Do you trust a destination that promotes itself?

The amount of knowledge you have about a place before you visit can range from nothing to extensive. Hopping off a train or bus randomly, walking across an unfamiliar landscape, or hitchiking. Word of mouth, word of blog, web research or travel books. You can learn about a place through movies or novels — Mumbai through Shantaram, Pamplona through Hemingway.

And then there are the people who live there and what they have to say.

When these locals go pro, it seems their word could be called straight marketing. However, shouldn’t the folks who call that place home — the natives — know best?

Destination marketing isn’t necessarily scheming. You’ll realize what the Incredible India campaign leaves out as soon as you get sick, sure, but it also successfully captures the magic.

Do you have any examples of destination marketing that you’ve found trustworthy, accurate and well-done? Where the place met or exceeded your expectations? Interested to hear…

*Probably important to note that a heaping portion of destination marketing/advertising isn’t created by locals at all, but by hired guns…