UGC for travel brands: give your creators a job

One of the biggest mistakes we see in creator marketing is starting with the creator instead of the strategy. Someone has a good following. You offer them a complimentary experience. They make a Reel. You get some views.

Then what?

If you haven't decided what job that content needs to do, you're largely hoping something good happens.

Creator content can do several jobs for a travel brand. We covered four of them in creator marketing for tour operators, from owning social search to turning creators into affiliates who sell your product. This post goes deeper on one of them, which is building a library of content you can use in your own advertising.

One of the best examples of why you should start with a plan comes from a big travel brand. But you don't need to be a big brand to do something like this.

Thirty creators, one global brand platform

In September 2026, Interrail launched The Interrail Effect, its new global brand platform. To kick it off, thirty creators travelled across Europe by train.

Rather than commissioning one beautifully produced brand film and hoping it did the job, Interrail had creators document what actually happens between destinations. Conversations with strangers, missed connections and the scenery you don't see from a plane.

Their footage became The Interrail Diaries, a hero film called Between Here & There and a series of short films and social content. It now runs across Interrail's paid media, email and social channels.

Watch The Interrail Effect on Interrail's YouTube channel.

We love this approach for three reasons.

• The creators are the production engine. The content isn't just a collection of posts published on thirty different accounts. It becomes the raw material for a much bigger campaign.
• The strategy fits the product. Interrail is selling a way of travelling, not simply getting from A to B. The unexpected moments along the way are exactly what make the experience distinctive.
• It creates a content engine, not just a campaign. Thirty creators produce a variety of footage, perspectives and stories. That gives the brand material it can shape into different formats and use across different channels.

The bigger lesson isn't that you need thirty creators or a global advertising budget. It's that Interrail knew what it wanted to do with the content before it went looking for creators to make it. Any tour or activity operator can learn from that.

Give your creators a job

If you're already spending money on Meta ads or other paid social, here's a practical strategy to consider. Instead of commissioning content because you think you need more of it, recruit creators specifically to build a library of videos you can test in your advertising.

Why? Because you don't know in advance which video, opening hook or style will perform best with your target audience. Rather than betting everything on one expensive production, get a variety of authentic videos into your ad account and let the results tell you which ones deserve more budget.

One creator might open with the price. Another might show the experience in the first three seconds. Another might answer the question every prospective customer asks before booking.

Four videos from our own Instagram, each with a different hook. That variety is exactly what an ad account needs to test.

Different hooks. Different perspectives. Different ways of selling the same experience.

Your job is to create the options. Your ad account helps you find the winners.

Like many things in content these days, it's a volume game.

You don't necessarily need influencers

This is where user-generated content (UGC) creators come in.

You don't always need someone with a huge audience. Sometimes you simply need someone who can make compelling, authentic video content that your business has permission to reuse. You can recruit these creators through CollabsMap.

Be clear in your offer about what you're providing and what you expect in return, including the content deliverables and usage rights for your own channels and advertising.

For a high-value experience, such as a multi-day tour, the experience itself might be meaningful compensation. For a lower-priced activity, additional payment may be fair.

The important thing is to agree on the arrangement upfront. Don't assume that an invitation to experience your product automatically gives you the right to use the resulting content in paid advertising. Say it in the collab you post, including whether you want to run the videos as ads and for how long, so there are no surprises for anyone.

On CollabsMap, the usage rights are part of the collab you post, next to what creators get and what you ask for.

The play

Recruit UGC creators → build a varied content library → test the videos in paid campaigns → identify the winners → put more budget behind what performs.

And if you find a creator whose content consistently performs well, work with them again.

You can brief them on new hooks, test different angles and build on what you've learned. Over time, you're not just collecting videos. You're developing a repeatable process for producing advertising creative that works.

Pick the job first

If you recruited five creators tomorrow, what would you want their content to do for your business? Build awareness? Generate bookings? Give you authentic videos to test in paid ads?

Pick the job first. Then design the offer, brief and content rights around it.

That's how you get more value from every creator relationship. And it's how creator marketing becomes a repeatable part of your marketing strategy rather than a series of one-off experiments.

Frequently asked questions

What is UGC?

User-generated content. In creator marketing, it means photos and videos a creator makes that your business has permission to reuse on its own channels, including ads. The creator's audience matters less than whether they can make video that feels authentic.

Do I have to pay UGC creators?

Not always. For a high-value experience, such as a multi-day tour, the experience itself might be meaningful compensation. For a lower-priced activity, or when you want to run the videos as ads, a fee on top is fair. Either way, put it in your offer so creators know before they apply.

Can I use a creator's content in my ads?

Only if you agreed it upfront. An invitation to experience your product doesn't automatically include the right to use the content in paid advertising. Agree whether the ads run from your account or the creator's, and for how long, before anyone films.

How many videos do I need?

Enough to compare. The point is to test different hooks and styles against each other, so several creators making a few videos each will teach you more than one polished production.

Where to start

Write down the job you want the content to do. Then write down what a creator gets from you and what you want back, including the usage rights. That is your first offer.

Then get on the map. It's free to list, and creators heading your way can find your offer and apply. If you want to see who is already offering collabs in your destination first, browse the map, or read how CollabsMap works for brands.