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Infographics Expanding The Reach of Travel Influence

Infographics in the midst of travel media provide a nuanced way to approach data. Instead of reading a multi-paragraph article to find a particular piece of information, consumers are able to see exact statistics they need almost instantly.

The UN effectively communicates with their audience about annual tourism results through infographics via their website. With numerous statistics in the form of short blurbs, pie charts and bar graphs, travelers and those alike are able to dive into helpful information through visual communication. With line graphs showing rising and dropping tourism and bar charts comparing countries' tourism GDP rankings, the visual displays enhance reader understanding.

The travel industry relies on travelers. Having a way to not only track data, but to share it with those interested, makes for helpful information if used well. Travelers can look at the well-communicated data on the UN Tourism and actually interact with it by changing filters, years and countries. Tourists can also see which countries are experiencing high volumes of tourists which can help them steer away from over-tourism in areas that can’t handle such surges. These features allow real people to quickly observe helpful information and apply it to their lives.

Instead of having articles and essays for each piece of information, having data in the form of charts, graphs and blurbs allows for easier communication and accessibility. Trying to find pertinent information in the midst of thick writing is much more difficult than having short statistics readily available.

The UN Tourism website understands that the data they have is both substantial and necessary. In order to convey this effectively, short forms and quick bites of information is what a directed traveler really needs. By having the information readily accessible, changeable and descriptive, it is an easy platform that deters passive reading.

Not only would it take a long time to have to read through written data, but a large portion of readers – travelers – would have a hard time potentially understanding the information at hand. In a written format, information about numbers of travelers, growth expectancies, receipts, and exports would become incredibly confusing to a non-professional. This would limit the amount of people who could truly benefit from the data at hand.

Overall, infographics in the travel industry – especially on a website like UN Tourism – can help tourists, near and far, in their journeys. With interactive features, nearly everyone can find a way to benefit from the visual information available.

Link to UN Tourism Website: https://www.untourism.int/tourism-data/un-tourism-tourism-dashboard?