Tourism promoters from the public and private sectors paint the prettiest pictures of their pet destinations, using a toolkit that ranges from advertising and marketing to movie and TV sponsorship, co-opting travel writers and broadcasters and, more recently, social media influencers. But if such image-polishing obscures underlying issues, are visitors lulled into a false sense of security, leading ultimately to incidents, accidents, and claims against their travel policies?

Government agencies such as the US State Department and the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) work to alert visitors to risks at their planned destination, as of course do travel insurers – but are their messages (often buried in government websites and small print) drowned out by the much more accessible, cleverly targeted, and expensively produced promotional memes and images pumped out through mainstream and new media? And what can travel insurers do about it?

Feeling the love

In 1976, graphic designer Milton Glaser created what is probably the most memorable tourism promotion slogan ever: INY. Adopted by marketing agency Wells Rich Greene in 1977 to spearpoint a campaign aimed at repairing New York City’s tarnished image, it has become an enduring meme, co-opted by destinations worldwide that substitute the name of their own city, island, or resort.

At the time, New York’s reputation had hit rock bottom. In 1977, during a two-day electricity blackout caused by lightning strikes that hit the city’s power supply, public transport shut down, airports closed, more than 1,600 stores were looted, there were more than 1,000 incidents of arson, and police made almost 4,000 arrests. The city was effectively bankrupt, crime was rampant, public transport was unreliable, and rubbish lay uncollected, even in swank East Side Manhattan streets. Parks and subway trains were infested with rats and muggers. This was the New York of Death Wish, Michael Winner’s movie starring Charles Bronson as a vengeful vigilante, and of the real-life Guardian Angels, self-appointed citizen ‘peacekeepers’ in their trademark red berets.

That, at least, had become the accepted image – and in tourism promotion, image is everything. With  INY, the New York State Department of Economic Development set out to change that.

Destinations are often marketed as picture-perfect and risk-free, but that narrative can ‎lull travellers into underestimating potential hazards

Up to a point, it succeeded. The number of visitors to New York City reached a record 16.7 million in 1977. The decline of the dollar, (which fell against the pound from US$1.74 in 1977 to $2.33 in 1980), coupled with a surge in cheap transatlantic air fares released by deregulation, helped US destinations in general to tap into the UK and other key European markets.

Though the memory of the bad times of the ’70s and ’80s lingers, New York in reality has become a cleaner and safer place, with rates of violent crime that other US cities might envy. Though still higher than most European big cities, its homicide rate (4.7 per 100,000 residents) is lower than other major US cities, comparing favourably with, for example, New Orleans – known to visitors as a Mardi Gras party city – with around 34 homicides per 100,000.

No problem? Really?

New York is not the only destination to use a punchy slogan to reboot a negative image. In 1983, Scottish agency Struthers Advertising came up with ‘Glasgow’s miles better’ in a bid to rebrand the city. It worked, creating a bullish mood that pulled Glasgow out of the doldrums and turned it into a thriving short-break and conference destination. That hasn’t, though, altered the fact that Glasgow still has some of the highest rates of violent and non-violent crime in the UK.

Similarly, Brand South Africa’s ‘Inspiring new ways’, hailed in 2012 by its then CEO Millar Matola as “the culmination of many months of research into what thousands of ordinary South Africans believe captures the essence of our country”, has not changed the reality of life in deprived areas of its major cities.

Cape Town, named ‘Best City on Earth’ in 2025 by UK readers of The Telegraph newspaper, has a homicide rate of around 66 deaths per 100,000 residents. Nor can Jamaica’s unofficial mantra ‘Jamaica: No problem’ – a meme almost as recognisable as that of New York’s, mask very real problems, such as the devastation caused by two recent hurricanes and a violent crime rate that has risen steadily for at least 30 years.

Around 18 years ago, Colombia – a destination then notorious for political and drug-related crime, including kidnapping – bravely adopted the line ‘The only risk is wanting to stay’. And, just before the 2003 SARS outbreak hit the headlines, the Hong Kong Tourism Board launched an ad campaign with the tagline ‘Hong Kong will take your breath away’.

Accentuate the positive

When customers are relentlessly bombarded with glowing images of sun, sand and sea, smiling locals and colourful carnivals, does that messaging risk obscuring the cautious warnings of government departments like the UK FCDO, the US State Department, or Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade?

“To me, identifying the positive is valid,” said veteran destination image-management expert Tom Buncle, Managing Director of destination branding consultancy Yellow Railroad, whose clients have included Belarus, Namibia, Jordan, Tunisia, Nice, and Bosnia-Herzegovina.

The image, though, must not stray too far from reality, he cautioned.

Eliminate the negative?

“Destinations are often marketed as picture-perfect and risk-free, but that narrative can lull travellers into underestimating potential hazards,” said Rodger Cook, General Manager, Global Security, at Zurich Cover-More. “We regularly see claims that stem from travellers being caught off-guard by local conditions they weren’t prepared for, from petty crime to natural disasters. When travellers are being targeted by thousands of glossy images a day, messages about safety and preparedness can easily get lost. Travel risk information needs to be just as accessible, timely, and engaging as the content that inspires people to book their trips in the first place.

“As travel insurance providers, we’re often the counterpoint to glossy marketing,” added Cook. “Our job is to remind travellers that awareness and preparation don’t take away from the experience; they make it possible. A beautiful destination can still have complex local risks, from health concerns to infrastructure limitations.”

Other industry voices tend to agree with Cook’s view.

“Travel marketing often ignores the associated risks of a destination, and if travellers believe a destination is perfect and problem-free, they may skip researching local safety or health conditions, choose the wrong coverage – for example, limited medical and evacuation protection – or underestimate the chance of disruptions, such as severe weather or transportation challenges,” said Jackie Mondelli, Chief Marketing Officer at Squaremouth.

In 2024, a breakdown of claims shows trip cancellation caused by inclement weather, named storms or natural disasters accounted for 6.4% of weather-related claims against Squaremouth policies, while trip delay and missed connections accounted for 9.8%. In 2025 trip cancellation accounted for 1.2% of such claims and trip delays and missed connections gave rise to 13.13%.

Travel marketing often ignores the associated risks of a destination, and if travellers believe a destination is perfect and problem-free, they may skip researching local safety or ‎health conditions

“While locations marketed as ‘tropical escapes’ suggest relaxation, the Atlantic has seen an average of 12 named storms per year, each of which can increase the risk of some or part of your trip being cancelled or delayed, or even injury,” Mondelli said, citing internal claims data from travel insurance provider Tin Leg, a Squaremouth brand, which shows that emergency medical claims in the Caribbean increased by 57% from 2024 to 2025.

“Tourism campaigns are fantastic for inspiring travel – iconic slogans or sun-soaked ads create excitement and desire,” said Simon McCulloch, Chief Growth Officer at Staysure. “But there’s a flip side as a polished image and tactical messaging can lull travellers into overlooking some of the real-world threats they could face while visiting unfamiliar destinations.

“As a travel insurance provider, we often see the gap between perception and preparedness. We’re proactive about this and recommend that travellers monitor the official FCDO warnings.
We work hard to ensure customers understand both the dream and how they need to protect themselves before and while they’re away. The goal is for more people to travel with confidence and enjoy the world’s wonderful destinations with their eyes open,” McCulloch concluded.

Striking a balance

What steps can insurers take to provide insureds with balanced information? Travel safety apps are becoming an essential tool, according to some providers, including Zurich Cover-More and International Medical Group (IMG).

“Insurance providers can’t control how destinations promote themselves,” Cook said, “but they can empower travellers with the right information.

“Tourism campaigns are designed to inspire confidence, but confidence can quickly become complacency if travellers don’t seek balanced information. Safety doesn’t sell holidays, so it’s often left out of the conversation, but it’s precisely what determines how well that holiday goes. By providing our customers with real-time alerts, geopolitical intelligence, and health and safety updates, we help travellers balance optimism with awareness. The more informed they are, the less likely they are to experience preventable incidents,” added Cook.

Like Cook, IMG’s Chief Commercial Officer, Justin Poehler, sees travellers taking the initiative and looking to multiple information sources when planning their trip.

“Many travellers are becoming increasingly informed regarding their travel destinations because of research across multiple sources or safety tools available to them for their trip. Regardless of how a destination is portrayed, traveller awareness is key to safety,” he said.

“Many of our travel protection plans include specific references to US Department of State travel advisories, which can directly impact coverage. Depending on the plan, benefits can be triggered if a level 4 travel advisory or alert is issued for the insured’s destination within a designated time frame prior to or during an insured’s trip. These references encourage travellers to consider official advisories as part of their planning process,” Poehler said.

IMG offers a proactive Travel Intelligence tool that provides location-specific alerts based on a user’s GPS location and spanning threat categories ranging from terrorism to severe weather.

“This helps travellers stay informed and prepared, even in destinations that are typically seen as safe,” Poehler said. “Ultimately, insurers can encourage informed travel through both their policy design and real-time safety tools available to customers.”