A strong marketing strategy is fundamental in the success of resorts, hotels and other tourist destinations. Statistics show that tourism and hospitality currently accounts for 10% of the entire global workforce (18% in Europe). It generates billions of dollars in revenue while stimulating countries’ economies in the process.
But if you own a company that relies on tourism, you need to actively promote your business in order to succeed. Without a strong marketing strategy, your target audience won’t know about your business, let alone visit it. But regardless of where it’s located, professional video services can help you achieve your marketing goals.
Why Your Tourism Business Needs Video
Video can help your company succeed in several ways. According to a Google survey conducted in 2011, 66% of respondents said they watched an online video when considering a vacation. The survey also found that 64% of respondents were influenced by online video when choosing a destination.
It’s not just user-made YouTube videos that vacation-goers are watching, either. The same Google survey found that travelers watch both professional and homemade videos to help them choose a destination.
There’s only so much a user can tell about a tourism destination by reading articles. Sure, articles provide insight into attractions, accommodations and more, but they don’t offer a clear picture of the destination’s experience — and that’s a key selling point for tourism companies.
Professional Video Services
When designing videos for your tourism company, it’s recommended that you choose professional video services, such as those offered by SkySee Video. Assuming this will be used as an official video under your company’s name, you want to present your company in the best manner. While recording a short film using your smartphone may be harmless for some social media, it can reflect poorly upon your company if try to use it in a tech savvy forum. A professionally made video, on the other hand, establishes your company as a leading and authoritative figure in the tourism industry. Viewers will take notice of the high resolution, crisp sound and professional camera work, increasing the chance of converting those viewers into paying customers.
Show the Experience
An effective tourism video should show the experience, not just the physical elements of the destination. You want viewers to be there before they ever go there, so create your videos with a genuine perspective of how the well-heeled traveler would want to see their next adventure. Far too many tourism-related business owners make the mistake of overlooking the experience, focusing strictly on the physical features of their respective destination. In doing so, viewers aren’t able to picture themselves at the destination, resulting in a lower response and fewer bookings.
Destination Walkthroughs
Today’s top drones can also be used indoors to film tourism videos. Hotels and resorts, for example, use professional drone services to create walkthroughs and tours of their indoor establishments. Professionally piloted drones can hover just a few feet from the ground, traveling through the building to create an intimate and genuine perspective of the business.
You can use video to show a walkthrough of your destination to prospective customers. Again, this allows you to show the experience of your destination through the eyes of a typical customer. Hotels, for instance, frequently use this tactic to produce engaging marketing videos. The camera walks through the lobby, hallways and rooms, revealing the hotel from a genuine and authentic perspective.
Be Unique
Don’t just follow in the footsteps of your competitors when creating a tourism video. Instead, differentiate yourself from the crowd by making your video unique and memorable. The video below is an excellent example of an effective, unique tourism video promoting Norway. It takes a different approach by including a touch of humor, which is something viewers are sure to remember.
Aerial Video Grabs Eyes
Beaches, mountains, lakes, rivers, and so much more… aerial footage is perfect for your location to enhance your tourism videos. While on-the-ground footage is necessary for hotels and other indoor establishments, it doesn’t provide an overview of the destination’s physical landscape. Vacation-goers choosing a beach, for instance, typically look for white sand, clear waters and a clean atmosphere. It would take multiple location shots to effectively capture this information using on-the-ground footage. With aerial video, however, you quickly communicate a wealth of information with one stunning shot that leads to more clicks on your site.
Include a Call-to-Action
The final component of an engaging tourism video is a call-to-action (CTA). As your tourism video wraps up, it should display your company’s name and contact information while encouraging viewers to call for more information. When added, a CTA will greatly improve the marketing value of your tourism videos by boosting inquiries and, ultimately, bookings.
The Bottom Line
Video is just one of many tools that tourism companies can use to promote their business. Because of its ability to show a genuine experience, however, it’s arguably the single most effective marketing tool that tourism companies have at their disposal. So, if you want to capture the hearts of your audience and turbocharge your company’s bookings, invest in professional video services.