Now that international travel is slowly but surely starting back up again, let’s talk about one of the biggest players in today’s travel industry: the travel influencers. They seem to live the life we all dream of, but how do they do it? And more importantly: could they mean something for your brand?

Before the internet and social media existed, travel looked a looot different. People used to get their ‘vacay inspo’ from family and friends, or they’d learn about certain destinations through magazines or television shows. Extensive research had to be done, phone numbers had to be dialed, documents had to be faxed.

Nowadays, we get our inspiration from a simple scroll through Instagram and we can book our next holiday in under 5 minutes – transportation, accommodation, activities and all.

It’s a new world

There’s a lot to say about influencers and how they changed our modern world, but travel influencers must be amongst the most influential ones. They’ve pretty much changed the whole tourism sector.

From blogs to vlogs to whole Netflix documentaries, travel influencers create content that impacts people worldwide. And it’s only logical: they, too, are ‘regular’ people like us, dreaming of seeing the world. The only difference is: they’re actually doing it.

This makes consuming their content fun, exciting and most of all inspiring.

The best marketing

As today’s consumers trust peer recommendations above all, travel influencers are a solid investment for any brand involved in tourism, hospitality and travel. They can help you reach a wider audience and boost your sales, all while showcasing your product/service in an authentic way.

Their decision to go visit a place and make content about it can truly change that particular place’s future. One simple tag can already lead to more visibility, followers, visits… Just based on one simple, shared experience.

Logically, the travel influencer has become an integral part of many international hotels’ and restaurants’ marketing strategies. Maybe yours, as well?

Working with a travel influencer

Should you decide to do so, it’s very important to pick a travel influencer that matches your brand, tone-of-voice and audience. You can always start small to test it out, and then re-evaluate your strategy.

There are different ways to work with a travel influencer. You can ask them to create one or multiple sponsored posts, let them review your product/services, make them a brand ambassador… Only work with genuine influencers who create quality content though, avoid those who only do one collab after the other.

And most importantly: keep in mind that in order to feel authentic, it all has to be authentic. The more the influencer likes you and their experience working with you, the better and more genuine their content will be. Curious to see the travel influencers that Influo works with? Come and take a look.