In a crowded tourism landscape, I think the strongest brands are recognised before they are read.
Before a caption is absorbed.
Before a logo is consciously noticed.
Before a price is even relevant.
Before consciously thinking about who it is, they already feel familiar.
This is not an accident. It’s pattern, repetition, tone, and trust quietly doing their work. Social media success is often misunderstood. It’s framed as volume: more posts, more reels, more urgency, more noise. Louder voices chasing shorter attention spans. But tourism doesn’t live in urgency. It lives in longing.
We all know travel is rarely impulsive. It is imagined slowly, returned to repeatedly, and often postponed for reasons that have nothing to do with desire. The job of a tourism brand is not to force a decision. It is to remain present while the decision matures.
Good branding doesn’t shout. It creates a visual and emotional rhythm that becomes recognisable over time: a palette, a pace, a way of speaking, a way of seeing the world. The audience may not book immediately. They may not book for years. But when the idea of travel does surface, the brand is already there. Waiting, familiar and already trusted. This is how memory works, and memory is far more powerful than engagement spikes or viral moments.
The Non-Customer Is Still Sacred
Let’s face it, not everyone who follows a tourism brand is ready (or able) to travel.
Let’s conjure an all too familiar story. An American follows content from a tour company based in the country their family once came from. They may never comment. Or they may save every post quietly, placing themselves into the story from afar. They imagine. They remember. They belong, in a way. It’s not that they are a failed conversion, instead they are an emotional stakeholder in the story that company is telling.
They carry the brand in their mind, recommend it in conversations, and even defend it instinctively. They give the brand cultural weight. When and if their circumstances change – time, money, health, confidence – the relationship already exists. If that moment never comes, the relationship still matters.
Tourism is not only about selling experiences. It is about holding space for the dream.
Want to see how this plays out in the social media space? The following accounts are not my clients, but are examples of brands whose storytelling I admire. They weave a strong sense of company values while remaining accessible not just to paying customers, but to dreamers and fans alike. What do you think about these companies? Is there anything they are doing that inspires you?
Tartan Viking Tours leans into the humour, beauty and mythic nature of Scotland. As a Scot myself, I love the way they blend the astonishing landscapes of our wee country with the wit and self-deprecation we’re known for, with a not inconsiderable amount of cheeky behaviour (pun absolutely intended). Their content isn’t just about tours; it’s about tone. They give customers and followers alike a taste of Scotland’s myths and legends, inviting people into a semi-fantastical version of the country while keeping everyone laughing loudly and often. Ultimately, the fantasy draws people in; the personality keeps them there.
Even though Visit Faroe Islands is the island’s official tourism board, they don’t rely on overly corporate, heavy-handed or insistent CTAs. Instead, they treat their platform as a space for cultural exchange, sharing how life is lived across the islands with an audience that extends far beyond potential visitors. A strong through-line of morals, traditions and shared passions runs throughout their content, grounded in community while remaining open and inviting to those curious about a way of life shaped so closely by place. Many of the people liking, saving and sharing this content may never travel to the Faroe Islands but they still become part of the brand’s ecosystem.
I also really enjoy how Visit Costa Rica manages to feel both current and grounded as they embrace memes and trending formats while still centring conservation, culture and the country’s guiding “Pura Vida” philosophy. Their tone invites engagement without insistence, allowing the brand to exist beyond the booking cycle. It’s the kind of account you can follow, appreciate and share long before (or even without ever) planning a visit. There’s a sense of pride and inspiration throughout: welcoming you into the party they’re already having.
Relationship Over Transaction
Realistically, a brand that only values paying customers teaches its audience to keep their distance until they are “ready”. But a brand that values connection can quite easily build loyalty long before money enters the room.
The relationship between a brand and its audience should be treated with the same care as the relationship with a confirmed booking. In tourism, trust is the currency and trust is earned through consistency, familiarity and respect.
That is how brands become remembered. How they endure. And how they are chosen. Long after the first follow, when the longing to travel finally becomes a decision.