Become a Travel Writer?

A massive audience, growing travel market, global traveler affluence, and the desirability of travel lifestyles is attracting more content creators into this segment.

Writers with a flair for expression and connecting with travelers via words, a desire to travel, and expertise in constructing powerful articles and social media posts is quite a value proposition some offer. Add on advanced travel SEO skills (rare) and you have a travel marketing powerhouse.

Talented writers average about $60,000 annually in the US according to Glassdoor. Many are gig workers who earn lower hourly wages or by finished article, while others with significant talent or connections can earn near $90,000 yearly. Those with social media talent and resources will launch their own travel blogs, Instagram and YouTube channels and earn much more as travel influencers — many of whom aren’t great creative writers, but they’ve found a focus, an audience and are good at reach and promotion.

The challenge for many creative travel writers is:

• they tend to be disorganized thus their content meanders without a clear narrative or point
• their content doesn’t achieve the goal of subscriptions, engagement, sharing, backlinks or purchases
• their style or tone of voice isn’t relevant to the target audience
• they lack experience in travel and destinations
• they don’t have a genuine interest or feel for travel niches
• they don’t know to how integrate advanced SEO strategy and tactics effectively

Practice a System to Grow and Grove Creative Talent

Far from being the skill of the literary elite, creative travel writing and can be learned. Great writers began right where you are and faced the same challenges. Everyone in a travel company has to sell, so if they read this type of clever, stylish writing, it helps them feel the spirit of the company and its products. It’s contagious.

The demand for this imaginative skill is due to:

• marketing writers with improved creative performance can improve a travel brand
• marketing writers need to enhance the engagement/persuasion aspect of their content and social posts
• companies need greater versatility and more powerful skills in their content marketers
• AI is freeing up more time to be extra creative and effective
• AI is creating improved targeting and personalized content opportunities

Creative travel writing should make an emotional impact, engage readers, and entertain while hitting on dreamy notes with sophisticated travelers — which really is the audience. To the newbie traveler, this breezy prose might sound a little pretentious and may turn them off a little. If it doesn’t resonate, it can alienate a good portion of customers.  You know the mantra — “speak in your audience’s voice about the things that matter to them.“

And on that note of course is immersing yourself in a lot of travel writing online and in books and magazines to absorb the style of expression, viewpoints, and experiences they found compelling.

Stressful for Those Who Would Venture Here

Yet many owners and travel marketers, even those who feel they’re creative and persuasive, might not get the voice, topics, benefits, narrative, and storyline just right. What’s often lacking is a plan and process for their development as creative marketers — and a process for creating a tasty pre-travel experience. And that’s what creative travel writers are — experience marketers, working to increase relevance, significance, impact and engagement.

There are a variety of other marketing objectives and techniques you can apply, yet they’re better applied in the editing process. And an article can’t do everything.

In defense of the ambitious, creative travel writing is one of the most demanding in terms of inspired writing skills, working imagination, and accounts of actual travel experiences in destinations around the world.  It’s an intimidating bar to try to clear for any writer. Yet with the right process, resources and tools, a transformation to entertaining writer will happen. Desire and intent precede mastery.

Creative travel writing isn’t considered an SEO asset since it usually ignores most SEO principles.  And most creative writers prefer to have their product skewed by elements that detract from the intense travel experience they’re presenting.

A Practical Creative Travel Writing Process

For those who must get right to the key task, I’ve got a creative article writing process you’ll enjoy:

Pick your destination > list the top 10 benefits/features that draw visitors > choose your setting and relatable characters > develop rich, multi-sensory scenes and elements that give it flavor and create a mood > choose a perspective of a traveler (e.g., yourself) or a local > begin with an engaging hook (perhaps a question, vivid description, or a striking fact) > create a short experience that captures the significance of your angle and the destination > refine your narrative theme and arc from beginning to end > edit to build richness and flow > edit to increase powerful imagery and impactful language to engage readers > edit to subtly include an urgency to take the trip > leave them with a reminder of the satisfaction of travel and the path the hero of the story took them to fulfillment.

But even with this process for the article, we’re still not an elite travel writer.  At some point, you would also need to follow a personal development process that would transform you into a passionate, silver-tongued wordsmith, to create the ultimate travel vision for our travel audience.

As any writer knows, our imaginations are trapped, constrained, limited and frustrated.  And for this challenge, we also have a mind-expanding and expressiveness-building process.

10 Steps to Becoming a Travel Writer

Immerse yourself in these tips as a sort of action plan to develop and hone your travel writing skills.

1. Define Your Travel Writing Vision and Voice

Travel writing has many sub-genres (adventure, luxury, budget, food-focused, cultural insights, personal growth through travel, etc.). You’ll need to decide:

• What kind of traveler are you personally? Budget backpacker, city lover, cultural explorer, foodie, adventure seeker, or luxury cruiser?
• What kind of traveler is your audience? People craving exotic escape? Practical budget travelers? Luxury seekers? Seniors seeking extended trips? Picture yourself as the people you want to reach. Read other travel blogs aimed at your audience.
• What is your topic or experience “angle”? What is the value proposition you or your client needs and how can you present that in a unique and compelling way?  What’s the best way to look at the value of their trip and what hook will grab them?

Action Steps:

• Journal your thoughts about why you love travel and what it means to you personally – it’s the passion that drives your love of travel and readers/viewers will see this in your copywriting and stories.
• Create a “mission statement” for your travel blog or social media—something like:
  “I write about meaningful cultural experiences that teach travelers how to connect more deeply with the world.”
• Find 3-5 travel writers you admire (e.g., Pico Iyer, Colin Thubron, Rick Steves, Anthony Bourdain, Rolf Potts) and identify what you love about their travel content.

2. Create a Relevant, Interesting Story/Experience

To capture reader’s attention, interest, and keep them engaged, you need a story/experience angle for them. It isn’t the topic or destination that grabs travelers, it’s the way you look at it that draws them in and something that ties them to the experience they wish for. You’re trying to connect with something more specific and powerful in them that’s unfulfilled and much desired. For example, for surfers, your description of the beach, sun worshippers on shore, and rolling heaving waves lifts their spirit. And as a novice surfer yourself, you might talk about your fear of the waves and how a seasoned surfer looks at waves and joy of surfing, or how the flow of surfing makes them forget their worries.

Key Techniques to Practice:

• Describe the Setting: Review the location and what makes it special—its landmarks, culture, food, history, or natural beauty.
• Pose the most enjoyable element: speak of sumptuous food, unique food and drinks, and an epic view.
• Connect the Traveler’s identity:  pull them into their own self-image and thoughts with ideas on what they should be doing with their life.
• Current events and changes:  mention recent changes and how the location has changed and is better
• Ask them a question: why do so many adventurers come to this place, or why do people arrive and never leave?
• Create a Narrative Focus: create a clear theme that makes the experience something overall that makes sense to them such as a modern cruise ship voyage, or epic hiking tour, wine and food tour in California, or shopping in Venice as examples.

Action Steps:

• Dive deep into the destination through online resources, travel guides, social media, and local blogs.
• Practice building each technique and then combining them in a practice article.

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3. Build the Story and Emotional Arc

Story Arc in Travel Writing

In travel writing, the story arc follows the physical progression of the journey—the places the traveler (hero) visits, the challenges faced, and the discoveries made along the way. This progression helps guide the reader through this travel experience you’re describing, builds impact, creates clarity and keeps them engaged.

Key Principles of the Story Arc in Travel Writing:

1. Exposition (The Beginning of the Journey):
   • Introduce your setting and purpose for the travel, trip and tours.
   • Why should they travel? What’s the payoff — improved self-esteem, new culture, find solitude, escape, or seek novelty and adventure?
   • Establish the initial state of your surroundings (and possibly yourself),  e.g., a bustling airport, the weight of anticipation, or the first breathtaking glimpse of a mountain range.
2. Rising Action (The Adventure Unfolds):
   • The journey begins, and some relevant obstacles or surprises emerge.
   • These challenges might include getting lost, language barriers, bad weather,  experiencing emotions such as loneliness, discomfort, self-doubt, or culture shock.
   • Build tension and curiosity by highlighting the twists and turns that keep the journey from being predictable or boring, e.g., the traveler missed a train connection which leads to an unexpectedly meeting someone special at a small-town café that reveals the kindness of strangers.
3. Climax (The Defining Moment):
   • This is the high point of the journey, the peak experience that makes the journey really sweet —the moment of revelation, transformation, or feeling of health.
   • It might be reaching a long-sought destination (e.g., walking in a village on the Amalfi Coast in Italy) or a deeply personal realization (e.g., finding peace on a quiet mountain trail). Example: After hours of hiking, you crest the summit and watch the sunrise, overwhelmed by the height of the mountain and the expanse of the panoramic valley vista below.
4. Falling Action (The Return Journey):
   • With the climax behind you, the journey starts to wind down. Reflect on how the defining moment has reshaped your perspective or the remainder of the trip. This helps with post-purchase anxiety which they often feel before purchasing.
   • This part completes the journey emotionally by resolving loose ends, such as returning to familiarity or embracing the unexpected lessons from the road. Example: A return to the bustling city feels different now—you see it with fresh eyes after your time in the wilderness.
5. Resolution (Returning Home):
   • End by tying together the satisfaction of the travel experience with internal discoveries.
   • Has the journey answered the reader’s initial question or fulfilled their purpose? What do they bring back home with them —new insights, growth, or a lingering sense of wanderlust? Example: As you unpack your bags, you realize that while the journey is over, its lessons have generated waves of personal change that you had hoped for.

Emotional Arc in Travel Writing

The emotional arc in travel writing captures the reader’s inner journey—how the places visited, people met, experiences enjoyed have shaped the hero’s thoughts, feelings, and personal growth. It’s this emotional transformation that gives travel writing depth and resonance.

Key Principles of the Emotional Arc in Travel Writing:

1. Start with Your Emotional State:
   • Before the journey begins, establish where you’re at emotionally – an emotional set point for the reader to begin with. How is the hero feeling and what are they seeking: adventure, peace, self-esteem, clarity, or connection? If it’s you, perhaps you’re excited, nervous, or feeling stuck in your life. Example: You start your journey feeling overwhelmed by your work life, longing for simplicity and quiet.
2. Create Emotional Tension:
   • Use the challenges and surprises of travel to push the reader out of their comfort zone and trigger emotional responses.
   • This tension might come from discomfort (e.g., the vulnerability of being in a foreign land) or joy (e.g., the delight of discovering something unexpected). Example: A miscommunication with a local shopkeeper leaves you flustered, but later, you realize it taught you patience and humility.
3. Moments of Reflection and Change:
   • Identify and highlight key moments in the travel journey that triggered emotional shifts or insights – to get the reader to identify with and be immersed in the emotional experience. These often coincide with the climax of the story arc. Example: While watching a fisherman on a remote beach, you suddenly understand the value of living slowly and savoring the moment—a contrast to your fast-paced life back home.
4. Emotional Resolution:
   • By the end of the journey, the travel story hero should have experienced some kind of transformation or newfound clarity. It doesn’t have to be life-altering, but it should feel meaningful.
   • Show the reader how your or the hero’s emotional state has changed by tying it back to your initial mindset. Example: You return home with a renewed sense of gratitude, knowing that you’ll approach daily life with a deeper appreciation for the small things.

Interplay Between Story Arc and Emotional Arc in Travel Writing

• The External Journey (Story Arc): This is the physical trip—the places you went, the things you did, the challenges you overcame.
• The Internal Journey (Emotional Arc): This is how those experiences affected you—what you learned, how you grew, and how your emotions evolved.

The magic of travel writing happens when these two arcs are woven together. For example:

• A physical struggle to climb a mountain parallels your internal battle with self-doubt. Reaching the summit becomes a triumph not just over the terrain but over your own fears.
• A chance encounter with a stranger doesn’t just add to the narrative; it changes your perspective on human kindness.

By balancing these two travel story arcs, your article becomes more than a list of places visited  —it becomes a meaningful narrative about change, discovery, and connection.

4. Study the Craft of Travel Writing

Your goal is to learn how to make readers feel like they are there with you. Unlike business copywriting, travel writing thrives on vivid details, sensory language, and storytelling.

Key Techniques to Practice:

• Show, don’t tell: Instead of writing “The streets of Bankok were vibrant and chaotic,” write, “The scent of sizzling pork from street stalls mixed with the jangle of bicycle bells as I navigated the chaotic maze of Hanoi’s Old Quarter.”
• Sensory details: Use sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch to describe locations.
• Anecdotes and dialogue: Bring characters and places alive through short, personal stories, interviews, or overheard conversations of travelers and locals.
• Strong openings and endings: Start with something that hooks your reader—an intriguing question, sensory description, or surprising fact. End with a reflection, twist, or resolution.

Action Steps:

• Read classic and modern travel writing. Find some travel novels. Take notes on their techniques and absorb their views and expression.
• Start a travel notebook: Whenever you travel, jot down small, detailed observations of people, events, places and lifestyles that could later build into stories. Talk with locals who might refer you to someone who can describe the allure.
• Resources for Crafting Travel Writing:
  • “The Art of Travel” by Alain de Botton
  • “Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel” by Rolf Potts
  • “Travel Writing” by Don George (Lonely Planet)
  • Follow modern travel bloggers (e.g., Nomadic Matt, Legal Nomads, Adventurous Kate).

5. Turn Business Copywriting Skills into Travel Storytelling Strengths

You already know how to write with clarity and purpose—these are golden skills. Now, layer on creativity:

• Use metaphors and similes to make descriptions more vivid.
• Write with rhythm: Experiment with short, punchy sentences alongside longer, flowing ones.
• Frame posts around story arcs: Begin with a challenge, curiosity, or unexpected situation; describe the journey; conclude with an insight or transformation.

Action Steps:

• Rewrite a piece of your business writing as a creative, sensory-rich travel story for practice. (E.g., describe a business trip with detail and storytelling flair.)
• Work on crafting headlines that inspire curiosity. For example:
  • “The Japanese Hot Spring Experience That Changed How I Relax”
  • “How to Lose Yourself (and Find Yourself) in Morocco’s Medina”
• Use persuasive copy skills for blog titles, hooks, and calls-to-action, but pair them with a more reflective and descriptive tone.

6. Build Your Portfolio by Writing Consistently

To be a travel writer, you need proof of work. Consider the ideal places you need to cover to promote yourself to relevant clients in the travel industry. Prepare yourself by building a portfolio even before you’ve traveled extensively by practicing:

• Local stories: Write about places near you—hidden gems, quirky cafes, a local park at sunrise, a unique cultural event, or day trips.
• Past travel experiences: Go back to old trips and write about them in a fresh, reflective way.
• Thematic pieces: Write essays that explore ideas (e.g., “What Travel Teaches You About Patience”).

Action Steps:

• Write one blog post or Instagram caption a week. Start small and play with ideas, then later review what you posted to gauge how you feel about them.
• When you’re ready, pitch guest posts to travel blogs, magazines, or niche websites.
• Set up your own travel blog and/or start a creative Instagram account to showcase your work.

7. Infuse Your Writing with Impact and Entertainment

Make readers feel connected to your story and the world you describe.

• Create relatable takeaways: Share lessons, inspiration, or practical tips (e.g., “What Bhutan Taught Me About Slowing Down”).
• Surprise the reader: Travel stories are full of unexpected moments—capture those and don’t shy away from showing struggles, mishaps, and honest reflections.
• Use humor sparingly but effectively: A funny travel mishap or quirky observation can make your writing memorable.

Action Steps:

• After writing, ask:
  • “Will this make readers feel something—curiosity, joy, nostalgia, wanderlust?”
  • “What can readers take away from this story?”  Identify the value they’re receiving in reading your posts.
• Add a mix of entertaining and informative content (e.g., itineraries, travel tips, and deeper reflections).

8. Hone Your Editing and Feedback Process

Good travel writing improves considerably and comes alive in the editing stage. Tighten your prose and polish your voice:

• Remove clichés (e.g., “breathtaking views” or “hidden gem”) and aim for unique descriptions.
• Read your work aloud to catch awkward sentences and read it on another device such as a tablet screen for grammar and idea flow.
• Get feedback from friends, writers’ groups, or online forums.

Action Steps:

• After writing, spend 20-30 minutes editing for conciseness, vivid imagery, and flow.
• Use tools like Hemingway or Grammarly to sharpen your prose.
• Try AI writing tools like Jasper and ChatGPT for views on your pieces. Ask it questions about sections or paragraphs for clarity and impact.
• Join writing communities like Medium, Writers’ Cafe, or travel writing Facebook groups.

9. Learn to Travel With a Writer’s Eye

Travel writers see what’s relevant and notice what others miss. Practice being observant and reflective:

• Linger in locations at different times of the say and talk to locals: Experience the moods, and learn their stories—these make your writing richer.
• Note small, sensory details: The way light filters through a market, the texture of cobblestones, the hum of a distant prayer call.
• Find unique angles: Instead of writing “10 Things to Do in Paris,” try: “Finding Quiet in Paris: A Traveler’s Guide to Hidden Courtyards.”

Action Steps:

• Carry a notebook everywhere and jot down thoughts, conversations, and scenes.
• Set aside solo time during travel to observe and reflect.

10. Grow Your Audience and Platform

Building a readership takes consistency and engagement.

• Share your writing on platforms like Medium, Instagram, LinkedIn, or Substack.
• Learn about SEO for travel blogs to get discovered.
• Collaborate with other writers or travelers to gain exposure.

Action Steps:

• Post regularly on your blog and social media (e.g., short reflections, beautiful photos with captions, travel hacks).
• Engage with other travel writers, comment thoughtfully on their work, and build relationships.

11. Understand SEO and Content Themes

Make your article a little more keyword and topic-relevant by ensuring Google understands what your article is about. Don’t stuff it with keywords but rewrite/add some content that includes keywords, and related words and contains places, people, events, experiences and attractions in that location. This makes your content relevant to the specific theme that Google understands.

• Conduct keyword research on your destination, attractions, events and best features.
• Build in a story or passage that makes the most desirable parts of the destination relevant and desirable – Google’s AI system reads to determine the significance of your article and how it relates to a trip to that place and do tourist things.

12. Keep Learning and Traveling

Travel writing is an evolving craft, and the more real travel you experience, the richer your creativity will be and the more inspired your work will be.  The value of travel can’t be underestimated, since real engagement and photos are key to credibility, attraction, and pulling readers into a travel experience visually.

Action Steps:

• Travel to relevant places where travelers want to go and the most intense interests of each audience.
• Challenge yourself to explore unfamiliar places—travel writing thrives on curiosity and discomfort.
• Keep studying great writers and experimenting with your style.
• Reflect on how your writing improves over time.

Practice Makes Perfect

A key part of the benefit of real travel is that it activates your mind’s openness to novelty, new experiences, and perspectives. It makes you let of that old tired mental prison that keeps your expressiveness stale and insignificant.  The experience can if you let it, guide the expressiveness of your stories and articles. For instance, picking up words, slogans and stories from local people makes it feel like you’re one of them, and that their culture and spirit has meaning.

However, we can initiate that creative process with this creative travel writing process above and open our minds to the travel imagination.

Read some articles on right-brained creativity by authors, painters, photographers, and travelers to get an even wider perspective on destinations, cultures and experiences.

Resources:

• Travel and Creativity: How New Experiences Stimulate the Mind
• What no one ever tells you about being a travel writer | The Freelancers Year
• Travel & Writing: Exploring the Creative Connection – Writer Unboxed

See more on the 5 year travel marketing outlook, how to create great travel content, and how to grow a travel agency.