28 Videos Travel Brands Can Make (for Every Budget)

Key Takeaways 

• You can produce valuable video content on a phone with no additional kit.
• Different video types serve different goals – selling destinations, building trust, driving bookings. 
• Consistency beats production value every time. 
• Most of these ideas work across Instagram Reels, TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and your website. 
• The goal isn’t to make films. It’s to move people closer to booking.

Most of the travel brands we work with here at north9 assume that video is expensive, complicated, or both. The reality is that some of the best-performing content we see comes from a phone propped against a coffee cup in an airport lounge. 

What you do need is a clear idea of what you’re making and why. That’s what this post is for. 

We’ve pulled together 28 video ideas – organised by purpose, labelled by budget – so you can pick up this list, match ideas to what you’re trying to achieve, and actually start making content.

Budget Tiers: How to Read This List 

Every idea below is tagged with one of three budget levels: 

📱 Phone only – No additional equipment needed. Shoot on your smartphone, edit in CapCut or Instagram’s native tools, publish. Free, or close to it.

🎬 Basic kit – A decent microphone (£30–£80), a small ring light or daylight window, and a free or low-cost editing app like DaVinci Resolve. Total outlay: under £200.

🎥 Production budget – A videographer for a day, or a short shoot with a freelancer. Typically £500–£2,000 depending on scope. Worth it for cornerstone content you’ll use for six to twelve months.

These aren’t rigid. A phone-only idea executed with good light and a clear hook will outperform a produced video with no clear point.

Attribution is tricky in any industry, but travel makes it especially painful. Here’s why. 

Destination & Place Content 

These are the videos that sell the where. They spark the initial desire. Done well, they pull a cold audience into your world. 

1. The 60-Second Destination Reel 📱

Pick the destination you send people to regularly. Shoot ten to fifteen short clips – a market, a viewpoint, a beach, a plate of food – and cut them together to music. Keep it under sixty seconds. No voiceover needed. The visuals do the work. 

This is the single most repurposable piece of content you can make. It lives on Instagram, TikTok, your website’s destination page, and in email newsletters. Make one for every major destination you operate in. 

2. The Crowd-Free vs. Peak Season Comparison 📱

Two side-by-side shots of the same location at different times of year. The Colosseum at 7am and 11am. The Greek islands in May and August. Santorini in October with an empty path and in July with two hundred people on it.

No editing required. Just context. It answers a question your audience is already asking and positions you as someone who actually knows the destination.

3. “Why We Keep Coming Back to [Destination]” 🎬

A short talking-head video – you, a specialist on your team, or a knowledgeable guide – explaining what makes a destination genuinely worth visiting. 

What’s the local restaurant that never gets mentioned in reviews? Which week is the best compromise between weather and crowds? What do first-time visitors always wish they’d known?

This type of content builds authority fast, because almost nobody else is making it properly.

4. The Four-Seasons Edit 🎥

A short, well-produced video that shows the same destination across spring, summer, autumn, and winter. Most travel brands only show peak season. Showing year-round travel options opens up the calendar, reduces the booking concentration problem, and gives you a piece of content you can pull clips from for months.

Experience & Product Showcase

These videos sell the what – the actual trip, the accommodation, the activities. They’re for people who are already considering you and need to feel what they’re buying.

5. A Day in the Life on Tour 📱

Follow a day in the itinerary as if the viewer is the traveller. Breakfast, transfer, the morning activity, lunch, the afternoon. No commentary needed – just the sequence. For group tour operators especially, this format demystifies the product and answers the unspoken question: what is it actually like to be on one of your trips?

6. The Accommodation Walkthrough 🎬

A one-to-two minute tour of a key hotel, villa, or property. Not a sales pitch – a real walkthrough. The room, the view, the bathroom, the terrace, the pool. Natural light where possible. Keep it conversational.

If you work with a portfolio of properties, this becomes a content series. Guests and prospective customers want to see exactly what they’re getting before they commit.

7. Activity Spotlight 📱

One activity, filmed properly. Think Snorkelling in clear water off Crete. A guided walk through a spice market in Marrakech. A cooking class in rural Tuscany. Show what happens, not just that it happens.

The specificity is the point. “We offer cooking classes” is forgettable. Forty seconds of someone making fresh pasta while a Nonno corrects their technique is not.

8. The Departure Day Video 📱

Film the morning your group leaves for an airport, a trailhead, or a port. The kit being packed, the coach loading, the group gathering. It’s ordinary to you. To someone considering booking, it’s evidence that this is a real, well-run operation with real people in it.

This is the kind of video that builds quiet confidence in a brand.

Social Proof and Trust Builders

People book travel based on how much they trust you. These videos borrow that trust from the people who’ve already said yes.

9. The Client Testimonial on Location 📱

Film a short testimonial with a customer while they’re still on the trip. Not when they’ve got home and the memory has softened into general positivity – while they’re there, standing in front of something beautiful.

Two to three minutes of genuine, unscripted feedback from someone mid-experience is worth more than any polished promotional video. It’s the thing that tips fence-sitters.

10. User-Generated Content Repost or Stitch 📱

Ask permission, then repost the best videos your customers make themselves. Add your own caption or a brief intro explaining what the destination or experience is.

UGC works because it’s unfiltered. No brand is going to post footage of their product that makes it look bad – your customers will. That’s precisely why it’s believed.

11. Expectation vs. Reality 🎬

Pick a common misconception about a destination or trip type and address it directly. “People think [destination] is always crowded. Here’s what it actually looks like in [month].” Or: “Everyone asks if a group tour feels regimented. Here’s a typical afternoon.”

This format earns trust by acknowledging the doubt rather than papering over it.

12. The Review Reading Video 📱

Read a real customer review – out loud, to camera – and respond to it. Not every review, and not the generic five-star ones. Pick a review that tells a story or mentions something specific. Your response adds context and shows the kind of business you are.

Simple to produce. Surprisingly effective.

Behind the Brand 

Travel is personal. People want to know who they’re booking with. These videos build the relationship before anyone picks up the phone.

13. Meet the Team 📱

Short individual clips – fifteen to thirty seconds each – of the people in your business. Where they’ve been, what they love about the work, one piece of travel advice. Stack them into a series or use them individually.

The businesses that consistently perform well on social tend to have a human face. This is how you create one without a production budget.

14. How a Trip Actually Gets Planned 🎬

A behind-the-scenes look at what goes into building one of your itineraries. The research, the supplier relationships, the recce trips, the contingency planning. Most travellers have no idea how much work goes in before they board the plane. Showing them raises perceived value.

This also works as a short documentary-style series if you have the content for it.

15. A Supplier or Partner Story 🎬

Film a short conversation with one of your key partners – a local guide, a family-run hotel, a specialist cook. Let them talk about what they do and why.

It adds texture to the product. And it signals that you operate with people who care about what they do, which reflects back on you.

16. The Founder’s “Why” 📱

One video. The person who started the business, talking about why they started it. Not the polished elevator pitch version. The real one – what frustrated them about travel, what they wanted to do differently, what keeps them going.

You only need to make this once. It earns trust every time someone watches it.

Educational and Useful Content  

These videos attract new audiences who aren’t yet looking for you specifically. They search for answers, find your content, and discover your brand in the process.

17. Packing for [Destination or Trip Type] 📱

A practical, specific packing guide for one of your core trips. Not a generic list – the specific items that matter for this trip. The right walking shoes for Cappadocia. What you actually need for a Patagonia trek vs what people always overpack.

Useful content like this gets saved, shared, and returned to. It also ranks well in search.

18. The Visa and Entry Requirements Explainer 📱

Pick one destination where the entry requirements are either complex or commonly misunderstood, and explain them clearly. Change dates where regulations shift. Keep it updated.

It might not be glamorous, but it answers a genuine question before your customers have to ask it.

19. Best Time to Visit [Destination] 🎬

A structured breakdown of the year for one destination – weather patterns, peak season trade-offs, shoulder season value, any local events worth timing around. Talk directly to the camera. Be honest where one month is genuinely better than another.

This is the kind of content your audience bookmarks and returns to. It’s also the kind Google tends to surface.

20. Common Mistakes Travellers Make on [Trip Type] 📱

Pick a trip type you know well – group tours, self-drive holidays, adventure trips – and share the mistakes you see first-time travellers make. Not to embarrass anyone. To help them arrive better prepared.

Content that solves a real problem before it becomes a problem builds exactly the kind of goodwill that converts into bookings.

Sales and Conversion Content  

These videos are for people who are close. They’ve been on your site. They’ve read the itinerary. They’re not sure yet. These push them over the line.

21. The Early Booking Incentive Video 📱

A short, direct video announcing a specific offer – early bird pricing, a cabin upgrade, a free pre-trip night. Deadline visible. Clear on what they get. This isn’t a soft brand video; it’s a direct response piece.

Pair it with a paid social push and retargeting to past site visitors. Simple, effective.

22. “Is This Trip Right for You?” 📱

An honest video that walks through who the trip is and isn’t for. Fitness level required. Type of accommodation. How structured the days are. Whether solo travellers will feel comfortable.

Brands that disqualify the wrong customers explicitly tend to attract more of the right ones. It’s a counterintuitive idea, but it works.

23. The Group Tour Explainer 🎥

A well-produced overview of how your group tours work. Not a highlights reel – a genuine explanation of the experience. Group sizes, the typical traveller profile, what a day looks like, what’s included. Something you can point prospective customers to before a sales call.

This is worth investing in. It does a lot of the pre-qualification work for you.

24. The Limited Availability Video 📱

A short, direct update on a specific departure or property – “We have three spaces left on this October trip.” No production required. Film it in the office if you like. Urgency is created by the message, not the aesthetics.

Authenticity matters more here than polish. If it looks too produced, it stops feeling like a genuine update.

Platform-Native and Trend Content 

These videos are built for the algorithm. They meet people where they already are.

25. The Trending Audio Reel 📱

Browse the trending audio on Instagram Reels or TikTok and find a track or sound that fits a destination or experience you’re currently promoting. Build a quick clip around it. You don’t need to dance or mime – matching the rhythm of the edit to the audio is enough.

Trending audio gets distributed more widely by the platform. It’s a simple mechanical advantage you can use regularly.

26. The Travel Opinion or “Hot Take” Video 📱

Pick a travel topic you have a genuine view on and state it plainly. “Santorini is worth it, but not in July.” “Group tours aren’t for people who want to rush through a bucket list.” “Over-planning kills the best travel moments.”

These get shared because people agree with them, argue with them, or both. Either way, the reach compounds.

27. The “Which Trip Suits You?” Quiz Format 🎬

A short video that walks the viewer through a simple decision tree. “If you want something active, look at X. If you want culture and food, Y is the one. If you want to do both without rushing, Z.” No interactivity needed – just clear guidance.

This format positions you as an expert who understands different types of travellers. It also nudges people towards specific products without a hard sell.

28. The Limited Availability Video 📱

A short, direct update on a specific departure or property – “We have three spaces left on this October trip.” No production required. Film it in the office if you like. Urgency is created by the message, not the aesthetics.

Authenticity matters more here than polish. If it looks too produced, it stops feeling like a genuine update.

Where to Start 

Pick three ideas from this list. 

Choose one from the “phone only” category – something you can make this week. One from the social proof or educational section – content that serves your audience rather than just promoting you. And one that directly supports a trip or departure you’re currently selling.

Make those three. See what performs. Build from there.

If you want help turning a video content plan into something that’s actually integrated with your wider travel marketing – with a strategy behind it, not just a content calendar – that’s something we work on with clients through our paid social and content strategy work. Get in touch with us today or request a free proposal. For more on travel social media content beyond video, our post on travel content ideas for social media covers the wider picture.

FAQs

Do travel brands need a large following for video to work?

No. Reach on short-form video platforms is based on content performance, not follower count. A new account with a well-made reel can outperform a long-established one with a weak one. Consistency and relevance matter more than audience size, particularly when you’re starting out.

What’s the best platform for travel video? 

Instagram Reels and TikTok are the two highest-reach platforms for short-form travel video right now. YouTube Shorts is worth cross-posting to for discoverability. For longer-form content – itinerary walkthroughs, destination guides – YouTube is still the right home. Most travel brands should be active on at least two of these.

How long should travel videos be? 

For Reels and TikTok, under sixty seconds performs best for destination and inspiration content. Thirty seconds or less for simple updates and UGC reposts. Longer content – two to five minutes – works on YouTube for detailed explainers and walkthroughs. Match the length to the platform and the purpose, not to how much you have to say.

Do I need professional equipment to make a good travel video?

Not for most of these ideas. A modern smartphone, good natural light, and a basic understanding of framing will get you most of the way there. A clip-on microphone (around £30–£50) makes a significant difference if you’re speaking to camera. The step-change in quality from adding decent audio is larger than adding better visuals.

How often should travel brands be posting video?

Two to three times a week is a sustainable frequency for most travel brands working with a small team. Batch your filming where possible – a single trip or shoot day can produce six to eight pieces of content if you plan it in advance. Consistency over time matters more than any individual post.

About The Author...

Chloe Patterson

Organic/Paid Social | Email

Chloe helps build your social presence with creative and engaging online content that builds brand awareness. Chloe joined the north9 team after a 5-month solo trip around Southeast Asia and Australia, which only made her want to see more of the world.