taglines

We have gathered a list of some of the catchiest tourism slogans and taglines that shine brightly within the industry. These remarkable slogans are followed by the Greatest Travel Agency Names of All-Time and a special post on How to Write a Catchy Slogan that Brings in More Customers .

A Destination for the New Millennium.

A different light.

A new point of view.

A signature of excellence.

A tradition of excellence.

A whole world on a single island.

A world within. A state apart.

Adventures In Living.

Awaken To A Different World.

Beautiful one day, perfect the next.

Beauty Amplified.

Best under the Australian sky.

Better prices. Exceptional people.

Beyond Words.

Big agency deals. Small agency feel.

Big Country.

Come to Life.

Creative Holidays. Create your kind of holiday.

Discover a different world…

Dream. Explore. Discover.

Dreams for all seasons.

Eat, drink, and be happy. Ride the rails!

Endless Discoveries.

Enjoy the freedom!

Enjoy the show.

Escape completely.

Eternally Yours.

Even better this year.

Every day is different.

Everything else is in the shade.

Exclusive holidays for the single traveler.

Experience the uncommon element.

Experience Variety.

Explore Minnesota.

Exploring the world in comfort.

Fields of Opportunities.

Forever West.

Georgia on my mind.

Get natural.

God’s own country.

Great Faces. Great Places.

Great journeys – fascinating places.

Happiness on Earth.

Honest To Goodness Indiana.

I (Heart) NY.

Inspiring destinations within your reach.

It’s a real pleasure.

It’s all here.

It’s Like A Whole Other Country

It’s more fun in the Philippines.

Journey at its luxurious best.

Journeys as great as the destinations.

Just a Smile Away.

Let us show you the world!

Let your soul and spirit fly.

Life Elevated.

Live Free & _________.

Live your myth in Greece.

Made in Tennessee.

Manly. Seven Miles from Sydney, a Thousand Miles from Care…

Mile after magnificent mile.

More than the usual.

Must be the sunshine.

New Mexico True.

Oceans of experience.

One aim, excellence.

Pick Your Passion.

Positively Transforming.

Rail trips to here, there and everywhere!

Relax… You’re with us! We make it simple.

Relaxed, friendly and informal.

State of Independence.

Still Revolutionary.

Sweet Home Alabama

Take me to the top.

The best way to see America!

The Grand Canyon State.

The Heartland of the Baltic.

The Island for All Seasons.

The Island of Memories…

The Land that Sings.

The Mediterranean as it once was.

The Natural State.

The value of experience.

There is no place like Kansas.

There’s no place like it.

There’s only one.

Too much fun for just one day.

Travel with a clear conscience.

Ultimate in Diversity.

Unbridled Spirit.

Unforgettable rail journeys.

Virginia is for lovers.

We live it. You’ll love it.

We Love Dreamers.

Where family fun begins.

You’ll love where we take you.

You’ve arrived.

Your world. Your way.

Greatest Travel Agency Names of All-Time Captivating Journeys Destination Vacation Trailfinders Vacations to Go Pack & Go See All of the Greatest Travel Agency Names of All-Time

Go here to see some more slogan examples and find out the perfect slogan formula for creating a catchy slogan that brings in more customers.

The below infographic takes a look at the tourism industry and top destinations promoting by social media. Today’s travelers predominantly connect by social media where resorts and major destinations can engage travelers to encourage travel.

Related Posts:

• 50 Best Personal Mission Statement Examples
• 100 Ways to Get Out of Your Comfort Zone
• 21 Great Family Mission Statement Examples
• 10 Proven Psychological Pricing Strategies with Examples

R&D for space: Who is actually funding it?

Over the past few years, some of the most notable achievements within the space sector have come from private companies, including “new space” players that have entered the market since 2000. Among other advances, these companies have enabled the first all-civilian mission to orbit , the ongoing development of potential successors to the International Space Station, and a decrease in launch costs. Their R&D pipelines remain strong, and they are now piloting more innovative use cases, such as on-orbit manufacturing and refueling.

These developments raise an important question that serves as the focus of this article: How has space R&D funding evolved as the commercial sector increased its involvement? We examined data for R&D spending to identify important trends, including how commercial-sector contributions to space-sector R&D have scaled and how they compare to government contributions.

Would you like to learn more about our Aerospace & Defense Practice ?

An evolving funding environment.

Although the US federal government remains the major source of funding for space R&D, the growth of commercial investment has been impressive. Investment in new space companies now accounts for an estimated $5 billion to $6 billion per year in space R&D funding—up from less than $1 billion only a decade ago (Exhibit 1). Some of these companies receive funding from investment firms (private equity or venture capital), while others are backed by their wealthy founders. Profits, if any, may be reinvested in further R&D.

Legacy or traditional aerospace and defense (A&D) companies largely rely on government R&D funding that comes in two forms: direct payments (customer-funded R&D) or recovery of a portion of their expenses for independent R&D (IRAD) through overhead rates. In consequence, the incremental contribution of such companies to total sector R&D is estimated at less than $1 billion per year. 1 When the space segment is not separately discussed in company filings, IRAD attributable to space is estimated by proxy, looking at the proportion of estimated space revenues to total revenues.

The growing role of commercial space companies

Over the past five years, commercial R&D spending within the space sector has risen by 22 percent annually—more than double the 10 percent increase for US government spending. But the situation is reversed for absolute funding, since US government R&D spending, at about $12 billion per year, still far outweighs the approximately $6 billion from commercial R&D. Overall, R&D spending in the space sector is increasing by about 13 percent annually.

Expectations versus reality: Commercial satellite constellations

The government’s contribution as a percentage of total R&D funding has been falling, despite absolute dollar increase. From 2010 through 2013, it accounted for about 90 percent of total R&D investment. That figure rapidly decreased from 2014 through 2017, when it hit 65 percent (Exhibit 2). Over the past few years, the percentage split for public- and private-sector funding has roughly stabilized, with government contributing about two-thirds of the total and commercial companies about one-third.

The president’s budget request for fiscal year 2022 gives increased priority to space initiatives, including R&D, testing, and evaluation. 2 “The Department of Defense issues the president’s fiscal year 2022 budget,” US Department of Defense, May 28, 2021, defense.gov. In tandem, commercial-sector space activity remains high among investors of all types.

Ryan Brukardt is a senior partner in McKinsey’s Miami office, Jesse Klempner is a partner in the Chicago office, and Brooke Stokes is an associate partner in the Southern California office.

The authors wish to thank Carlos Felix Dietrich, Sarah Georgin, and Henry Tourtillotte for their contributions to this article.

This article was edited by Eileen Hannigan, a senior editor at the Waltham, Massachusetts, office.

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Eric Clapton to purchase £1.2m property with 'panoramic views' in holidaymaker's hub

Eric Clapton is about to splurge £1.2million home on the Portuguese island of Madeira, it’s been revealed.

The guitar legend, 79, is reportedly preparing to secure a four-bedroom property looking over Funchal Bay, often described as the Portuguese Archipelago's commercial centre.

He had his first glance at the property during a flying visit to the Atlantic Island in February and reportedly "fell in love" with it during the visit.

The sprawling mansion is situated in one of Madeira’s most desirable real estate destinations.

It stretches over a 10,000-square-foot plot of land and can park up to 10 cars, according to local media.

The Funchal-based real estate Agency representing the property explained on its website that it has been “reserved”.

“It offers a lot of privacy and panoramic views over Funchal Bay,” an entry on the website read.

Currently, the largest house in Clapton’s property empire is his main residence in Essex, United Kingdom.

The musician reportedly flew to Madeira in February by private jet, in what some media outlets are describing as a two-day holiday.

According to the Portuguese daily Correio da Mana: “It wasn’t a tourist or work trip. The British musician went to visit the house he will acquire after he signs the deeds on the property which will cost him nearly 1.5 million euros.

“He fell in love with the dream house with its stunning views over Funchal Bay.”

The travel website Visit Madeira describes Funchal as the capital and the archipelago’s tourist, cultural and commercial centre.

It adds: “The town is named after a sweet-smelling wild herb, traditionally known as fennel, which was abundant here when the settlement was created.

“Later, several excellent regional products, such as sugar or wine, proved crucial to the local economy, turning Funchal into a key trading point in the centre of the Atlantic.”

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS

・ Britons buying popular type of house may have to pay up to 122% more than the average

・ UK regions where house prices have increased the most as property market shows signs of resilience

・ The UK areas where Britons are looking for bungalows as demand to downsize increases

According to the website, the area is brimming with activities to entertain visitors with all sorts of interests.

“From historical monuments to museums, restaurants with flavour and knowledge, multiple leisure spaces, tropical gardens and beaches, stunning viewpoints and a lively cultural agenda, if you're looking for things to do in Funchal, you will find a wide range of places to discover and experiences to live.”

Temperatures typically peak during August and September, although the subtropical climate offers sunshine throughout the year.

“The hottest month of the year is August with an average daily maximum of 27C and an average low of 21C.”

Additional reporting by Natalia Penza.

• International

Boeing launches first crewed Starliner spacecraft

By Jackie Wattles , Ashley Strickland and Maureen Chowdhury, CNN

We've wrapped up our live coverage for the day. You can read more about the Starliner mission here .

Here's what to expect during Thursday's docking

From CNN's Ashley Strickland

Eager to continue following Starliner's journey? NASA will resume live coverage Thursday at 9:30 a.m. ET on the agency's website .

Williams and Wilmore are expected to dock with the International Space Station at 12:15 p.m. ET tomorrow.

The hatch between Starliner and the station is expected to be opened at 2 p.m., and the astronaut duo will be welcomed by the seven crew members already aboard the station at 2:20 p.m. ET.

And NASA officials will share the latest details about Starliner's historic mission at 3:30 p.m. ET Thursday.

Will Starliner be used for tourism?

From CNN's Jackie Wattles

Boeing's Starliner spacecraft was designed under the same NASA program as SpaceX's Crew Dragon — which has already carried 13 missions to orbit for NASA astronauts as well as paying customers.

That's allowed under NASA's Commercial Crew Program, which from the outset intended for SpaceX and Boeing to own and operate their spacecraft. The space agency buys flights for its astronauts, and the companies are allowed to sell seats if they want.

SpaceX has taken full advantage of that: It has flown tourists and foreign astronauts to the space station in a partnership with Houston-based company Axiom . SpaceX has also flown a mission for finance billionaire Jared Isaacman called Inspiration 4 — and more are on the schedule.

But Boeing, which has suffered lengthy delays and costly setbacks during Starliner's development, has been less certain of whether Starliner will be used for joy rides.

"Right now we're focused on the six missions that we have on contract with NASA," said Mark Nappi, vice president and Starliner program manager at Boeing, during a news briefing prior to the May 6 launch attempt. "The private astronaut missions are of interest later in the decade — but right now, the focus is on getting certified."

A snippet from a Starliner overview packet posted to Boeing's website, however, is a bit more assertive:

"We are selling the extra fifth seat on NASA missions," the document reads. "Potential customers include commercial and government-sponsored astronauts and even private citizens flying as tourists. Starliner is also planned to be used for crew transportation to Blue Origin’s upcoming Orbital Reef commercial space station."

NASA officials know a thing or two about scrubbed missions

Both NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and Ken Bowersox, associate administrator for NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate, are former astronauts, so they know what it's like to make the thrilling journey to space and back — and the long wait to lift off when things don't go as planned, like the two scrubs Williams and Wilmore faced ahead of today's successful launch.

Nelson and Bowersox sat next to each other during the news conference.

"The administrator actually has the record because he did it first," Bowersox said, gesturing to Nelson. "They scrubbed six times on his launch. And on one of my launches, we scrubbed six times."

Selected as an astronaut in 1987, Bowersox flew five times on the space shuttle and once on a Roscosmos Soyuz, logging more than 211 days in space.

Bowersox said Williams and Wilmore probably spent longer than he did in crew quarantine because of the distance between their scrubbed launches.

Nelson trained and flew with the crew of the Space Shuttle Columbia in 1986.

"At least the weather was not a concern for the three times on Starliner," Nelson said. "The weather certainly played a big part with regard to some of our scrubs. So, yeah, it gets old hat when you strap in, and it's just another day at the ranch."

Starliner crew will land on dry land rather than splash down. Here's why

From CNN's Jackie Wattles & Ashley Strickland

Today's launch was a monumental moment for the two astronauts heading for space.

But what goes up must come down.

After Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore spend eight days aboard the International Space Station, they'll come home in their Starliner capsule.

The earliest possible landing date is June 14, but the astronauts may stay longer on the station because there is nothing "magical" about that return date, NASA officials said Wednesday.

"We've got a prescribed landing date that goes along with this launch date, but I just want to emphasize that nobody should get too excited about that date," said Ken Bowersox, associate administrator for NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate. "We have to have a lot of conditions that are just right before we bring the Starliner home and we're going to wait till the conditions are right and we've accomplished the test objectives before we do that."

And the vehicle will make its return to Earth unlike any US spacecraft before it.

Rather than splashing down in the ocean, as SpaceX's Crew Dragon and other capsules dating back to NASA's Mercury Program have done, Starliner is going to hit terra firma.

There are five possible landing sites, generally across the southwestern US: Two in New Mexico, one in Utah, another in Arizona and, finally, one in California.

Why land on land rather than splash down?

Seawater is rough on spacecraft. The salt can corrode components. And then, there's the sheer hassle of getting ships out to sea to rescue the crew.

NASA official: The space station's urine pump change will happen soon

Starliner is carrying a crucial replacement pump that helps convert urine on the space station into drinkable water.

The pump failed last week, and since then, urine has been stored in bags on the space station while the crew awaits the replacement pump.

"On the pump change, we're gonna get to that as soon as we can," said Joel Montalbano, deputy associate administrator for NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate. "My hope is we get to it this week. If not, it'll be early next week."

Today's launch means a lot to Boeing, official with commercial crew program says

From CNN's Maureen Chowdhury

The launch means a lot to Boeing, said Mark Nappi, vice president and program manager, for Boeing's Commercial Crew Program.

He said that the launch was the first step in the program's mission, and there are many more phases.

Nappi added that for the rest of the year, Boeing is focused on getting certified for the Starliner 1 mission.

Boeing official: "We don't see it as a competition" with SpaceX

When asked about the relationship between Boeing and SpaceX, long viewed as a rivalry, Mark Nappi, the vice president and program manager of the Commercial Crew Program for Boeing, said he believes others see it as a competition.

"We don't see it as a competition," Nappi said. "We've got two providers that are going up to the International Space Station and SpaceX is up there, and we're up there now as well. So, this is something that NASA has planned and we've accomplished it."

Nappi saw Musk's congratulatory post on X about the flight.

Here's what happens next for the Starliner crew

NASA officials shared that astronauts Williams and Wilmore may enjoy a slightly extended stay aboard the International Space Station once they arrive. The earliest possible landing date is June 14.

Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, added that the only issue mission teams are assessing is a system called a sublimator on Starliner, which provides cooling during the launch and landing phase.

"What that does is it creates a block of ice essentially," he said. "And then as heat is passed into that icebox, a little thin layer of that ice turns into a vapor and that rejects heat away. We used a little bit more water than we expected."

The team will assess data of the sublimator to learn more about how the system is functioning for future purposes.

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Elephant tourism often involves cruelty. Here are steps toward more humane, animal-friendly excursions

by Michelle Szydlowski, The Conversation

Suju Kali is a 50-year-old elephant in Nepal who has been carrying tourists for over 30 years. Like many elephants I encounter through my research , Suju Kali exhibits anxiety and can be aggressive toward strangers. She suffers from emotional trauma as a result of prolonged, commercial human contact.

Like Suju Kali, many animals are trapped within the tourism industry . Some venues have no oversight and little concern for animal or tourist safety. Between 120,000 and 340,000 animals are used globally in a variety of wildlife tourism attractions, including endangered species like elephants. Over a quarter of the world's endangered elephants reside in captivity with little oversight.

Wildlife tourism—which involves viewing wildlife such as primates or birds in conservation areas, feeding or touching captive or "rehabilitated" wildlife in facilities, and bathing or riding animals like elephants—is tricky business . I know this because I am a researcher studying human relationships with elephants in both tourism and conservation settings within Southeast Asia.

These types of experiences have long been an extremely popular and profitable part of the tourism market . But now, many travel-related organizations are urging people not to participate in, or calling for an outright ban on, interactive wildlife experiences .

Tourism vendors have started marketing more "ethical options" for consumers. Some are attempting to truly improve the health and welfare of wildlife, and some are transitioning captive wildlife into touch-free, non-riding or lower-stress environments. In other places, organizations are attempting to implement standards of care or create manuals that outline good practices for animal husbandry.

This marketing, academics argue, is often simply " greenwashing ," applying marketing labels to make consumers feel better about their choices without making any real changes. Worse, research shows that some programs marketing themselves as ethical tourism may instead be widening economic gaps and harming both humans and other species that they are meant to protect.

No quick fix

For example, rather than tourist dollars trickling down to local struggling families as intended by local governments , many tourism venues are owned by nonresidents, meaning the profits do not stay in the area . Likewise, only a small number of residents can afford to own tourism venues, and venues do not provide employment for locals from lower income groups.

This economic gap is especially obvious in Nepalese elephant stables: Venue owners continue to make money off elephants, while elephant caregivers continue to work 17 hours a day for about US$21 a month; tourists are led to believe they are " promoting sustainability ."

Yet, there are no easy answers, especially for elephants working in tourism. Moving them to sanctuaries is difficult because with no governmental or global welfare oversight, elephants may end up in worse conditions.

Many kindhearted souls who want to "help" elephants know little about their biology and mental health needs, or what it takes to keep them healthy. Also, feeding large animals like Suju Kali is pricey, costing around $19,000 yearly . So without profits from riding or other income, owners—or would-be rescuers—can't maintain elephants. Releasing captive elephants to the jungle is not a choice—many have never learned to live in the wild, so they cannot survive on their own.

Hurting local people

Part of the problem lies with governments, as many have marketed tourism as a way to fund conservation projects. For example in Nepal, a percentage of ticket sales from elephant rides are given to community groups to use for forest preservation and support for local families.

Increasing demand for wildlife-based tourism may increase traffic in the area and thus put pressure on local governments to further limit local people's access to forest resources.

This may also lead to increased demands on local communities , as was the case in Nepal. In the 1970s, the Nepalese government removed local people from their lands in what is now Chitwan National Park as part of increasing "conservation efforts" and changed the protected area's boundaries. Indigenous "Tharu," or people of the forest, were forced to abandon their villages and land. While some were offered access to " buffer zones " in the 1990s, many remain poor and landless today.

In addition, more and more desirable land surrounding conservation areas in Nepal is being developed for tourist-based businesses such as hotels, restaurants and shops, pushing local poor people farther away from central village areas and the associated tourism income.

Some activists would like humans to simply release all wildlife back into the wild, but there are multiple issues with that. Elephant habitats throughout Southeast Asia have been transformed into croplands, cities or train tracks for human use. Other problems arise from the fact that tourism elephants have never learned how to be elephants in their natural elements, as they were separated from their herds at an early age.

So tourism may be vital to providing food, care and shelter to captive elephants for the rest of their lives and providing jobs for those who really need them. Because elephants can live beyond 60 years, this can be a large commitment.

How to be an ethical tourist

To protect elephants, tourists should check out reviews and photos from any venue they want to visit, and look for clues that animal welfare might be impacted, such as tourists allowed to feed, hold or ride captive wildlife animals. Look for healthy animals, which means doing research on what "healthy" animals of that species should look like.

If a venue lists no-touch demonstrations—"unnatural" behaviors that don't mimic what an elephant might do of their own accord, such as sitting on a ball or riding a bike, or other performances—remember that the behind-the-scenes training used to achieve these behaviors can be violent, traumatic or coercive .

Another way to help people and elephant is to to use small, local companies to book your adventures in your area of interest, rather than paying large, international tourism agencies. Look for locally owned hotels, and wait to book excursions until you arrive so you can use local service providers. Book homestay programs and attend cultural events led by community members; talk to tourists and locals you meet in the target town to get their opinions, and use local guides who provide wildlife viewing opportunities while maintaining distance from animals .

Or tourists can ask to visit venues that are certified by international humane animal organizations and that do not allow contact with wildlife. Or they can opt for guided hikes, canoe or kayak experiences, and other environmentally friendly options.

While these suggestions will not guarantee that your excursion is animal-friendly, they will help decrease your impact on wildlife , support local families and encourage venues to stop using elephants as entertainment. Those are good first steps.

Provided by The Conversation

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