2023 Tourism Marketing Lookback
Campaigns That Bought Us Joy
Tyler MacLeod
Founder Rhyme + Reason
As the year comes to a close, the destination marketing industry can look back on 2023 as the year tourism got back to business as usual. In fact, Canadian tourism indicators at the end of Q3 show tourism spending has returned to 2019 levels (not accounting for the rather significant effects of inflation).
So, with optimism increasing alongside the industry’s recovery, this year saw a shift in the tone of tourism advertising as well. Introspective, safety-first, and “support local” messages—ubiquitous during the pandemic and in its immediate aftermath—have given way to joyful marketing that reminds us of why we travel in the first place: to have fun.
Let’s look back at the campaigns and marketing initiatives of 2023 that stuck out for putting smiles on travelers’ faces. Or at least on my face.
CANADA
Do you think the marketing team at Destination Canada is having fun at work? Several campaigns out of the national marketing organization have embraced Canadians’ reluctance to take ourselves seriously. They call it “Canadian Candor” but you can simply call it cheeky.
Go On Maple Leave
Targeted to Americans emerging from a rather stressful period in history, this campaign positioned Canada as the antidote for US travelers ready to nope out. The Canadian stereotypes are trotted out to amusing effect by a great cast.
Try Canada
This campaign sought to thaw the winter travel market by encouraging prospective visitors to get out of their comfort zone. The magic of this spot is found in the contrast between the expected and the unexpected. Spectacular scenes and epic fails. Scripted narrator and off-colour interjections. Give it a try.
Newfoundland & Labrador
Nostalgia marketing is a thing now and this series of ads taps into the trend. In reference to “old” Newfoundland and Labrador television ads that invited viewers to call Seamus (or Meg or Patrick), the Welcome Desk campaign was devised to help prospective visitors with trip planning. Bonus points for weather honesty.
Nova Scotia
Canada’s second-smallest province has an outsized abundance of coastline. That was the conclusion reached by an intrepid couple after taking an ill-advised bet. Nova Scotia focused on its seacoast experiences with this spot that reminds us it’s sometimes better not to Google the answer.
INTERNATIONAL
Switzerland
Want a tourism hit? Hire a celebrity. Or two! Switzerland Tourism brings back tennis legend Roger Federer for its 2023 campaign. After being joined in 2021 by Robert De Niro and Ann Hathaway in 2022, Trevor Noah gets in on the fun to experience the ride of a lifetime.
New Zealand
The HBO Series Our Flag Means Death stars New Zealander Taika Waititi. Season two of the series was to be filmed in New Zealand. For a country with a precedent of capitalizing on its presence in popular culture, the opportunity was obvious. It’s three and a half minutes of content for :40 seconds of “real” tourism experiences but 10 million views in two months prove viewers are happy to go on a longer ride if you keep them entertained.
Icelandair
An airline takes on the role of marketing a whole country. With gloomy skies, a hard-charging soundtrack, and characters of few words, I’m getting the sense Icelanders are kinda badass. Maybe that’s what inspired meek-looking Oliver Wilson to disregard his pesky schedule.
Oregon
Hey, do we have a jingle on our hands here?!? Oregon wanted travellers to know they might need a guide to truly enjoy some of the best experiences in the state. I’d personally rather exhaust my food supply and risk eating poison berries than ask somebody for directions. But if I could have a singing beaver as a guide, that’s a different story.
Abu Dhabi
Most tourism video ads are effectively a montage of the destination’s most iconic landmarks and experiences. The memorable ones are those built around an unexpected premise or story (see: all of the above). Hats off (you’ll get it in a minute) to Abu Dhabi for envisioning the appeal of winter in the city from the perspective of unusual subjects. The spot stars Indian actor/celebrity Ranveer Singh. And although I’m left wanting a stronger ending, I couldn’t help but smile at various points, so it makes the list.
There are undoubtedly other fun pieces of work out there, especially at the city or regional level. Let me know what I missed. And finally, a wish for the new year: In 2024 there will be no more “we asked AI to make this ad” tourism ads. It’s cool; AI had a big year in 2023. We had some chuckles. But that needs to be out of our collective system now, ok? Ok. Happy New Year.
