Where To Get Free Travel Images For Your Website And Marketing Materials

Travel horizons have been greatly expanded over the last few years with the progression of the internet, and this has led to a rise in the number of businesses advertising and marketing their products online.

With so much competition in the industry, how do you improve your online presence and make your business stand out from the rest then?

Well, one way is to use great imagery on your website and marketing materials. If you don’t have your own quality images yet, the good news is that there are free (and paid) sites where you can find inspiring photos to use.

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Where To Find Inspiring Free Travel Images For Travel Websites

It makes perfect sense that, in an industry driven by discovery, visual stimulation is a key factor for catching the imagination of travelers. It is therefore important to choose captivating images that will make people look twice at your website and travel offers.

Among others, sites such as Unsplash, Pexels, and Pixabay offer libraries of free travel images that are available to download and distribute according to their respective terms and conditions.

All three sites are easy to navigate, and the images are completely copyright free. Talented photographers from all over the world regularly donate their photos to the platforms and although optional, no account or sign-up is required to download and use them.

That being said, to avoid the captcha code pop-ups for downloads on Pixabay, sign up for the free account to get uninterrupted use.

In addition to offering photos, Pexels has a separate website, Pexels Videos, which hosts a library of free videos. Similarly, Pixabay also has vector graphics, illustrations, and videos categories available for its users.

Post download, Pexels and Unpslash ask you to attribute the photographer by linking, donating, or following them on social media. Although attribution is not required, it helps the photographers to gain some exposure.

In the same token, Pexels and Pixababy welcome donations to support the platforms and photographers further. They also do a little advertising and you will see suggested images from paid stock content websites when browsing their web pages.

Flickr is another popular choice for finding amazing free images, but it should be noted that they fall under different types of licenses on this site. You, therefore, need to be a little more careful when selecting which ones to use as not all licenses give you total freedom with the photos.

Benefits Of Using Copyright Free Images

Although terms and conditions may vary across the sites, generally speaking, they each host a library of copyright free images that are available for download at no cost and can be used commercially.

This means you have access to a plethora of quality images that you can freely use to promote your products and your website. From email marketing to social media stories to your website’s core imagery, they can be modified and used for distribution as you need.

Photos are categorized and tagged on the sites so you can easily search for and discover topically related free travel images to use.

Why Use Free Travel Images Though?

For a number of reasons really. Perhaps you do not have your own portfolio of enrapturing images yet, or maybe you have enough specific niche focused photos but would like a few more general ones to draw from.

Adding some of these beautiful images for travel websites to your library will compliment your existing repertoire.

Of course, it is a good idea to hire a professional photographer to photograph your product; be it destinations, accommodation, or tours. This is so that you have a set of unique and focused photographs that perfectly portray your product. A professional will work with a brief to produce the most inspiring content that will attract more customers to your business.

Whatever your reason, it is not uncommon for travel companies to use free travel images on their website and to market their offering.

How To Use Images For Your Website And Marketing Materials

This really depends on the context of your business. Generally speaking though, we know that photos should lead travelers on a path to discovery. With that in mind, you want to find eye-catching visuals that keep viewers interested.

Inspire Emotion

Videos are great for inspiring emotion as the movement and sound effects can add to an already moving image. However, photographs are just as capable of filling a traveler with a sense of awe and wonder.

Take this image of Myanmar from Pixabay as an example. There is a certain degree of romanticism associated with both hot air balloons and a sunrise. Travelers looking to undertake this sort of activity will no doubt be drawn to this beautiful image.

Be Consistent

In the same way that copy portrays your business values and ideals, so do images. Create some sort of consistency in the ones that you use on your website so that when travelers access it they get a feel of who you are.

For example, use the same filter or style when editing photos so that all the images look like they belong together. Similarly, stick to using the photos contributed by your clients either on your blog or social media stories as they're likely to look very different from one to the next.

Capture An Audience

The more travelers you wow with your images, the more likely you will keep people on your website long enough to convert them into sales. You want your images to stop people in their tracks and get them to investigate further to see what the image is all about.

It would be hard to not look twice at this image of Vietnam from Pexels. The swirls of the land contours, intense green, and stilted huts draw you to the photo. It is visually appealing and leaves you wanting to see the landscape yourself.

More About How Copyright Free Images Work

Over the years, more and more images have become available under the Public Domain or Creative Commons Zero (CC0) license.

Images on the Public Domain have expired licenses, or have been released without any usage restrictions. Under the CC0 license, copyright owners share their content freely with no restrictions on how it can be used by the public.

When using sites to download free travel images, be sure to read the accompanying license agreements for each one to make sure that you use the photos within their means.