Travel brochure: information or inspiration?

Registan in Samarkand

Registan in Samarkand - long on my hitlist since I saw a photo of it

I have a soft spot for collecting travel brochures; specifically those that focus on inspirational photography. I can enjoy time and again those images of sweeping landscapes, of little isolated houses set against a open sky and a dramatic mountainous backdrop. I stare at those pictures and transport myself to those faraway lands, imaging that I’m hiking by the side of that lake or traipsing along those ruined castle walls. What is this power that’s contained within the much maligned travel brochure?

At the moment I have two such booklets beside me. One features the Isles of Scilly and the other the Faroe Islands; both a short distance from the UK mainland yet a world apart in terms of culture, climate and geology. Both are also places I’d love to visit and haven’t yet managed to reach. Yet looking at these publications there is a clear difference in approach, and I am reminded of that old nugget of advice, ‘show not tell’.

The Faroe Island brochure has barely a word in it. It is 24 pages of mainly full-page photographs, showing empty roads, stark cliff-faces, puffins, stormy clouds and fair-haired (mainly female) inhabitants. I have learned nothing about how to reach the islands, the cost of staying there, whether I need a rental car or what I might expect to eat when I’m there. But the brochure has sparked an interest in me to experience those lonely hillsides and stare out to sea from those ragged rocks. It has inspired me to want to go; I can find the detailed stuff online in my own time.

That first brochure is produced by the national tourist board. The Isles of Scilly one meanwhile is the work of a tour operator that visits these little islands south west of Land’s End. It’s pictures are mainly of hotels and guest houses; of living rooms, loft conversions and outdoor patio furniture. The many words in this brochure focus on the number of rooms in the properties and dining options available, with only a short introduction to the islands themselves.

Two very different approaches. Is one correct and by extension the other wrong? Each brochure focusses on meeting its own purpose. For one this is inspiring people to visit the islands, while for the other it is offering those already planning to visit detailed information on where to stay. The latter is the more traditional format for the holiday brochure; but with the amount of property related content online these days (hotel’s own websites and user generated reviews) what purpose do such brochures serve any more?

In my case, and I appreciate it is personal taste, I find the approach of showing me a set of inspiring photos from a destination to be very effective at persuading me to visit. I have chosen many a faraway destination based solely on having seen a particularly emotive photograph. The accommodation centred brochure may be preferred by those who might spend more of their holiday time at their hotel. But I wonder if in this web-based society there is a shift in how people make their travel decisions, and whether these needs to be reflected in the style of the brochures produced.

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5 Responses to “Travel brochure: information or inspiration?”

  1. Great post! I used to collect travel related magazines. They had information but seriously nothing much…for details I still rely on the internet/travel guides as they are also more updated.

    I am attracted to the pictures too and as the saying goes, A Picture Speaks a Thousand Words!

    November 15, 2010 at 6:28 pm Reply
  2. Thoughtful post, as ever. Of course, the first brochure has the huge advantage that it matters not a jot to its publisher where you choose to stay. You can sell a destination with inspirational photos, absolutely, but that’s not much help to the tour operator paying those printing costs if you stay at the hotel down the road. I guess they could rely on a rising tide floating all boats, but that’s a little scattergun for a niche marketer, don’t you think?

    Curiously enough, I’ve had this exact conversation quite a few times when it comes to guidebooks. Are they there to help just with the nuts and bolts of a destination, to provide opinionated and researched coverage for the traveller who’s already there (mentally, if not physically), or at least booked their flight? Or should they also “sell” that destination a little up-front? Not sure there’s a straight answer to that one either.

    November 16, 2010 at 11:46 am Reply
  3. I now browse Flickr by country and get some really great inspiration and now brochures to recycle afterwards.

    November 16, 2010 at 6:40 pm Reply
  4. As the producers of the official Isles of Scilly ‘SimplyScilly’ brochure we have found these posts to be insightful.
    The official guide, which is available by phone on 01720 424031 and to view online at http://www.simplyscilly.co.uk carefully achieves an inspiring and planning balance.
    We try to blend inspirational imagery with powerful quotes and facts to ‘sell’ the destination. Then, for those who have already made the decision to visit the islands, we pack in plenty of user-friendly accommodation and travel detail. We advertise ‘some suggestions’ of places to visit whilst on holiday and drive potential visitors to our website to tap into further resources and offers.

    We know the official guide remains popular and a wow image makes the difference in selling the destination over internation competition. Our guide is an integral part of our marketing strategy along side our web presence.

    If you’d like a copy or to download our 2011 guide then it will be available from the 27th November onwards.

    November 18, 2010 at 12:35 pm Reply
  5. Thanks for the thoughtful replies. As Donald and Sophie point out, different people will have different objectives for producing their brochures and these will naturally reflect in the content. Powerful images will work in almost any brochure and for a majority of readers, while the amount of written content will depend on whether the reader is committed to the destination yet. As John mentions, the information is increasingly online. So how will this shape the printed brochure of the future, if such a thing is going to exist at all?

    November 18, 2010 at 8:24 pm Reply

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