Tourism’s Top 10 Most Unique Destination Websites

Understanding what makes a travel destination website successful is crucial for anyone interested in reaching more potential travelers online. Sparking travel inspiration is a tough task, so we have compiled a list of the top 10 destination websites that inspire us and motivate us to imagine creative ways to entice travel plans. Check out these high quality, user friendly travel websites:

Machu Picchu 360 Destination Website

Machu Picchu 360 has adopted a creative and unique way to promote this awe-inspiring Peruvian landmark. By creating a highly interactive virtual reality tour, the website allows the visitor to emerge themselves into the ancient city of Machu Picchu, one of the seven wonders of the world. From the sound of the birds to detailed interpretive information, the prospective visitor is taken on a truly immersive experience. The website gives such a detailed visual experience that it attracts tourists to understand more about Machu Picchu and inspire a visit to see it first-hand.

My Switzerland Destination Website

Other than having a complete set of information about Switzerland’s main attractions, My Switzerland promotes experiences aimed at all target markets. Relevant for specific travelers, the site also displays clear information about Covid-19 safety protocols with indications on where and how to get tested. Although it catches the attention for being a very beautifully designed website, one of its most unique features is the separation of experiences by season, promoting a varied experience and showing that Switzerland is a travel destination to see all year round.

Travel Belize Website

One of the first things you will see when entering the Travel Belize landing page is a health and safety warning letting visitors know that the country has reopened and is ready to receive tourists in a safe and internationally certified way. To display such certifications is becoming increasingly important in order to rebuild tourists’ confidence to travel again. The website includes the publication of blogs that together form an excellent guide. The interesting element of this guide is that visitors can make their travel plans around archaeology, backpacking, beaches and coast, birding, ecotourism and hiking so that guests can find their niche and  the experiences that interest them the most. Travel Belize did an excellent job in displaying the colorfulness of Belize’s nature without ignoring the cultural aspects, all while paying tribute to its diverse ethnic background.

Love Cape Town Website

As with many other destination websites, Love Cape Town has been updated with useful Covid-19 information, safety instructions and the latest news affecting tourism. The website is well divided in different types of attractions such as nightlife, eat and drink, wellness and arts & culture. One unique factor of this website is the presence of a ‘Travelwise’ section that highlights responsible tourism practices that gives information about local tours to more off-the-beaten-path destinations. Other than that, Love Cape town also displays the businesses that support the destination so that visitors have the opportunity to chat with the their tourism teams.

Visit Phoenix Destination Website

One of the features of Visit Phoenix’s destination website that catches visitors’ attention right away is the high quality use of Instagram pictures from locals and travelers. This strategy shows what Phoenix is truly about and how it is seen from the visitor perspective. Additionally, it makes the visitors interact with the destination management organization (DMO) through hashtags for the opportunity to be featured on their website. Engaging tourists through social media is a great technique to raise awareness towards your destination, especially in attracting younger travelers. As with many of the websites highlighted before, this site is separated in different travel categories showing the visitor what to see and where to stay. But one unique aspect of Visit Phoenix is the LGBTQ+ travel section that shows more about LGBTQ+ historical sites and promotes local artists and events aimed at this market.

NYCGO.com Website

This official guide to New York City provides a unique platform to deep-dive into trip planning for the most visited city in the United States. What stands out with NYCGO.com is the sheer amount of content the website covers. From the different boroughs to spotlights on specific communities, the site details so many trip options and features a plethora of locally owned businesses. The site also has their finger on the pulse of why some may be inspired to travel to the city. For example, at the time of writing, In the Heights, a film that was shot and takes place in the Washington Heights area of Manhattan, has an entire section of the website dedicated to visiting the area and exploring spots from the film. The amount of options the high quality travel destination website offers perfectly encapsulates the diversity of things to do found in NYC.

Travel Oregon Website

The Travel Oregon website gives travelers a wide variety of travel options, similar to NYCGo. The difference here is the overall look of the website. It perfectly captures the essence of Oregon with a variety of photographs of the outdoors, an embedded Instagram feed, and a cinematic video that previews your potential adventures when you visit the state. A big part of traveling to a state like Oregon is driven by its natural beauty and the emotional effect it has on those who travel there. Travel Oregon captured this perfectly when they developed their site and even created an entire section devoted to travel inspirations within Oregon. Utilizing emotion and feelings to help curate a trip is one of the most unique ways of travel recommendations that we’ve seen, and think it holds a great key to curating the perfect trip. Be sure to check out their interactive map.

Visit Reykjavik Destination Website

Set as the jumping off point for the rest of Iceland, Visit Reykjavik paints the city as being more than just a city. What stands out with Visit Reykjavik is that the site knows the demographic of those who visit. Over half of the visitors to Iceland in 2018 were under the age of 35, signaling that the destination has a lot of appeal with younger travelers. The front page highlights their understanding of the core traveler by including subjects like local bars and clubs, coffee shops, and vegan food. It’s important to understand your target market, and Visit Reykjavik demonstrates that well.

Visit Norway Website

Sometimes a destination doesn’t need a fancy angle for their websites. Visit Norway demonstrates this with their sleek and simple website design that gives curious visitors a jumping off point but without an overwhelming amount of information for those who are looking to plan a trip. It encourages narrowing down exactly what the tourist would like to do, then it gives them the data, which is refreshingly simple.

South Africa Tourism Destination Website

On the opposite end of the spectrum from Norway’s simplified site, South Africa’s site provides an almost “Choose Your Own Adventure” type of experience. This experience begins with a landing page asking what type of trip the visitor to the site is looking to plan. Then the site eloquently customizes a visitor’s visit to the site by telling them how long it would take to get to South Africa from their location and allows visitors to explore offered activities. Consider this a digital, accessible travel guide.

Solimar has worked on numerous projects around the world to build effective destination websites for our clients, such as the recent development of the Atauro Island site for this emerging Destination Management Organization in Timor Leste.

If you are interested in learning how to make an effective, engaging destination website, contact us today to learn how Solimar can help you with your digital tourism marketing needs. 

By Kevin Lewicki and Marina de Moraes Lopes