#TourismStrong

Remote video production and authentic storytelling celebrate tourism resilience and successes during the pandemic.

THE BRIEF

Our most unexpected brief and one that we created with our community of travel industry peers. Like so many people we felt powerless as the pandemic ravaged the lives of global communities, and so we pulled together and decided to do what we do best: create video content that tells stories of sustainable tourism and, in this case, survival and resilience. This case study wasn’t about clients. It was about connecting with colleagues, and touching base with buddies. And the result will inform and inspire us for a long time to come.

OUR SOLUTION

Create a series of short films we called #TourismStrong, where we interviewed sustainable tourism colleagues and previous film partners about how they were surviving the COVID-19 storm. This uplifting video series turned out to be a celebration of the resilience of the travel industry through positive tourism storytelling and the sharing of lessons learned. After a lot of interviewing around the clock, editing remotely, and all-around commitment from everyone involved, we all came out stronger.

“I believe that resilience is a result of a process of being empathic with a situation and visualizing an outcome. The term #TourismStrong has a very powerful message and it empowers the local actors to find ways to persist. It also shows how tourism is a source of good, affecting a positive way to the local economies, enhancing connection amongst people from different backgrounds, supporting conservation and education on a wider spectrum, and bringing joy and beauty to the lives of many people.”
- Maria Jose, co-owner, Tierra del Volcán, Ecuador 

VIDEO STORYTELLING

We didn’t expect this series of films to stretch to as many as 23 videos. However, as word got around, it turned out that so many people wanted and needed to share their stories of strength. The result was so overwhelmingly positive that we went on to create an industry report in response to the film series, where we have taken what we learned from our proactive partners during these unprecedented times: #TourismStrong - Lessons and Solutions for a Sustainable Tourism Future. The report is free to download as we believe that the invincibility of these people is infectious and needs to be shared. 

Download the free report.

RESULTS:

DETAILS

Filming Dates: Produced remotely throughout the pandemic (2020)
Videos: 23-part video series
Partners: Produced with 20+ travel industry partners (operators, DMOs, hotels, nonprofits)
Distribution: Consumer and trade marketing campaign
Filming regions: Global
Services: Remote Storytelling + Video Production, Consumer + Trade Distribution

KEY GOALS

  • Help tourism brands tell their stories during a global pandemic

  • Keep tourism brands top of mind and inspire travelers to support or “book now, travel later”

  • Give a voice to smaller tourism brands amidst their greatest challenges

  • Showcase resilience and adaptability along with tourism successes

  • Strengthen tourism resilience and recovery by sharing insights and resources

  • Build stakeholder network and new alliances across the travel industry to increase trade partnerships and new business

“Being included and featured in the #TourismStrong campaign has helped us put into words our concerns about the effects of the pandemic on our community. Rob was the first person to reach out to us in search of our story and the reality of sustainable tourism in a world where travel came to a standstill. He helped us see our struggles through a global lens, while listening to stories of others around the world putting their best foot forward encouraged us to try harder and do better.” – Lelani Tresemer, La Cusinga Lodge, Costa Rica

“We think that when we are able to get back to traveling, that adventure tourism is going to have an opportunity to shine and being featured in the #TourismStrong video series will hopefully get those of us stuck at home excited about visiting the incredible country of Bolivia and hopefully joining us for some activities.” – Derren Patterson, Gravity Assisted Mountain Biking, Bolivia

“The #TourismStrong campaign was a lifesaver during the storm. It was both a very good way to promote a destination, but also on a personal level a very soothing proposal at a crucial time, that raised up hope for both of us and our team. It gave us also the opportunity to have a voice and to rethink our strategies and the importance of telling the story of how we were facing the situation. We felt very lucky to be included.” – Maria José Andrade, Tierra del Volcán, Ecuador

MEDIA PLACEMENT

If you would like to learn more about GLP’s remote video production services or our sustainable tourism content marketing campaigns, please contact info@glpfilms.com