In a world where influencer marketing is set to hit a whopping $32.55 billion by 2025 (yep, you read that right), it’s clear that brands are ready to hitch their wagons to the influencer star.
And no, it's not just about pretty Instagram pics and “#sponsored” tags anymore. The game has evolved. Consumers are now more likely to make a purchase inspired by an influencer than by a traditional ad. So, what’s really driving this shift? It’s all about authenticity, trust, and, let's face it, real content that makes us feel like we’re part of the experience.
As brands move away from fleeting one-off collaborations to building long-term relationships with influencers, it’s becoming clear that the micro-influencers and immersive, experience-driven marketing are the way forward.
Take Visit Copenhagen for example. They didn’t just throw a few influencers on a plane and call it a day—they turned their campaign into an interactive, video-rich travel experience that made followers want to plan their trips.
Curious how they pulled it off? Keep reading to dive into the best influencer marketing strategies shaking up destination marketing!
- 1. Influencer-Led Itinerary Creation: The "Immersive Travel Planning" Approach
- 2. Multi-Influencer Collaborations for Broader Reach: The “Diverse Voices, One Destination” Strategy
- 3. Geotargeted Campaigns with Intent-Driven Influencers: The “Destination-At-the-Right-Time” Strategy
- 4. A Rapid-Fire Influencer Blitz: Turning Saudi Arabia Into A Post-COVID Dream Destination
- 5. Influencer-Driven Event Buzz: Building Excitement and Engagement Through Multiple Touchpoints
- 6. Targeted Micro-Influencer Magic: Small But Mighty in the Travel Industry
- Mastering Destination Marketing Through Influencer Collaborations
- Frequently Asked Questions
1. Influencer-Led Itinerary Creation: The "Immersive Travel Planning" Approach
Let's be real—if your destination marketing campaign is still relying solely on stunning photos and vague hashtags like #Wanderlust, you're missing the mark.
In 2025, travelers are more sophisticated than ever. They want to see themselves in the destination before they even book. So, why not let your influencers be the tour guides? Here’s the trick: video-infused itineraries.
Not just “hey, check out this beautiful beach” kind of content, but interactive, engaging itineraries that show followers exactly what they’d do if they booked a trip tomorrow. You want them to imagine themselves strolling through a museum in Copenhagen, sipping an organic smoothie at a local café in Puerto Rico, or kayaking off the coast of Thailand—all without getting out of their pajamas.
Why does this work? Because it doesn’t just inspire wanderlust—it turns it into action. Instead of passively scrolling through a post and thinking “I’d love to go there,” followers are clicking, saving, and planning, with their hands already halfway on their wallets. This type of content doesn’t just dream about travel—it makes it happen.
Take Visit Copenhagen, for example. They knew they weren’t just marketing to any tourist—they were going for mindful, eco-conscious travelers who wanted to experience the culture and sustainability of the city.
So, they partnered with two influencers who didn’t just snap pictures of Copenhagen’s canals (yawn), but crafted 84 unique pieces of content that took followers on a journey through its museums, parks, eco-friendly transit systems, and deliciously sustainable restaurants.
The magic didn’t stop there. These influencers pointed their audience to a video-rich itinerary that was packed with bookable experiences, interactive maps, and the all-important “plan your trip now” call to action.
@amandamoniquebrown save for my free mini-guide to Copenhagen! 👇 AD I recently worked with Visit Copenhagen to find all the best things to do and places to eat…& I can confirm it’s one of the most underrated European cities! 🚃 first - get the Copenhagen Card! It covers public transport & entry activities to SO many things A few must do’s: 🖼️ Glyptoteket Museum 🏊 Swim in Sandkaj Harbour 🏰 Rosenborg Castle 🛝 Konditaget Luders outdoor park ⛵️ Day trip to Elsinore A few must eat’s: 🥖 Atelier September (sourdough) 🥯 Skt Peders Bageri (cardamom bun) 🥐 Meyers Bageri (cinnamon snail - roll) 🍛 Absalon Community Dinner 🌱 Urten Vegan Restaurant ✈️ PS: SAS now has a direct route from Atlanta to Copenhagen which makes for a really doable long weekend trip! Get my free mini-guide to Copenhagen with more of what to do and where to eat in my bio! #visitcopenhagen #copenhagen #denmark #traveltips ♬ original sound - Amanda Monique
People don’t just want to see a destination—they want to live it. By integrating interactive itineraries and letting influencers lead the way, Visit Copenhagen made it easier than ever for followers to turn “someday” into “now.” This wasn’t just about showing off a beautiful city; it was about making the dream real for the traveler. And when you can do that, the bookings will follow.
Results & Analysis
The results? Well, let’s just say Visit Copenhagen didn’t just hit their goals—they demolished them. With 30.2 million impressions, an engagement rate of 7.65%, and over 403,000 people saving trip details or actively planning, this wasn’t just a campaign; it was a travel revolution. Oh, and did I mention the $19.2M in earned media value? Yeah, they crushed it.
Key Takeaway
If you want to turn dreams into booked flights, create itineraries that let your audience experience your destination through the eyes of an influencer. Make it interactive, make it personal, and make it easy for them to start planning their own trip. No more vague “inspiration” posts—this is about action.
2. Multi-Influencer Collaborations for Broader Reach: The “Diverse Voices, One Destination” Strategy
Let’s face it: relying on just one influencer for a massive travel campaign is like trying to carry a five-course dinner on a paper plate. Sure, it’ll work for a bit, but it’s bound to end in disaster. Enter multi-influencer collaborations, where each influencer brings their own flavor to the campaign.
Why pick one voice when you can have multiple? Different influencers speak to different audiences. So if you really want to move the needle, you’ve got to get diverse perspectives—whether that’s luxury seekers, adventure junkies, foodies, or culture buffs.
This strategy works because it expands your reach across various niches while keeping the messaging unified. The result? More people seeing your destination in a light that resonates with them.
It’s a win-win: You get variety, they get personalized content, and your campaign reaches new audiences who might not have thought of visiting your destination... until now.
Take Discover Puerto Rico, who crushed their 2024 summer campaign with a dream team of 9 influencers. Instead of just picking one type of influencer (because who doesn’t want an adventure-hungry solo traveler AND a luxury-loving family influencer), Puerto Rico recruited creators who spoke to all kinds of travelers.
From beach lovers to culinary explorers, these influencers showed off 24 different municipalities, engaging their audiences with everything from surfing lessons to traditional food tours.
What made this campaign stand out was its seamless integration of content across the Steller ecosystem, where the influencers’ posts didn’t just get likes—they led to actionable itinerary content.
Followers could click through and start planning their own trip to Puerto Rico, turning passive engagement into active intent. The beauty of a multi-influencer approach is the ability to tap into different audience segments, all while delivering a consistent message.
By focusing on quality content and amplifying it through influencers who spoke to various types of travelers, Discover Puerto Rico reached a broader audience, driving higher engagement and ultimately converting those engaged viewers into actual bookings.
Results & Analysis
The numbers were proof of success: 60.7 million impressions, 3X booking conversion rate, and a 37% engagement rate on the itineraries.
Key Takeaway
Stop putting all your eggs in one influencer basket. Use multiple voices to tell the story of your destination, and let each influencer cater to a different audience segment. The more diverse your influencer pool, the broader your reach—and the more likely it is that someone will look at your content and think, “Yes, that’s my kind of vacation.”
3. Geotargeted Campaigns with Intent-Driven Influencers: The “Destination-At-the-Right-Time” Strategy
It’s 2025—timing is everything. And when it comes to travel marketing, geotargeting is your best friend. You can’t afford to just blast out a generic campaign to every corner of the globe. You need to be smart about where, when, and to whom you’re sending your message.
By using geotargeted campaigns and working with influencers who are strategically positioned in key regions, you can deliver hyper-relevant content that’s perfectly timed for people who are actively planning their next vacation. It's not just about getting eyes on your campaign—it's about getting the right eyes at the right moment.
Geotargeting + influencers = pure gold. It allows you to reach potential travelers who are already considering your destination, putting your message in front of people who are most likely to take action. Timing, location, and intention? The perfect travel marketing cocktail.
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) was all about reaching U.S. and Canadian Gen Z and Millennial travelers—people who weren’t just scrolling for fun, but actively planning their next affordable, exciting getaway. By leveraging 6 carefully chosen influencers and pairing them with geotargeted content, TAT created a campaign that spoke directly to this audience.
Influencers shared their personalized itineraries, showcasing everything from Bangkok’s street food scene to island-hopping adventures.
With the video-infused itineraries, Steller amplified the reach, providing a seamless experience for potential travelers to explore Thailand’s beauty and start planning their own trips.
Results & Analysis
The result? 126.8 million impressions, 10% of viewers starting their own Thailand trip plans, and $3.2M in earned media value. Geotargeting worked wonders. By delivering content to people who were already thinking about travel, the campaign exceeded its original impression goals by more than 8x. And with 10% of viewers starting to plan their own trip, the campaign showed how well-timed, location-specific influencer content can drive serious action.
Key Takeaway
Targeting isn’t just for ads—geotarget your influencer campaigns to reach people who are already thinking about booking. By working with influencers who resonate with your key markets and timing your content right, you can move followers from “maybe” to “booked.”
4. A Rapid-Fire Influencer Blitz: Turning Saudi Arabia Into A Post-COVID Dream Destination
Sometimes, a slow burn just doesn’t cut it. If you're aiming to promote a destination that's off the beaten path—especially one that’s been flying under the radar for a while—sometimes you need a rapid influencer blitz.
Picture this: 30 influencers in 5 days. Yes, 30. That’s how you launch a destination into the limelight in no time. This strategy is all about speed and volume, with influencers producing a wave of content that generates buzz, drives curiosity, and creates a sense of urgency among potential travelers. It's not about letting the campaign simmer for months—it's about hitting the ground running, giving people FOMO, and making your destination the hot new spot everyone has to visit right now.
The power of this approach lies in the sheer volume of content created in a short period. You’re flooding social media, amplifying your destination’s appeal across multiple platforms, and turning it into the must-see spot post-pandemic. This strategy isn’t just effective—it’s downright electrifying.
#VisitSaudi partnered with the Saudi Tourism Authority for a game-changing post-COVID comeback campaign. Within just two weeks, over 30 influencers took off to Saudi Arabia for a whirlwind 5-day trip.
The goal? Showcase the hidden gems of Saudi Arabia that were still relatively undiscovered. The influencers didn’t just snap pics of famous landmarks; they dove deep into the heart of Saudi’s culture, luxury, and natural wonders, delivering 17,000+ pieces of content across Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.
By leveraging influencers in rapid succession and focusing on producing content quickly, Visit Saudi turned a largely unknown destination into a bucket-list item for travelers. They exceeded their forecasts by 8x and smashed engagement metrics with more than 23 million interactions.
Results & Analysis
The results? A staggering 350 million impressions and a 240 million-person audience. And here’s the kicker: 60% of people who saw the campaign content were now actively considering Saudi Arabia as their next vacation destination.
Key Takeaway
If you're looking to make waves quickly, a blitz-style influencer campaign is the way to go. Get influencers to flood the market with diverse content over a short period, and you’ll generate the kind of buzz that’s hard to ignore. You’re not just launching a campaign; you’re launching a movement.
5. Influencer-Driven Event Buzz: Building Excitement and Engagement Through Multiple Touchpoints
Ever tried to build anticipation for an event without the "build-up" part? Spoiler: it doesn't work. The secret to a successful event campaign is creating a multi-channel, multi-touchpoint experience that generates excitement before the event even begins.
This isn’t just about pushing out a few influencer posts and calling it a day. No, no. You need influencer content combined with press releases, OOH ads, digital campaigns, and radio coverage to create a fully immersive, buzz-building machine that primes your audience to attend—and most importantly, talk about it.
The key is ensuring that your content isn’t siloed—everything should work in tandem to create a cohesive narrative, building momentum as the event date approaches. This approach makes your event feel like the only thing your audience should be doing.
Take #TaiwanExpoUSA, for example. The Taiwan Expo in DC was making its big debut, and they needed to build a massive amount of buzz. So, HireInfluence brought in a group of influencers who aligned with Taiwan’s cultural, travel, and tech vibes, showing off Taiwan’s innovative products and the significance of the Taiwan-US relationship. Most notable was the famous drink, bubble tea, which originated from Taiwan.
But it wasn’t just the influencers—HireInfluence amplified everything with billboards, press releases, social media content, and even radio spots to ensure that everyone in DC knew the event was coming.
By creating a cohesive, multi-touchpoint strategy that integrated influencer content with other marketing channels, HireInfluence built not just awareness, but anticipation.
Results & Analysis
This campaign didn’t just raise awareness—it flooded the city with visibility. 7.1 million impressions and 343 million potential audience reach meant that the Taiwan Expo was on everyone’s radar, and the buzz generated wasn’t just talk—it led to a crowd of over 8,300 attendees.
And, let’s not forget about the influencer magic: their posts drove 135,000 engagements, 6,000 clicks, and 102,000 messages opened.
Key Takeaway
When promoting an event, don’t just rely on one channel or platform. Go all in—integrate influencers with OOH ads, press releases, digital media, and even a little radio love to make sure your event dominates the conversation before the doors even open. It’s not just about attendance; it’s about creating a cultural moment.
6. Targeted Micro-Influencer Magic: Small But Mighty in the Travel Industry
Here’s a fun fact: Not every influencer needs to be a global superstar. In fact, the true power of influencer marketing often lies in niche audiences and micro-influencers. These creators might not have millions of followers, but they have something way more valuable: an audience that trusts them, engages deeply, and listens to their recommendations.
When you need to speak to a specific audience—say, foodie travelers or heritage culture seekers—micro-influencers are your secret weapon. They’re authentic, they’re targeted, and their influence is way more potent than a huge follower count might suggest.
This strategy works because it’s not about casting a wide net—it’s about making a real connection with a smaller, more engaged group. You’re speaking directly to your target demographic in a way that feels organic and personal, and that means higher-quality content and deeper engagement.
Lexington (VisitLEX) partnered with Steller to run an influencer campaign that was the perfect mix of targeted and authentic. Leslie Miller, VP of Marketing, was skeptical about the effectiveness of influencers compared to paid media, but after working with Steller, she realized something crucial: influencers speak directly to a specific audience in a way that ads can’t.
For this campaign, Hungry Homegirl and World Wide Nate were brought in to showcase the Juneteenth and SoulFeast celebrations in Lexington. Tailor Payton, with her niche foodie following, didn’t just post a few pictures of food; she shared the essence of Lexington, from local festivals to hidden culinary gems.
Her 23 posts across Instagram and TikTok resonated deeply with her followers, resulting in 67% higher engagement than her average.
Results & Analysis
With 5 million impressions, 698K reach, and $72.9K in earned media value, the results were clear: a small, targeted influencer campaign can outperform traditional paid ads when executed well. And this wasn’t just about impressions—it was about reaching the right people who were genuinely interested in what Lexington had to offer.
Key Takeaway
Don’t underestimate the power of micro-influencers. By targeting the right creators with a loyal, engaged following, you can achieve massive results without breaking the bank. Focus on authenticity, and you'll see your engagement—and your bookings—soar.
Mastering Destination Marketing Through Influencer Collaborations
The key to successful destination marketing lies in leveraging influencer creativity, targeted campaigns, and timely, multi-channel engagement. As travelers crave personalized, authentic content, brands can drive massive impact through immersive itineraries and geo-targeted influencer partnerships.
Experiment with diverse voices to amplify reach, foster engagement, and enhance travel intent. Embrace evolving trends, innovate your approach, and watch your destination soar above the competition! The future is dynamic—don’t get left behind.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is influencer marketing in destination marketing?
Influencer marketing in destination marketing involves partnering with individuals who have a strong online presence to promote travel destinations. These influencers share their experiences through various content formats, helping to inspire their audience to visit the featured locations.
How do I choose the right influencers for my destination?
Select influencers whose audience aligns with your target travelers. Consider factors like the influencer's niche, engagement rates, content quality, and the demographics of their followers to ensure a good fit for your destination's brand.
What types of influencers should I collaborate with?
Depending on your goals and budget, you can collaborate with nano, micro, macro, or mega influencers. Nano and micro-influencers often have higher engagement rates and more niche audiences, while macro and mega influencers offer broader reach.
What content formats work best for destination marketing?
Visual content such as Instagram posts, TikTok videos, YouTube vlogs, and travel blogs are effective. These formats allow influencers to showcase the destination's attractions, culture, and experiences in an engaging manner.
How can I measure the success of my influencer campaigns?
Track key performance indicators (KPIs) like engagement rates, website traffic, hashtag performance, and conversions. Tools like Google Analytics and social media insights can help assess the impact of your campaigns.
Should I focus on long-term partnerships or one-time collaborations?
Long-term partnerships can build trust and authenticity, leading to more genuine content and sustained interest in the destination. However, one-time collaborations can be effective for specific campaigns or events.
What are the legal considerations when working with influencers?
Ensure that influencers disclose sponsored content as per legal requirements, respect intellectual property rights, and adhere to contractual agreements. Transparency and compliance are crucial to maintain credibility.
