I was recently trying to choose a holiday destination, and like many people nowadays, I started by scanning holiday websites and searching feedback from ‘real people’ on sites like TripAdvisor.com. I managed to unearth some useful info, particularly in blogs and forums, but then suddenly something occurred to me. Why not search YouTube for other people’s ‘holiday videos’ of the destinations I was considering? Not exactly a stroke of genius…but it certainly was a new way of thinking for me, and I suspect for many others.
It doesn’t seem to matter how obscure your destinations are, SOMEONE seems to have posted a video from there on the internet! In my case, I found YouTube ‘home-videos’ that gave me great insights to Cape York fishing safaris, Cambodian trekking and remote Fijian getaways.
Look, maybe it’s the advertising cynic in me, but I do find great value in seeing real peoples real videos, rather than risking being influenced by professional footage that has been carefully manipulated by tour operators and local tourism bodies. I like that the power is now in the public’s hands, to show the REALITY of destinations that await travellers. These YouTube clips, often just 10-20 seconds long, can contain a single magic moment that will either convince you to book your trip, or turn you away from paying a deposit! In my mind, they offer better insurance than the policy you take out with the likes of a dodgy travel insurer. Try it out!
Ah, how the world has changed! It seems like only yesterday that, given the choice between watching someone’s holiday movies and having root canal treatment, most people would have chosen the dentist’s chair.
Hey Nick
I agree that YouTube videos are often a way to cut through the corporate spin delivered by official websites …but!…beware! I suspect many of the so called amateur videos are often seeded corporate videos. After all, how many people would seriously video every detail of a hotel room and post it on YouTube?