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(CNN) – When they’re good, they’re iconic. When they’re wrong — well, at least you can laugh. We’re talking about destination campaigns: when travel sites bid for your hard-earned vacation money by creating quirky videos and entire websites to grab your attention.
So what have they been like this year: since the pandemic began, with few restrictions for most travelers? With destinations desperate for post-lock-in cash, we’ve seen an incredible amount of money come in to get celebrities on board, shoot the best images of the locations and, hopefully, have some real imagination in how they want to present the places.
From the weird (writing horses in Iceland) to the wonderful (South Africa’s emotional reopening), the bad (as in evil — Sweden remade “The Blair Witch Project”) and the controversial (David Beckham’s Qatar plug), here are 15 that caught our attention this year the videos
South Africa: The rebirth
Released in March, when much of the world was still in lockdown, the three-minute video from South Africa was a great insight into what travel could be like when things started to open up post-Omicron – a bold move, since the variant was first seen. South Africa and the country had an immediate travel ban on many other places (equally full of viruses).
A grim-looking young woman in gloomy, dark, rainy London emerges into the light of Cape Town, and everything turns technicolor. On the same subject : Do you need a library update? Aesop gives away free books by LGBTQ + authors. It goes for classic South African experiences — a safari and a trip to the Drakensberg mountains, with the country’s natural beauty on full display — but the focus is on the human connections that everyone has lost during the lockdown.
He gets a massage, hangs out with fellow surfers, walks the beach at sunset and ends the video at a party. In other words, the dream. “Come as you are, leave as you will never be again. Live again!” ends the video. You might even shed a tear.
Sweden: Scandi horror flick
Got a “Blair Witch” style joke in the woods? Sweden is waiting for you. Just in time for Halloween, Visit Sweden released a two-minute horror film to promote the country. A bold bid to capture visitors, considering that the video, narrated by “Sweden” himself, takes place in a forest — the “soul” of the country — that starts out idyllic, but quickly turns into a slasher movie.
There, a man on vacation, Sam, meets a beautiful woman, or? It is not; she is actually a huldra, a terrifying forest nymph. Read also : The sports park planned with the Crew Stadium was moved due to a lack of state land. “What happened in the forest is something you’ll think of as a dream, but it won’t be,” Sweden warns.
The kicker: The short film ended by promoting “Kiln,” a “chilling audio story” by John Ajvide Indqvist that can only be downloaded “set in the Swedish forest.” In fact, the story, not the video, is the focus of the Spellbound by Sweden campaign. Once you’re there, you can listen, if you’re brave enough.
Rwanda: Play with Lionel Messi
Legendary Paris Saint-Germain football stars including Lionel Messi and Sergio Ramos headed down South to visit Rwanda for Rwanda’s 2022 campaign, ‘Go on your next adventure in Rwanda’, which debuted just before the new year. Read also : Eastern Kentuckians are working to preserve arts and culture after the floods.
As former goalkeeper Jérôme Alonzo took up golf in his retirement, the 100-second video follows his golf ball as it lands in the Parc des Princes stadium, is kicked by players and then transported to Rwanda, where it soars above him. the most spectacular landscapes.
It ends on a golf course with a little girl hitting a hole in one, but not before some gorillas make a cameo, of course. Good call for that, World Cup year.
Vilnius: Congratulations… to whom?
Vilnius: Happy birthday to… who?
“No one knows where Vilnius is,” admits this self-inspired video of the Lithuanian capital. Previous campaigns have dubbed the city “Europe’s g-spot” and rewritten a Christmas carol (last year’s campaign was called “Christmas in Vilnius: It’s wherever you think it’s amazing”).
This time, the campaign is centered around the city’s 700th anniversary in 2023. “After most of the world forgot about Vilnius’ last 699 birthdays, we came up with a solution to achieve its 700th anniversary,” says the retro video.
Said solution: “a belated birthday e-card collection.” A variety of funny 80’s style videos go through funny cards before telling you to send yours. You can forget the date, but the celebration will be unforgettable, he concludes, calling Vilnius “700 years young”.
Uganda: Open your eyes
Uganda’s tourism board kicked off 2022 with a two-minute video showcasing the country’s beauty, from snow-capped mountain peaks to lush forested hills, tranquil lakes, waterfalls and rivers that seem made for rafting.
But the focus quickly turned to its people: eating ugali, sitting with a drink, dancing and going out on the town in Kampala’s nightclubs.
The best bit? Instead of being front and center, the animals (including the classics – chimpanzee, gorilla and giraffe) only make fleeting cameos. “All we have to do is open our senses and enjoy what is unique to us,” says the narrator. It will certainly open your senses to the realization that there is more to offer than safari tourism.
Colombia: Literary power
Props to Colombia for going old-school with “The Book of Warmth,” a 212-page beautifully-photographed e-book dedicated to its famously welcoming locals.
In Spanish and English, it captures different iterations of “warmth,” from beekeeper Humberto Narváez’s passion for sustainability to Maria Eugenia Clavijo’s superior treatment of hotel guests.
“Although we can feel it in every greeting, in every smile, in every welcome and in every cup of coffee we share, we wanted to understand it better. That’s why we went out in search of the Warmth of Colombia, and we went straight to it. source: our people, who we carry in our hearts,” said the tourist committee, and also produced a one-minute video, although the latter is a traditional “smiling” style for our taste.
Philippines: Big (not) revealed
Philippines: The big (non) reveal
It’s a bold country that doesn’t feature a single destination in its expensive marketing campaign, but the Philippines did just that with its June video, “The People Make the Destination.”
“To make an ad you won’t miss, we’ve skipped the usual… the sun, the sand, the actors, the drone shots, the pop songs, the special effects,” the video says. They’ve all gone in favor of “the people who have always made our destinations more memorable and fun,” meaning the two-minute video only features people. Not people in situ, like the Ugandan ad, but people wearing one-pieces and doing Cirque du Soleil-style acrobatics to complete the representations of famous places.
The group passes hills, waterfalls, mountains, an ancient building and even a giant bird of prey before turning into the ocean as a surfer rides the waves. “People make the destination – it’s more fun with you,” reads the tagline.
The destinations are there, though: recorded in 23 locations across the Philippines, you’ll hear the waves of Samar and the T’boli instruments of South Cotoba. There are two videos: one is stereo, and the other is binaural and immersive; the latter is best viewed with headphones.
Switzerland: Road trip with Anne and Roger
Switzerland: Road tripping with Anne and Roger
Tennis champion Roger Federer has been promoting his native Switzerland for several years, but in April he joined Anne Hathaway in a two-minute bid.
“Anne and Roger learned the hard way that no one beats the Swiss Grand Tour,” he said, adding that the couple were outraged to see adverts for the country’s supposed ad. In the skit, their close-ups — from jumping over a glacier to a synchronized swim in a frozen lake — were replaced with wide shots because the director thought Switzerland was more impressive than even Federer’s abs.
“When you need the perfect road trip you need Switzerland,” he concluded. Self-deprecating celebrities get a thumbs up from us.
Great Britain: Beyond Chintz
Great Britain: Beyond the chintz
Kings, the Cotswolds and now Brexit are probably what most people think of when they think of the UK, but Visit Britain’s 2022 campaign, launched in February, ditched the classics to show what else it has to offer.
Welcome to Britain’s Another Side, which revealed the cities in the UK that saw a sharp decline in international visitors due to the pandemic and Brexit.
They went all out on a summer trip, seeing unlikely tourist destinations like Birmingham and the West Midlands and showing a different side of London, including the Dare Skywalk at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and the floating hot tubs moving along the docks at Canary Wharf. We accept exciting 30-second videos that measure something completely different.
Morocco: Tripping the light
People tend to go to Morocco for tradition, but this video, released in May, takes those traditions (tajines, souks, the Badi Palace in Marrakech) and combines them with modern Morocco: golf in the dunes, modern dance at the Badi Palace, and spectacular. art installations in the desert.
It managed to deftly throw down shots of everything you go to Morocco for, but infused with a contemporary edge. Nice job — and nice soundtrack too.
Iceland: Ponies as personal assistants
Iceland: Ponies as personal assistants
Are you forced to check your email while on vacation? There’s no need to worry about that if you choose Iceland, as it has vowed to “surpass your email”.
The ad, released in May, claimed that Icelandic ponies have been trained to write out-of-office messages so you don’t have to touch your phone.
“Nothing ruins your vacation like work,” begins the minute-long video, before showing seven horses stomping on a giant keyboard, working out incomprehensible answers.
There’s an additional behind-the-scenes video on the campaign website, as well as the option to choose one of three (nonsensical) horses to write about outside the office. Silly but very nice.
Vienna: Let yourself go
The Austrian capital is back with a surreal ad campaign.
Traveling should be a time when you relax those rules of everyday life, and to encourage you, the Vienna Tourist Board has produced a short film in its walking (if not talking) belly-free October campaign.
It’s an entire, almost six-minute short film in which a round stomach leaves his training-obsessed human Harry because he no longer feels welcome.
Said belly leaves for Vienna, where he wanders the streets, sees great works of art and enjoys Sachertorte in his hotel bed. Eventually, Harry comes looking for Belly, and the pair have a pleasant date at a restaurant in Vienna.
“The most beautiful way to love yourself is to enjoy yourself,” he concludes. This may seem a little polarizing — it either speaks to you or it doesn’t — but it’s a cinematic watch, whatever you think about the message.
Australia: See the sights with Rose Byrne
Australia: See the sights with Rose Byrne
The nine-minute Australian film “G’day” got 19 million views on YouTube in its first month alone. Promoting the new “Come and say g’day” campaign, the “Toy Story”-style film starred Rose Byrne as Ruby, a toy kangaroo, and Will Arnett as Louie, a toy unicorn.
The couple will depart from a Great Barrier Reef gift shop and travel to Nitmiluk Gorge, Uluru, the Great Barrier Reef and the Sydney Opera House.
“Down Under, ‘g’day’ is the beginning of all good adventures,” says Byrne at the end, personally. “It’s our way of saying, ‘If you’re not a friend yet, you’ll be a partner.'” Sure, but the viewing numbers speak for themselves.
Korea: Playtime
Released in November, the late entry “Shall we play Korea” is a fun and exciting look at the country, offering something for everyone, from family fun, teenage dreams, to groups of adults, silver couples outing together.
There’s road-tripping, golf, paragliding and K-pop style dancing. I’ll see you there.
Qatar: Courting David Beckham
When the incredible 30-minute video of David Beckham in Qatar was released in August (a one-minute version is above), it was surpassed in size only by the uproar it caused. The footballer filmed “Stopover in Qatar” in conjunction with the World Cup. In it, he imparts pearls of wisdom as he travels through Qatar: going to the market (“One of the best spice markets I’ve ever been to”), learning about pearl diving (“Maybe you can take me diving one day”) and falconry training (“I love being in the middle of nowhere talking and eating), visiting cultural sites including the Qatar National Museum, and even riding a motorbike on a man-made island (“That’s what I love, the bike culture, because there’s one everywhere and that’s what I love.”)
She also played soccer with a Qatari woman (“Women’s soccer is something I’ve always supported, and even more so now, especially for me now that I have a daughter”).
But criticism was swift and strong, with many decrying Qatar’s alleged human rights issues. Asked by Amnesty to “speak out” about the treatment of migrant workers who were making the World Cup possible, UK comedian Joe Lycett pretended to burn nearly $12,000 (but ended up donating it to LGBT charities) to Beckham. as a protest against the rumored $184 million in , 10 years concert.
Beckham responded to the criticism by saying “it is positive that the first World Cup to be held in the region has directly fueled the key debate”.
What is the most visited city in the US 2022?
The most visited cities in the USA are New York, Los Angeles and Las Vegas.
What are the 5 most visited cities? The most visited cities in the world
- Hong Kong, China with 27.88 billion tourists per year.
- Bangkok, Thailand with 22.453 million tourists per year. …
- London, UK with 19.827 million tourists per year. …
- Singapore, Singapore with 17.618 million tourists per year. …
- Macau, China with 17.337 million tourists per year. …
What is the number 1 destination in the US?
1. New York City, New York.
What is the most visited city in US?
With around 10 million visitors to New York City each year, this is undoubtedly the most visited city in the US.
What is the most visited city in 2022?
As of June 2022 – Bangkok is rated as the most visited country in 2022, but this may change towards the end of 2022. France is one of the most visited countries in the world, and Paris has been included in the list of most traveled cities. a few times
What is the most beautiful city in the world 2022?
Overall, Scotland’s Edinburgh was named the best city in the world. “The city ranked very well, leading the list of the most beautiful and walkable city in the world,” says Gleason.
What is the 1st most beautiful city in the world? Venice Among those who have seen it, the conclusion is unanimous: Venice is the most beautiful city in the world, and the only one that can be considered truly special.
What will business travel look like in 2022?
Despite the setbacks, it expects 38% year-over-year growth in 2022, with spending to top $1 trillion, and 23% year-over-year growth in 2023. The World Travel & The Tourism Council (WTTC) echoes this with a forecast of 34% growth in 2022.
How is the travel industry faring in 2022? Travel and tourism’s contribution to GDP could increase by 40.9% (over $450 trillion) by the end of this year, followed by a further 30.9% year-on-year increase (over $480 trillion) in 2022.
Is business travel coming back?
Business travel is making a comeback with added leisure as companies find new ways for employees to enjoy “bleisure.” Employees want their business and leisure travel combined, otherwise known as bleisure.
What’s trending in travel for 2022?
Impact tourism may be one of the defining words of travel in 2022. This growing trend represents a movement by travelers to prioritize destinations and activities focused on environmental sustainability and local community investment.
