Real places, not invented ones
A destination campaign is a promise about a place people will visit. Generated landscapes that do not exist, beaches emptied of their summer crowds, a skyline with an extra tower or a waterfall moved closer to town all break it, and residents spot the errors immediately. Landmarks are where models fail most visibly: wrong numbers of arches, merged buildings, invented signage. Start from real photography and footage of the actual location, use generation to extend, relight or adapt it for formats, and have someone who knows the place check every frame. Be careful with phenomena that cameras exaggerate, such as the northern lights, which often look paler to the eye than in long exposures.
Seasons, source markets and the travel date
Tourism marketing works months ahead: campaigns run in one season to sell a trip in another, often to travellers in a different hemisphere. The imagery must match conditions at the time of travel, not the time of the ad, including daylight hours, snow cover and which attractions are open. Each source market also needs its own campaign, not a translation: different reasons to visit, holiday periods such as Golden Week in China and Japan, school holidays in Europe, flight connections and price sensitivity. Some boards now use seasonal campaigns to spread visitors away from crowded peaks and hotspots. Generation makes it affordable to build a real version per market and per season from the same footage.
Sustainability claims that hold up
Green claims are everywhere in tourism and increasingly regulated. From 27 September 2026, EU Directive 2024/825 bans generic environmental claims such as 'eco-friendly' or 'green destination' unless the trader can show recognised excellent environmental performance, and bans claims that a product has a neutral or reduced climate impact based on offsetting. The UK's CMA applies its Green Claims Code under consumer law. Use specific, provable statements instead: a certified scheme, a named programme, a measured reduction. Imagery counts too. Pristine nature beside a claim implies more than the claim says, and showing visitors in fragile habitats, off marked trails or close to wildlife can contradict the message outright.
Local people, culture and consent
Destinations are people's homes, and campaigns that portray residents need their consent, not just their faces. Real residents shown in marketing need releases, and generated 'locals' carry a different risk: stereotyped dress, rituals or crafts that the community does not recognise. Sacred and culturally sensitive places have their own rules. At Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, for example, the climb closed in 2019 and filming of certain culturally sensitive sites is restricted. A generated scene can show what visitors are not allowed to do, from climbing to drone shots to feeding wildlife, so brief the rules as carefully as the look. The studio's brand hub can carry these rules, from approved claims to banned words, so every team and agency works from the same guidance.
Updated 25 September 2026 · General information, not legal advice. Rules change, so check the current text with your legal team before relying on it.