How to Become a Travel Influencer 

Travelling the world on someone else’s dime is the height of luxury. 

It almost seems too good to be true – exploring new countries, staying in gorgeous hotels, eating the best food, all at the price of some perfectly curated content posts and write-ups. Yet, that is the life that travel influencers lead. 

Whether it’s travel bloggers or holiday Instagrammers, travel influencers have found the perfect way to turn their passion into a career. Read on to find out how you can join their illustrious ranks. 

WHAT IS A TRAVEL INFLUENCER 

A travel influencer is an online influencer who creates content surrounding travel. 

The most common forms of travel influencers are travel bloggers, TikTokers, and Instagrammers. In the early 2010s, travel YouTubers also gained immense popularity. 

What separates a travel influencer from a content creator who posts about travel is that travel influencers engage with brand deals, take compensation, and make money from their work. Oftentimes, this compensation is in the form of paid holidays in exchange for reviews. 

HOW TO BECOME A TRAVEL INFLUENCER

Find your niche and passion 

@lotteboo3

How I started doing travel content creation on TikTok #fyp #travelblogger #uktravel #uktravelblogger #howto #storytime #howtobeacontentcreator #howtobeaninfluencer #influencerhack #contentcreator #travelcontentcreator

♬ Storytelling – Adriel

As with any branch of social media influencing, standing out amongst the crowd is a tall order. 

The key to becoming not only a travel influencer but a successful one with a wide and engaged audience is finding a niche. In this context, a niche is a little corner of the internet that an influencer can own. For example, some travel influencers focus on Queer friendly hotels, whilst others only go on completely sustainable holidays. Under the banner of travel influencers, there are hundreds of individual travel niches for one to engage with. 

The most successful travel influencers are those who pick a niche close to their hearts – something they are already passionate about. In doing so, they create authentic content that truly aligns with their own beliefs. This, in turn, translates to better, higher-quality content. 

Develop a strong strategy 

Next up, developing a strong strategy is key to becoming a successful travel influencer. 

Unlike other influencers who can sustain creating content without immediately being paid for it, travel influencers are heavily dependent on brand deals, partnerships, and commissions. Whilst many begin their career by posting content for free and simply chronicling their journeys, there comes a point where savings run out and travel influencers must be supported by some sort of external fund. Brands and payment are the key to a sustainable travel influencer account that can continue to create content year after year, not merely every 6 months. 

As such, developing a strong strategy from the get-go is essential. For many travel influencers, this takes the form of extensive financial planning. From chats with accountants to endless spreadsheets, doing the work to have an ironclad plan for how to sustain themselves before they gain external funding is a travel influencer’s safety net. 

Choose values over trends 

@ellaajaee

How travel influencers make money!💸 💌 #traveltok #influencer #makingmoneyonline #travelinfluencer

♬ original sound – Ella Jae

Finally, building a successful career as a travel influencer means pursuing sustainability. 

Too many influencers fall into the trap of trends – they chase fame hard and fast, jumping on any and every bandwagon they see in the pursuit of views and impressions. This may work in the short term, but long term sustainable success is not born out of lofty trend usage. 

Long term consistently successful travel influencers only engage with trends that suit their niche. They play the long game, focusing instead on content that is of high value to their audience and their audience alone. They learn to read their followers and put all their time and effort into building their relationship. 

At first, it may be frustrating, putting hours into a video that only gets three views, but be patient. Soon, that three will become ten, then 20, then 100. Becoming a travel influencer doesn’t happen overnight, so trust the process. 

HOW DO TRAVEL INFLUENCERS EARN MONEY 

@travelugc.bylils

the difference between Travel UGC & Travel influencers🩵☁️✈️ #travelugc #travelcontentcreator #travelinfluencer

♬ original sound – ‍sadcollisions_

For those not a part of the elusive community, how travel influencers make money may seem entirely elusive. 

However, it is not unlike the processes of regular influencers. Travel influencers can earn money in three main ways: payment for work, AdSense, and affiliate marketing. 

Firstly, once a travel influencer has built up a successful audience, brands will start to ask them to write reviews and create content for them. This can be in the form of blogs, video reviews, or broader social content. Oftentimes, the brand will pay for the influencer’s flight and accommodation at the location, so that they are more willing to complete the review. Brands may also offer up this free holiday package as a means of payment for the review, instead of an add-on payment. 

Furthermore, depending on their platform of choice, travel influencers are able to earn money through AdSense. This is the process of a third-party advertising service paying influencers a set amount every time consumers interact with ads placed on their channel. For example, YouTubers are able to gain AdSense from the video ads at the start of their videos. The third-party service and the influencer will decide on a set rate and conditions for payment that best suits them. 

Finally, travel influencers have found great success with affiliate marketing. Through affiliate marketing, travel influencers can earn a commission through interactions with a link provided by a brand. For example, a suitcase brand might partner with an influencer so that anytime one of their followers clicks the link, views the product, or makes a purchase, the influencer earns a payment.