When the world came to a stop because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the travel and tourism industry was among the most affected. This year, travel restrictions have been dropped almost everywhere, people started travelling again and tourism started recovering. Regardless, by the end of the year, international tourism is only expected to reach 65% of pre-pandemic levels.
After almost two years of lockdown, tourists flooded popular cities this year, many of them making up for lost time by travelling more and spending more. The competition to attract more visitors has probably been stronger than ever this year and destinations went all out of their way to create the best promotional campaigns.
Here are just a few of the most ingenious tourism campaigns of 2022:
1. Vilnius’ Belated Birthday Cards
After previously playing around with the idea that nobody knows where Vilnius is, by calling itself the G-spot of Europe, this time the Lithuanian capital announced it lost hope for anyone to wish it a happy birthday for its 700th anniversary, but it believes in “better late than never”, so it accepts belated birthday e-cards for those who want to “congratulate Vilnius in the way you most probably will… late!”
2. Mission: Iceland
Iceland’s latest tourism campaign advocates for the country’s spectacular sceneries that seem out of this world. It particularly targets space tourists whose trips to space keep getting delayed. For only a fraction of a price and carbon footprint, Iceland promises just as incredible experiences and free, unlimited oxygen.
3. The People Make the Destination (Philippines)
Philippines took a different approach with this campaign, deciding to not actually show any pictures of the actual country. Instead, a well-choreographed team recreates some of the most iconic landscapes with the final message that “The people make the destination – it’s more fun with you”.
4. No one upstages the Grand Tour of Switzerland
No one upstages the Grand Tour of Switzerland, not even Anne Hathaway and Roger Federer.
5. OutHorse Your Email to Iceland’s Horses
The creative team behind Inspired by Iceland deserves all the praise in the world. An earlier campaign from this year offers the perfect solution to people who keep getting bothered by work emails while on holiday – let one of Iceland’s horses reply to your boss so you can enjoy your vacation in peace.
