It’s interesting how quickly logos fade from memory. A week after the trip, few people will remember the shape of the icon on the booking website or the colour of the button they used to book the tour. However, the people don’t forget other things: the fog that early in the morning lay on the water, a chat with a local fisherman, or, perhaps most significantly, the exact moment that the city opened up in a totally unexpected direction. This is why travel brands are increasingly focusing on more than just design – they are focusing on the experience that a person will take away with them.
From logos to impressions
Significantly, today the most successful travel photos often have nothing to do with postcard views. In Istanbul, for instance, some tourists don’t just stroll along the embankment. Rather, they’re seeking opportunities for unusual interaction with the city. One such example is the water bike Istanbul, when a familiar urban landscape is perceived in a completely different way. For a traveler, it’s just an interesting experience. It is a new visual image for the city, which begins to live in thousands of photographs and publications.
It wasn’t that long ago that travel marketing was much simpler. Brands attempted to make the logo more visible, the advertising slogan louder, and the photographs brighter. The situation has changed today. People don’t trust advertising promises, but the real experiences of other travelers. Therefore, visual identity is increasingly being formed not by a designer in a studio, but by a person who takes out a phone and shares what really surprised them.
Why impressions are remembered better than brands
This is the main shift in recent years. A good travel brand no longer sells a place. He sells the script. Not a hotel with a beautiful facade, but a breakfast on the terrace that you want to photograph. Not a tour of the city, but a story that will then be told to friends. As a result, the visual component begins to take shape from a multitude of small impressions.
How directions turn activities into a part of their image
This is especially evident in the example of cities that are actively working on their tourism image. Previously, associations were built around architectural symbols. Today, everything is more complicated. Travelers remember not only buildings, but also the actions that are associated with them.
For example:
- a walk through a non-tourist area;
- gastronomic master class;
- a boat trip at dawn;
- local cultural event;
- activity that cannot be repeated in another city.
Each such experience produces its own visual content. And much more convincing than professional advertising.
The role of impression platforms in new travel branding
Impression platforms play a separate role in this process. Their popularity is explained quite simply: people are tired of standard routes. They want to feel that the trip belongs to them. Therefore, services like GetExperience are becoming not just a booking tool, but part of a new travel culture that values uniqueness rather than versatility.
When the visual identity is created by the travelers themselves
This creates an interesting challenge for designers and marketers. The brand can no longer fully control its visual message. It is formed by thousands of people at the same time. Some post photos, others make short videos, and others tell stories. As a result, the logo remains an important element of the system, but no longer the main one.
The paradox is that the more companies invest in real experiences, the stronger their visual identity becomes. People are starting to recognize a brand not by the color of the brand name or by the advertising campaign. They recognize him by the emotion they once experienced themselves.
More than a logo
And perhaps this is the future of travel branding. The most powerful images are not created in a graphic editor. They appear at the moment when travel ceases to be a service and turns into a personal story.
