As a savvy destination marketer, you’ve likely spent many hours building out your tourism marketing strategy. You’ve compiled data, vetted all the info, and polished your online strategy and you’re seeing results in your web traffic.

But are all those website visitors converting into eager tourists in the way you’d hoped?

Not all destination marketing organizations see the sales results they want right away. But a handful of your fellow DMOs have discovered some brilliant hacks to optimize their tourism marketing strategy online to turn more of those browsers into in-person visitors.

So, without further ado, here are some proven ways to gain the attention of visitors and compel them to buy into your tourism marketing strategy.

Make your visitor guide easier to find on your website

One WACVB Education & Research Foundation survey showed that nearly 70% of people travel to a destination after receiving a visitor guide and 69% of these people stay in hotels.

Your visitor guide is a highly effective conversion tool that you have at your disposal, but are you giving it enough visibility?

Too many DMOs don’t make it easy to find their visitor guide — they’re often tucked away in the website’s footer or in hidden in a drop-down menu.

But if your visitor guide isn’t easy to find, many of your web visitors (and potential travelers!) may miss out on it.

It doesn’t have to be difficult: prominently placing a call-to-action to download your visitor guide above-the-fold on your homepage can make it simple for anyone to find.

For example, Colorado Tourism places their vacation guide front and center on their homepage where it’s impossible to miss:

Visit Franklin uses a similar technique, placing its visitor guide CTA right above the main menu, in a bright gold bar:

Placing a link to your guide above the fold on your site is a surefire way to ensure all those prospective visitors will see it.

Use more visuals to tell your story

While a picture may tell a thousand words, DMOs know that there’s nothing more compelling to visitors than creating a visual experience on your website.

Visit Fairfax conducted an experiment where they A/B tested their Things to Do page. They tested the original version against a version which also included a CrowdRiff gallery of images. The version that included the visual gallery had a 351% higher time on page.

Consider these facts:

• Using video on landing pages has been found to increase conversions by 86%
• People who shop with mobile say that images are the most important feature
• 88% of consumers have purchased something they’ve pinned

Since 90% of the info sent to the human brain is visual, striking images can help capture visitors’ attention — and keep it. A potential visitor may only retain 10% of info they hear about your destination after three days, but if they see a gorgeous photo of your city with that info, that retention level spikes to 65% after three days.

The key takeaway? If you want to increase conversions on your website, use more imagery.

(To see examples of DMO websites with great visual experiences, read this!)

Harnessing the power of user-generated content

You may know that user-generated content in general tends to gets more engagement and is considered more trustworthy — but guess what? It also increases conversions better.

For example, Discover The Palm Beaches learned the power behind this approach with their recent Friends Trust Friends. Not Ads campaign, which was the first campaign they ran that was driven by UGC visuals.

The resulting advertising campaign generated a 51% increase in display traffic acquisitions, compared to the previous campaign. The Friends Trust Friends campaign has gone on to generate an estimated 23% increase in overnight visits to the destination, compared to a non-UGC driven campaign in 2015. What’s more, digital impressions from the Friends Trust Friends campaign were found to be 66% more effective at driving a visit.

Content created by your biggest fans is a major tool your DMOs should be using to convert more visitors.

“What we really like about CrowdRiff and user-generated content is that it’s other people talking about Pittsburgh. It’s not coming from us as a sales and marketing organization, we’re giving the platform to people who have been here and want to rave about the city.”

Molly Allwein, Digital Marketing Manager, Visit Pittsburgh

Actionable inspiration: pair visuals with powerful calls-to-action

While beautiful visuals are a great first step in capturing visitors’ attention, destination marketers have to take it a step further. Many DMOs know it’s not enough to have gorgeous photos of hiking trails or cityscapes available — that inspiration needs to be actionable.

When visitors hit a tourism website, they may stop to admire the stunning visuals, but leave without taking any action. Adopting this practice of “actionable inspiration” means sharing a next step (like a link) along with your photos so that people can act on their motivation. These are opportunities to engage your visitors and direct them to your tourism partners.

As Kansas Tourism discovered, adding relevant calls-to-action can guide visitors through to next step while your destination is still top of mind:

Kansas Tourism uses CrowdRiff to embed targeted CTAs right in the image. In the above example, the breathtaking ziplining image is paired with a CTA offering more information about Zip KC, a local ziplining company.

Typically, CrowdRiff customers pairing imagery with calls-to-action drive 20% more traffic to their tourism partners’ websites and listing pages.

Stay on top of mind with consistent email marketing

Your destination’s website isn’t the only resource to use to boost conversions. Your tourism organization’s destination newsletter can also serve as a valuable platform for destination marketers to periodically stay on top of mind throughout the travel planning process.

Email marketing is still one of the best ways for destination marketers to get the most bang for their bucks — after all, every $1 you spend on email averages a return on investment of $38. And email provides tourism organizations with the opportunity to deliver exciting news and promos about your destination, target certain travelers with specific messages, or even tell a story about your destination over a series of emails.

Visit Austin Texas offers a shining example of a true “newsletter” — they hook the reader with several simple headings about upcoming seasonal events paired with clear CTAs.

Top tip: subscribe to other DMO newsletters, so that you can get creatively inspired for your own.

Moving forward with your online tourism marketing strategy

As you can see from the previous examples, destination marketers have devised many creative ways to ensure they’re making the most of their tourism marketing strategy. Making some of the minor optimizations, like those we just mentioned, can help your tourism organization get the most mileage from your resources and turn more of your visitors into tourists.

More than 300 DMOs use CrowdRiff to help find the imagery that rounds out their tourism marketing strategy. See how CrowdRiff can help you make your website a better conversion tool today!

For DMOs, a new year and a new season are usually triggers for a fresh destination marketing campaign.

You’re always looking for a fresh angle, something new to try, and a new way to wow prospective travelers. You’re always looking for creative inspiration.

That’s why we’ve taken the time to create this list of 11 amazing destination marketing campaigns, look at what made them successes, and pull out what you can learn from them.

From horse-filmed promotional videos to talking bridges, there’s no limit to the ingenuity of DMOs when promoting their destinations—and to the campaigns you can create.

1 | South African Tourism: 24 Hours of Wow

Visitors to South Africa frequently focus only on going on safari, and don’t realize the wealth of other amazing activities that are available. To show just how varied and wonderful their country really is, South Africa Tourism developed a visually immersive microsite called “24 Hours of Wow” that featured 144 six-second video clips, each representing an activity or attraction. Visitors could then customize a personalized 24-hour South African adventure by selecting video clips that represented activities for each of the hours of the day, or let the shuffle option surprise them.

Lessons from this destination marketing campaign

Harnessing the popularity of video allowed South African Tourism to immerse web visitors with a plethora of possibilities — allowing visitors to browse and explore all the options made it interactive and engaging. Immediately after launching, the average time on site was close to ten minutes as visitors played with the variety of videos available. (If that isn’t evidence of the power of personalization, what is?)

The best part? 60% of the b-roll used was repurposed from what they’d already had on hand in their content library.

2 | Visit Omaha: Bob the Bridge

Connecting Omaha and Iowa lies the bridge with the most personality that you’ll ever meet: Bob the Bridge. Locals were initially unhappy with the 3,000-foot curved suspension bridge, dismissing it as leading to nowhere and disregarding its value as an attraction in and of itself.

But rather than trying to change their minds, Visit Omaha decided to let the bridge speak for himself. By giving Bob his own social media accounts and video blog, in which his dry, humorous personality shines through, the team was able to completely change the public’s perception.

Now, visitors from both states—and even further abroad—come to take selfies at the state line (now known as Bobbing) and share their experiences with Bob. The team is able to keep the conversation going using CrowdRiff, by tracking and responding to instances of #ItHappensOnBob posted on social media as well as by having a constantly updating feed of UGC on their website.

Lessons from this destination marketing campaign

Sometimes the craziest ideas can really pay off. By creating a tongue-in-cheek personality for their bridge—something no other destination had done—Visit Omaha has effectively created their own tourist attraction and talk trigger. Plus, by showing off a gallery of the UGC people are sharing with Bob on their website, they amplify the social voices of happy visitors and continue to extend that conversation.

3 | Visit Lex: Horse-Filmed Commercials

You’ve heard of user-generated content, but what about horse-generated? In Lexington, Kentucky, home of the Kentucky Derby, every day revolves around the horse farms that have made them famous. However, getting visitors to take more than a casual interest in them can be a challenge.

So, Visit Lex decided to give them a horse’s-eye-view of what really happened on the farm. By strapping a GoPro to their thoroughbreds, they got hours of video footage—filmed entirely by the horses—that gave visitors the chance to put themselves in their horseshoes. The most popular was a video of a mother watching her foal—just like any human parent might film their child.

Lessons from this destination marketing campaign:

Horses are this city’s unique differentiator. By putting them on at the forefront of their campaign and letting them take the reins, it’s easy to create an emotional connection with these creatures and their homeland.  Showing visitors what you really love about your destination is the perfect way to get them as excited about it as you are!

4 | Explore Georgia: #ExploreGeorgiaPup

You’ve heard of family-friendly travel… But what about puppy-friendly? When Explore Georgia realized that a large portion of their target demographic were millennial pet owners, the perfect destination marketing campaign was born.

To draw dog owners from neighboring states in for a visit, they created the #ExploreGeorgiaPup campaign. They created travel guides for pet owners and featured images of visiting dogs, sharing it all on social media to show that Georgia was the perfect place to visit with your dog.

And the spotlight on man’s best friend paid off. They saw over 3,000 uses of the hashtag in under a year, leading over 14,000 visitors to their website. They also reached over 10,000 followers on their pet-friendly travel Pinterest board.

Lessons from this destination marketing campaign

#ExploreGeorgiaPup is the perfect example of a campaign that’s both useful to travelers as well as being visually appealing (who doesn’t love a good puppy pic?). By sharing travel tips and making it easy for pet owners to visit, Explore Georgia was able to generate lots of love on social media—which in turn made it easier to source more and more great user-generated content to keep the social conversation growing.

5 | Explore St. Louis, STL.Live

Although Explore St. Louis was having no trouble attracting families to their city, they also wanted to reach out to millennials. When they realized that what this demographic was really looking for were lesser-known attractions that would help them get to know the city better, they harnessed the power of user-generated content to create a microsite powered of UGC visuals and quick interviews with local influencers about their favorite places in St. Louis—completely unscripted.

Lessons from this destination marketing campaign:

Explore St. Louis knew that their target demographic wouldn’t be impressed by traditional marketing. By reaching out to influencers who resonated with millennials, they were able to give a portrait of their city that was described from the perspective of real people, rather than marketers.

That ties into another key factor in this campaign’s success: its authenticity. By showcasing user-generated content, they made their audience feel as though they were really part of the St. Louis community and could experience it like a local, rather than a tourist. To create a connection with visitors, take advantage of visual user-generated content, like Explore St. Louis did.

6 | Tourism Ireland: Doors of Thrones

Much of Game of Thrones was filmed in Northern Ireland, most particularly at the famous Dark Hedges trail. After a storm ripped through the country and knocked down a couple of trees, Tourism Ireland realized that they had the perfect opportunity to turn the lumber into something fans would love to see.

Through their exclusive partnership with Game of Thrones, they created “Doors of Thrones”, each one of which matched a specific episode in the upcoming season.

And it paid off. The videos they developed to unveil the doors were viewed a combined 17.5 million times, engaged with 250,000 times, achieving a combined total reach of 126 million. Even now that the season is long over, visitors still flock to see the doors and get stamps on their Game of Thrones tour passports—something they can’t do at any other destination.

Lessons from this destination marketing campaign:

The filming locations of Game of Thrones were already a big attraction in the area, so taking advantage of them allowed Tourism Ireland to increase their cachet even more. When thinking about your next campaign, it’s about not only knowing your destination, but knowing what other people are saying about it and associate with it.

7 | Visit Pittsburgh, UGC everywhere

Although Pittsburgh has long had a reputation as a smoky, industrial city, in modern days it’s anything but. To show how their city has been transformed in recent years, Visit Pittsburgh turned to the power of user-generated content. By getting local influencers to blog for them and sourcing authentic imagery through CrowdRiff of the wide variety of activities and events available, their site is always revealing new sides of their city.

Lessons from this destination marketing strategy:

Although this is more of an overarching strategy than a specific campaign, it’s one that’s well worth noting for all DMOs. Using CrowdRiff to source user-generated content for their website visuals significantly reduced time spent looking for pictures on the Visit Pittsburgh team’s part, and also allowed them to showcase a larger volume. They’ve been able to raise the profile of their brand and transform perceptions of their city, just by showing people the authentic photos of their changed destination with UGC.

8 | Visit Houston: Hola Houston

Although Houston never had a problem attracting visitors from within driving distance, they realized that to broaden their appeal, they’d need to adopt a new strategy. They already had quite a few visitors coming from Mexico, but to connect with them more deeply, they decided to create a Spanish-language website that would give Spanish speakers a more personalized glimpse into the city. The Hola Houston campaign involved painting murals in their key Mexican markets, and partnering with Mexican influencers, who shared their explorations through the city on social media as well as posting them on the site.

Lessons from this destination marketing campaign:

Hola Houston tapped into a previously overlooked market and created a better experience for them—getting a yearly increase of 300,000 visitors from Mexico in the time since their campaign. Realizing where your current visitors are underserved and developing a way to welcome them in, or simply developing a more personalized message for different market segments, is a great way to deepen your relationship with that particular demographic.

9 | Faroe Islands: Sheep View

The Faroe Islands, an archipelago located between Iceland, Norway, and Scotland, was so small that it wasn’t even included on most world maps or even Google Street View. However, they knew that to attract more visitors, they’d need to get on the map.

So, they turned to their most unique attribute: the fact that they have more sheep than people. To give visitors a glimpse of what awaited them on the islands, they strapped 360-cameras to some of their 80,000 sheep as they wandered around. The resulting “sheep map” did more than get Google Maps’ attention: it also won 3 Lions at the 2017 Cannes Advertising Festival, amongst several other awards.

Lessons from this destination marketing campaign

The Faroe Islands might not have had much money… but they did have a lot of sheep and breathtaking scenery. They needed a way to show people visually what their collections of islands had to offer, and they did so by combining these two strengths. They dove into virtual reality video to visually captivate people from all over the world, and cleverly used their sheep to show off their charm while sparking conversation and the attention of the press.

10 | Nelson and Kootenay Lakes: #FindingAwesome Contest

The Nelson and Kootenay Lakes Tourism team has a very specific vision of the visitors they want to attract: “free spirits and well-rounded squares”, in the words of their positioning statement. However, figuring out how to market to this very specific personality type can be difficult, particularly given the wide variety of activities available in the area.

To group all of their pastimes together under one umbrella, they created the #FindingAwesome contest. Visitors to the area were invited to submit posts on social media using the hashtag, with winners receiving cash prizes and being posted on their blog. Even those that don’t win were featured on their “Finding Awesome” microsite, using CrowdRiff to request rights to photos and also to power a UGC gallery with numerous photos and videos to explore.

The campaign was so popular that local businesses even started running similar campaigns concurrently, such as the area microbreweries’ “Fermenting Awesome” event.

Lessons from this destination marketing campaign

Focusing on their ideal visitor’s interests, rather than on their demographics, helped Nelson and Kootenay Lakes Tourism create a message that was directed specifically at them. By running a social media contest, they really spread that brand message and encouraged visitors and locals alike to adopt it, which was further amplified by using those UGC images in their own marketing and blog posts.

11 | Travel Wyoming: That’s WY Stories

Although Wyoming is already well-known for its natural wonders, visitors from beyond driving distance can sometimes fail to see what really makes it unique. Although Travel Wyoming’s marketing already featured their gorgeous outdoor views, it wasn’t being told from the personal, individual perspective.

So, to convey more of Wyoming’s personality, they created a series of videos with some of the state’s most interesting experts—such as rope makers, ranch owners and dogsledders—that shared a more intimate view of the state.

Developing this human connection paid off. Sharing the stories of the people that make Wyoming special lead to a direct increase in visitors to the state and increased national awareness of just “wy” Wyoming was worth visiting.

Lessons from this destination marketing campaign

Sometimes, just sharing beautiful photos of the landscape isn’t enough. Getting up close and personal with the people who truly make your destination great can help differentiate you from other locations. Combining unique, personal storytelling along with visually captivating, cinematic videos really resonated with viewers, with some videos getting over a million views.

Feeling inspired? There’s more to see.

We put together an eBook covering 22 creative destination marketing campaigns, that you’ll definitely want to check out.