Panama's Not for Tourists, Says Country's Tourism Campaign

Panama is promoting itself as a tourism destination -- by using the tagline that it's "not for tourists." The Panama Tourism Authority hired agency VML last year with the aim of boosting the number of visitors from the U.S. and Canada, and its first work has a different point of view to most travel campaigns. It's honest about the fact that the country isn't set up for tourists -- for example, as seen here in an ad about birdwatching, you'll have to travel for hours on bad mud roads to get to the place where you can see the rare birdlife. It ends with the words: "For birders. Not for tourists." Other spots are also designed to attract the kind of traveler who wants to get off the beaten track. One compares other destinations' swim-up bars with a "swim-up village" in Panama, and another highlights the face-painting tradition of a remote Panamanian village, with a cheeky nod to Instagram. The campaign also includes a beautiful long-form film that showcases a whole range of what the country has to offer, with the endline: "For travelers. Not for tourists." It's an interesting approach and one that also relfects the way that travel advertising is changing -- from Airbnb urging people not to "do" Paris, but live there to Expedia making the point that travel broadens the mind. If you're someone who doesn't fit into the "tourist" stereotype, this will definitely appeal.

Panama's Not for Tourists, Says Country's Tourism Campaign

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