User-generated content (UGC) is referred to as one of the most effective tools for brands looking to drive engagement and boost followers and sales. Travelers trust real experiences from fellow tourists more than traditional advertising. In fact, 55% of consumers trust UGC over brand-created content (Tourism Tiger).
Reviews, social media posts, and candid travel shots drive bookings like never before in 2025.
While from the customer's point of view UGC is reliable and entertaining, for brands UGC is unpredictable, inconsistent, and sometimes low-quality.
There is an alternative to UGC that can be just as powerful when done right. Professionally generated content (PGC) is produced by professionals, think marketers, advertisers, or as we'll explore today by professional photographers.
What we'll talk about today is different than any other PGC—PGC that looks and feels like UGC but is 10x better. Imagine high-quality, authentic-looking travel photos that seamlessly blend the best of both worlds: the credibility of UGC with the irresistible look of professional photography.
Tourists love to share their experiences, and travel brands benefit when they do. Whether it’s an Instagram story, a TripAdvisor review, or a TikTok travel vlog, UGC fuels word-of-mouth marketing, builds trust, and provides social proof; key factors that drive conversions.
However, relying solely on UGC can be a double-edged sword. Not all travelers take great photos. Some don’t share their experiences at all, and when they do, their content might not showcase the tour in the best light. Poor-quality or unflattering images can weaken your brand rather than enhance it.
The key to encouraging customers to talk about your tours online and share photos lies in creating photo opportunities that seamlessly integrate into their experience.
By offering a professional photography add-on, you not only provide guests with more than just a souvenir to relive their memories but also introduce an additional revenue stream for your business.
Before diving into the business advantages of professional photography, let’s explore how you can generate professionally created content (PGC) that feels like user-generated content (UGC) but is infinitely better in quality and impact.
Let professional photographers become part of the experience, capturing genuine emotions and candid moments without intrusive setups. This ensures that guests enjoy authentic experiences (something travelers value immensely in today's experiential age).
With a professional photographer capturing the moment, your guests don’t have to worry about getting the perfect shot themselves.
Unlike amateur snapshots taken by travelers, professional photographers deliver consistently high-quality images with perfect lighting, angles, and composition. Each shot is crafted to be social-media-ready, significantly increasing the share rate of real tour photos.
High-quality output means guests are excited to share, organically amplifying your brand reach. On average, Smiler's personalised photo galleries inspire guests to share their photos with friends, family, and followers, driving significant visibility for your tours.
Every day, Smiler’s Instagram account is filled with tagged photos from happy customers proudly sharing their experiences with friends and followers.
They often mention how amazing their experience was, praising both their photos and the photography experience.
It’s proof that when people love their photos, they can’t wait to share them—spreading the word about their experience!
These posts are powerful endorsements that build trust and attract new bookings.
Smiler's tour operator and OTA partners empower their guests to become brand advocates who willingly promote the tours through their networks.
Smiler's AI-powered photo galleries further enhance this process by collecting marketing consent and driving reviews, ensuring a steady flow of high-quality, sharable content.
With Smiler's photography service tailored for tour operators, instead of waiting and hoping for good UGC, you take control—offering content that looks organic but is professionally crafted to highlight the best aspects of your tour.
It’s the perfect balance of authenticity and brand advocacy.
Smiler’s AI-powered galleries don’t just deliver personal photo galleries to hundreds of guests every day, they also:
✅ Drive reviews: Guests receive their professionally captured photos and are prompted to leave a review.
They relive their experience through their photos as the excitement and joy of their memories come rushing back. This emotional connection makes them more likely to leave a glowing review, boosting your 5-star ratings.
✅ Expand Reach Organically: On average, each Smiler gallery reaches four additional people. We help you utilise this extended network with embedded custom links that direct traffic back to your website, booking pages, or any destination you choose.
✅ Collect marketing consent – With built-in automated consent collection, you gain access to high-quality photos that’s legally cleared for promotional use.
These photos then can be used on your website, product pages, social media or other promotional materials.
In fact, you can see exactly how many marketing-consent photos you get by using our free ROI calculator.
Simply enter your tour details, and in seconds, you'll see the impact of adding photography to your tours and the potential amount of real tour photos you can use in your marketing. Make sure to give it a try!
And that's how professional-grade photos become a powerful marketing tool disguised as a guest perk.
UGC is powerful, but it’s unpredictable.
PGC is polished, but it can feel staged.
Smiler gives you the best of both—real-looking, high-quality content that drives engagement, boosts visibility, and enhances your brand image.
If you want to learn how to transform every photo op into a business opportunity, get in touch with us today!
