Is Short Form Video the Right Opportunity for Small Travel Agencies in 2026?

As an experienced travel agency owner, hotel owner or DMO manager, you’re hoping for some sure hits, or maybe even a magic bullet for your inbound traffic strategy.

You’re reading a lot about how some channels are great while others not so. The truth might be that any channel is whatever you make of it. For instance, it’s been said that human-driven travel agencies are dying, but you’re not about to go with that attitude. Instead, you’re getting on with your business, using the usual tools that work and adopting the modern ones to guarantee your future.

Because hype is a marketing tactic and can lead you down a rough trail to nowhere. There are lots of rumors about channels such as video, so let’s take a deeper look at what it is and what it could do for your agency and your 2026 travel marketing strategy.

Tour Radar‘s video features meeting a genuine, experienced Portuguese/Spain tour guide.

Short Form Video Features

As the data suggests, short-form video can generate leads, but it’s not always a direct path.  It actually works by creating better content experiences, increasing brand awareness, building trust, and helping to build traveler intent.

Keep in mind, YouTube videos have massive views, but conversion rates are extremely low. This may be because of the gap between YouTube and the site where leads can be groomed for conversion. Short-form videos are special forms (under 20 minutes duration) which compress benefits into a convenient and easily consumed product.

A good example is this video on a question that millions of travelers ask, “how expensive is Switzerland?” The question then becomes, why would the visitor still want to visit Switzerland? (because it’s world’s best hiking and intense mountain life experience). The travelers actually asking, “how can I afford a vacation in Switzerland?”

The challenge with them is making them impactful, but also being able to keep viewers engaged after the video ends. Most leads end at the video. Having videos doesn’t impact, but a well-conceived, high-quality production can.

Short-form travel videos are a powerful medium that could give your content a big boost, improving your visitor’s pre-trip experience, lifting your brand image, and getting your value proposition across more effectively. Video is a great way to make impact and a nice way to supercharge your travel marketing.

I’ve done some extensive research on the impact of video on travelers and I can present you with that detailed report as part of our discussion.

Video By Itself is Like Eating Sugar

I watch a lot of travel videos, but by themselves they leave much to be desired. Travel is a high-involvement purchase, with extensive expectations, requirements and consideration.  They add to the travel buying experience where the heart and mind travel first.  Generally, only text copywriting can carry that authentic, personal, and helpful conversation, but it needs that special visual engagement and visual proof, to get the booking action started (impact/emotions). Video is the solution.

And your future clients coming from Google, ChatGPT or social media are looking for a nice vibe that celebrates their own joy of travel. Like icing on a big moist chocolate cake, video generates a sugar high that gives them the energy to overcome inertia and make an impulse inquiry or even an initial booking. We need to capitalize on that impulse while it lasts.

Video must follow rules though. The video’s purpose isn’t to celebrate video or a destination.  Instead, it’s to celebrate the agency and its advisors and the genuine, warm and personal connection customers will enjoy with you.

Video is Popular but How is it Effectively Used?

Some surveys show travel pros really believe in short-form video. But can be video be used in isolation effectively? That question deserves it’s own response which I’ll discuss in another post.

For both B2B and B2C brands, the top-performing content format in 2024 was short-form video – Hubspot State of Marketing Report 2025

The popularity of video isn’t difficult to comprehend, given how busy, distracted and bored travelers often are, and the fact that video is the medium for Tiktok, Instagram, and YouTube. Travel videos offering an immersive, unique, and glorious expose of a destination’s geography and accommodations do engage the eye, ear and the emotions.  Short-form video satisfies users demand to get to the point. Video can get your UVP/offer across quick to travelers, so they become willing to spend more time in the consideration phase.

Deep research on short form video shows it does increase intent to travel, by

• improving the desirability of the destination
• perceived authenticity and creativity
• how deeply they process the video’s message
• willingness to recommend (net promoter score)
• visual storytelling
• creator style rather than polished, slick

Video is a convenient, quick, intense experience that responds to the full reasons they’re traveling, the possible activities, and the satisfaction they’ll feel. So, as a travel content strategist, I do like video as part of the online content strategy. In fact, it may be essential now.  Text is powerful but it needs a helper. And video imagery, music and voices can convey ideas powerfully.

Powering Up Blogs for More Complete Experiences

Ask any travel influencer, and they’ll tell you their travel vlog and website blog are essential. We need complete, satisfying content experiences for visitors.  Many try the “Tiktok” only tactic, but without an owned platform, their audiences are eroded and their ability to convert viewers is hampered. You can engage on Facebook, Tiktok and Instagram, yet ultimately, loyal customers need to be drawn over to your owned platform – your blog.

On your travel blog, the relationship gets serious and you’ll want to craft a welcoming visit there to get them to make that “only one for me” emotional commitment. Without that, you’re just one of the bunch.

Short-form video matches up nicely with travel blogs and your trip listings, filling gaps that text pages can’t quite fill. It connects the dots quickly.

Travel blogs enhanced with well-presented videos too, can be much more effective at converting. This is because it fills the gaps in the users online journey. Video without the right supporting content, falls into the abyss.  You have to think about the traveler’s behavior after they view the video, and how lasting their intent is if they can’t follow up with the specific questions they have.

Remember that we can capture massive traffic, but they still have to be emotionally engaged on our landing page or they will bounced. SEO can bring the lead, but we still have to impact, engage and persuade. Video may be a key part of the solution you’re missing right now.

On that note, I thought I’d add these points:

How video view time impacts SEO

• Increased engagement time: People spend more time on a page with a video, which may be a good signal for search engines.
• Reduced bounce rate: Captivating videos can encourage visitors to stay on the page and explore other content, rather than leaving the site immediately.
• Enhanced content value: Videos can make a blog post feel more comprehensive and authoritative, as well as engaging which can lead to better rankings.
• More backlinks: Quality videos that are entertaining or valuable to users might be linked to by other websites and shared on social pages, boosting your blog’s authority.
• YouTube Visibility: quality video can generate significant visibility on the world’s second-largest search engine—YouTube.

Now you have a tantalizing realization that short-form video can help you generate that big impact, being personal, authentic, and most valued by travelers.

The Next Steps

Your next step will be develop your digital marketing strategy and ensure your video can power it up correctly.

Dip your toes in the video medium, by strategizing videos and publishing versions for each social channel, and for YouTube and your blog. Hiring a video freelancer might be the best decision. With them, you get a focus on the video, not distracted by an agency trying to sell you additional services. Focus is so important and so is cost.

I have produced short travel videos using Canva and Adobe Express, so video tools do exist that can, with time and patience, produce nice results. If you have original footage or want to dub in your own video with your comments, it can be a amazing way to introduce you and your agency to new followers and customers. Stock travel video is available, usable for short videos on your key destinations (e.g., Mexico, Portugal, Spain, France, Thailand, etc.).

Keep in mind that your videos must be high quality, as travelers evaluate the creativity, flow, topics and storytelling in it. Low quality video will result in a bounce, ending the engagement with your company.  If budget is an issue, then having a video professional video producer create one initial video is wise. We can collaborate and find one whose work you like.  It’s important to understand visual branding, and good video production values.

You can plan the video’s role in your content strategy, ppc strategy and social media engagement and capture that winning edge with travelers.

The video’s analytics feedback will help you understand what you’ll actually need to do to make video a successful part of your digital marketing.