The UN agency announced the winners earlier this month during its General Assembly in Chengdu, China. UNWTO member states’ national tourism boards could submit videos from national tourism marketing campaigns covering 2011 to the present, although all winning videos were published within the past year.
The UNWTO picked five winners from Africa, East Asia/Pacific, the Middle East, Europe and the Americas, culled from 63 videos submitted. The U.S., Canada and Australia aren’t UNWTO members and weren’t eligible to participate in the contest. The UNWTO also opened voting to the general public for two weeks leading up to the General Assembly and the people’s choice award went to the East Asia/Pacific winner, Wonderful Indonesia’s “The Journey to a Wonderful World” video.
See all winning videos embedded below
The five winning videos attracted a combined 1.2 million YouTube views alone. Some videos, or parts of them, ran as TV commercials.
Tourism boards are using these marketing campaign videos to appeal to a broad range of travelers and they reflect different regional approaches. Some videos, however, such as Colombia’s meetings and conventions video and Serbia’s Danube River cruising video, are clearly targeting niche audiences.
Among all of the videos, there’s a sense of being immersed in the destination through the use of a point of view perspective that makes viewers feel like they’re along for the ride.
Many of the videos drive the point that these destinations are best seen and explored with friends and family. Most of the destinations highlight their beautiful natural environments and outdoor activities. The videos portray these attributes through high-adrenaline adventure and moments of calm reflection that leave many travelers amazed that some countries’ landscapes and climates can run a wide spectrum, such as in Chile’s “Find Your Chile – Chile is Waiting For You” video.
Not all, though. France’s video gives more attention to the country’s art and entertainment offerings while Japan explores the intersection of the country’s past, present and future.
