I’ve been talking with a friend in NYC about a motorcycle trip from California to New York City. The plan would be to take the Transamerica Trail (TAT) as far as we could and then move on to NYC. That same friend, who is getting ready to travel to Japan and Thailand, sent me this video. While I was watching it, I was instantly moved. I was so excited to jump on a motorcycle and make the journey. It made me MORE eager than ever to travel.

I immediately thought, “why aren’t travel brands taking a note from these users?” More than ever, I believe that user generated travel videos dominate almost any creative that a tourism marketing professional can come up with. It would be in the best interest of tourism brands to find ways to partner with these content creators. The video Move (sponsored by STA Travel) seems to be one of the few brands that understands this.

In today’s era of technology, it’s become easier and easier to connect with content creators to move the needle for a brand. Rather than create pieces that constantly “push” marketing messages, why not create content to “share” messages.

What do you think?