Tourism is the biggest buyer of content in Costa Rica and also the worst at buying it. Most hotels order beautiful sunset images when what actually decides a booking is something else.

What travellers really want to see

  • The real room, without a wide angle lens. The number one doubt is size. A video walking from the door to the window answers more than twenty photos.
  • The journey. How long it takes from the airport, what the road is like, whether a four wheel drive is needed. In Costa Rica this is the objection that cancels the most bookings.
  • Breakfast and the food. Concrete, not catalogue.
  • Wildlife without exaggeration. Showing sloths and toucans is tempting, but promising guaranteed sightings generates bad reviews.
  • The testimonial from the guest who hesitated. "I thought it was too far away." Starting from the objection converts better than starting from the view.

Which creators to hire

The one who resembles your guest, not the one with the best camera.

A family with children, an older couple, a solo traveller, a group of surfing friends: each sells to a completely different audience. A family hotel that only posts young couple content is communicating the opposite of what it wants.

And if your clientele is American or European, hire creators who film in English with a clear accent. It is the variable that most affects conversion in this sector and the least used.

How to buy content that lasts

The expensive mistake in tourism is buying material that expires. A video referring to a specific promotion or season is useless the following year.

Always ask for two versions: one with the promotion and one clean, with no dates or prices. The second serves you for three years.

And define the licence per property. If your group has five hotels, the price of using the material across all of them is not the same as for one.

The brief that produces good material

Include: which room is filmed, which journey must be shown, which activities are included and which are not, three suggested hooks and a clear list of what cannot be promised.

That last point prevents bad reviews. A creator promising whale sightings in August brings you disappointed guests.

The calendar

Buy the content between September and October, so it is ready before the dry season. Buying in January means arriving late to your own high season.

Where to go next

In tourism, honest information books more than the sunset. Our complete UGC guide for brands explains the rest of the process.