Travel bloggers love travelling, and then sharing their wonderful travel experiences. But not everything on a trip is pink and dreamy. Sometimes the flights are delayed, the hotel rooms are shabby and the food is a bit boring, but still way too expensive. What do you do then? Saw ... or not write at all?
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What is the role of travel bloggers?
What is the role of a travel blogger? The answer to both that question and the post's title question is of course that it can be different and that it depends. All travel bloggers choose their own path and their own way of relating to their travel experiences. It is of course completely natural and not strange at all, but I still thought we could spend a little time discussing this. It is something that travel bloggers themselves think about from time to time.
The dream of inspiring
Why travel blogging at all? Yes, there are probably a thousand answers to that question, but it's often about the desire to travel combined with an interest in writing or photography. Perhaps you want to put your own experiences on paper, to experience the journey once more. Maybe you dream of inspiring others.
Many say that they want to inspire. As a result, some travel bloggers choose to share only their positive travel experiences. Of course, these bloggers also suffer from delayed luggage, surly waitresses and cold lasagne, but that's not what ends up on the web. If a restaurant was bad, these bloggers simply choose not to write about it.
And this can be an excellent approach! You retain an inspiring style on the blog, while at the same time activities that have not performed so well do not have to be "hanged". By sifting out the negative, you don't have to "balance" the criticism, and can instead focus on what you really like.
If you want to add a little more nuance
We (and many of us, of course) have chosen a different path, where we share all our experiences, whether good or bad. Since we blog every day, it feels natural for us to talk about different events around us, and not only about the positive ones.
If we have a bad experience, we try to think about it so that we are not unnecessarily unfair to any organiser. Could our bad experience be because they had a bad day, because of the weather, or because of some special circumstances? But at the same time, we think that above all we need to be honest with our readers. Among them are people who may be planning trips or excursions and how to prioritise their holiday budget. If we perceive a campsite to be rundown or a restaurant to have slow service, we want to be clear about that.
We think we've found a way to travel blog that suits us, but sometimes you start to wonder. Are we just treading in our usual old wheel tracks without thinking? Is it actually more fun to read only about the "good" tips and not the pitfalls?
What do you think as a reader?
If you read travel blogs (or blog yourself), what do you think? Do you read mostly for inspiration, or do you want to read stories that include both pluses and minuses?
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Liniz Travel says:
Above all, to inspire and give good tips to others.
Then I read a lot of blogs to get inspiration for travelling.
Love to travel!
Hugs and happy holidays
02 July 2020 - 8:31
Helena says:
It's great to travel, and to give and take inspiration. Have a nice weekend!
02 July 2020 - 12:48
Seija Viitamäki-carlsson says:
Thanks again!
We read to get tips, and to read about the destinations. Like the facts, which are relatively neutral. Humour is good.
02 July 2020 - 8:32
Helena says:
Thanks for the nice comment! ? Yes, humour is good! ??
02 July 2020 - 12:50
Daniel on FlyingDryden says:
Great post!
I belong to the group that writes what I feel like and I don't think I have any great responsibility to embellish the experiences in any way. If something is good, I write about it. If something is fantastically good, then I will praise it to the skies. If something is less good... well, I'll write about that too.
But, I think there is a very important point in one of your paragraphs here. If you have had a bad experience - why was it bad? It's easy to just go all in and cut to the bone, but in these cases it's important (at least for me) that it's a fair cut.
So, like you, I try to stop and think about why things turned out the way they did. The fact that the food was cold when you got it could be due to a bad day and then you can have a more cautious attitude. That a place is run down has more to do with a bad decade and then it deserves to be told. In my opinion.
02 July 2020 - 8:46
Helena says:
Glad you liked the post Daniel! And interesting to hear your thoughts! "A bad decade", haha that was a bit funny! But of course there is truth in it.
02 July 2020 - 12:52
4000mil says:
Nice job catching that ball. I also read and sucked on it a bit.
I think I write very honestly, and I couldn't choose any other way. But before I put down a named organiser, they must have made a pretty big mistake.
Often, however, you can skip that sight.
02 July 2020 - 9:04
Helena says:
Yes, it started to spin a bit in my head ... Everyone does something different and that's ok, but it's good to think about it.
02 July 2020 - 13:10
Maria's memoirs says:
Mostly to inspire, I think, but sometimes nuances are also needed ? Bad things during the trip I often write about, but maybe not every little detail. I write a few lines about all accommodation with both pros and cons etc. to give an honest and true picture. It's fun to remember which places were wonderful and which hostel experiences were really bad.
02 July 2020 - 9:15
Helena says:
Interesting to hear how you think! We also write both plus and minus.
02 July 2020 - 13:11
Mickey says:
Write as you always have!
After reading many of your posts, one gets to know your writing style.
If you're in a destination and it's raining all the time, I'd be surprised if you kept your cool and just pretended it was raining.
Write as you feel, the reader will add nuance and bad service can be appreciated. Try the Faulty Towers Dining experience, just go for it! 🙂
02 July 2020 - 9:16
Helena says:
Thanks for your comment Micke! Faulty Towers Dining Experience, I googled, sounds crazy!!!??
02 July 2020 - 13:16
Snows says:
As a reader, I find it useful to get an overall picture of the experience of a destination or journey. If I am only interested in facts, I can find that in any book. I think personal experiences that contain both praise and criticism are much more valuable. If you are disappointed with something, I think it is good to have an explanation of why something did not meet your expectations so that you do not just saw straight off.
02 July 2020 - 9:20
Helena says:
Ka an explanation could definitely be in place! Agreed.
02 July 2020 - 15:24
Johnny Friskilä says:
As I have said on a previous occasion: I am not at all interested in inspiring others to travel more. Why would I be? We in Scandinavia travel enough anyway. On the other hand, I hope that by giving a fairly honest picture of certain destinations, I can help to broaden travelling and influence the choice of destination. And in this circular reasoning, of course, I bite my tail. Because to influence is also to inspire, right?
When it comes to also writing about bad experiences, I think that's part of it. If the food was generally bad in Rome, it's easy to write a post about how you didn't manage to find any good food yourself, about what you would have done instead of finding better food, if mass tourism gives Italian food a bad reputation etc etc. There are hundreds of angles you can choose. Without singling out a specific restaurant. Also, more humour and self-deprecation for the reader.
The most boring thing to read on a travel blog, in my opinion, are posts where the travel blogger only describes his or her experience at restaurant A or hotel B. It is so boring that I snore after two sentences. It becomes in 99% of the cases so boring that I snore after two sentences. Imagine if everyone wrote about every hotel they stayed at or every restaurant they ate at. The clocks would stop.
02 July 2020 - 9:46
Helena says:
I like your circular reasoning, haha. In a way, it is also to inspire, but good to try to broaden the travel destinations. We think a bit the same way. We may not advise on such exotic destinations, but on lesser-known places in Europe and the like. Incidentally, I agree that posts about a specific hotel can be boring (although I am sometimes guilty of such ;)).
02 July 2020 - 15:30
Ama de casa says:
Now I do not have a travel blog but a nonsense blog, but when we are travelling (or at home) I write both what is good and bad. I can overlook small mistakes, of course, but when it gets completely crazy, I write about it. Some examples are when we took in the "Fawlty Towers" in Santa Susana, were upset at a restaurant in Seville or were treated really rudely at a pizzeria here in Torrevieja.
But most of the time most of it is positive because I generally have that view of life 🙂.
02 July 2020 - 10:07
Helena says:
Yes, we probably recognise that we are often positive. But sometimes it is impossible to be anything but dissatisfied.
02 July 2020 - 15:39
bmlarstravellingblog says:
Of course you want both inspiration and nuance when reading blogs!
A good post and many comments that are interesting to read.
We like the way you write - facts mixed with your own experiences.
You may not need to directly criticise any particular phenomenon, but you still need to convey both positive and negative messages!
02 July 2020 - 12:56
Helena says:
Thank you for your comments and feedback! ??
02 July 2020 - 15:40
Emma, sun like sun? says:
I also do not have a travel blog but more of a "move and live in Spain blog" and it is possible to transfer the question to that with: should I only write about what is good in the country, inspire more people to dare to take the step to move abroad, skip the hard and boring? Or should I write about my experiences, how I have experienced a situation and hopefully solved it?
I have chosen the latter option and I hope it is also with a twinkle in my eye. But sometimes it's actually impossible to find a twinkle, sometimes it's just so totally stupid! The important thing is to show that this was MY experience, not everyone has the same. And that you distinguish between facts and experience.
A blog where everything is just soooo positive will eventually not be so credible, not in my eyes anyway. I think you have found a good balance!
02 July 2020 - 14:18
Helena says:
Good point about distinguishing between experience and facts! Sometimes a lot of factors can play a role in how you experience something!
02 July 2020 - 15:43
Sandra Lifsresor.se says:
I myself find it a bit boring to read that everything is just fantastic. At least if I follow a blog over time. Therefore, I try to include both when I write myself. When I choose not to write, it is mostly because I personally think something is boring and thus boring to write about.
02 July 2020 - 14:54
Helena says:
Well, if it's boring to write about, maybe it's a good idea not to! ?
02 July 2020 - 15:53
Lisa / let's go explore says:
I have neither interest in following nor in writing only inspiration, positive or non-sensitive. So I probably do not know so many travel blogs that fall into that category, maybe because I do not get stuck there anyway from the beginning? Or somehow, the examples where I feel that everything is raised to the skies (a few I think it feels that way) I rarely read and even more rarely listen to. But I think most people are reasoning much like you.
Writing a blog is personal, and I think it's pretty tough even to write "great"! about something. I have my frame of reference, so it feels more important to get across why I liked it, and in that situation. Nothing can ever become general tips. It just doesn't work that way, I feel.
Maybe you refer to the discussion in the closed fb group a lot too? There it was then a personal experience in a privately owned place in Coronatider type? "Should I lower?". If I don't remember wrong. There I think that some (many 🙂 ) of my opinions can probably "the world" feel better about not hearing. Have not thought about going around and seeing myself as a travel internet's self-appointed Janne Olofsson as well. Hehe.
Keep up the good work! I think blogs in general (of the many travel blogs I follow) help me a lot with research, far more than the places' own channels. And significantly more than many lifestyle blogs, but maybe that's another discussion? 🙂
02 July 2020 - 16:52
Helena says:
Thank you for your comment Lisa! No, it may not be so "many" who mostly write positively? I did not think about whether there were many, but mostly that it is a possibility that is sometimes discussed. If you think about it, the travel magazines usually do that too, right? I don't think it's wrong in any way, but that different channels signal different things. And yes, I have thought about this several times before, but just now the thoughts were reawakened because of the fb discussion, that's right! Great point that it can also be tricky with too strong superlatives. Everyone has different frames of reference, and in addition, things can change over time ... But a little important to think about things like this sometimes, I think!
02 July 2020 - 19:32
BP says:
A travel blog should inspire and give tips in the first place. But I think you should also highlight if something is less good in a place/hotel/restaurant/bar/camping etc.
Then it is a balancing act when you - as you are or rather were before the corona crisis - write something negative. You don't bite the hand that feeds you, do you?
I can't remember you ever writing anything negative when you were on a "sponsored mission".
02 July 2020 - 19:51
Helena says:
Hi BP! Good that you bring up this, which I did not bring up here, but which is also relevant in the context. When we go on press trips, we often find that much is good, as the organisers make an effort to pick the best BUT we are super careful to be honest. Here is an example of a press trip when we were invited to a bad restaurant; https://www.freedomtravel.se/2016/12/bo-och-ata-zagreb/
02 July 2020 - 20:34
Matts Torebring says:
I want to write from the heart about my own experience and I think you do that too. You are a factual blog, about travel and experiences, so of course you report everything, but still have a thread of your own experience and, not least, you are personal and offer yourself. Entries of a reportage nature can already be found in all motorhome magazines.
02 July 2020 - 20:55
Emilie - Travels by Knutte says:
When I do my own research for a trip, I like to check out travel blogs. Then I also want to find things that they thought were good and things they think you can skip at the destination or that were less good. Then in many cases I still want to get my own opinion, but then it is my choice. Becomes much more fun to read if you notice that the blogger has a little personality, there is no one who thinks everything at all destinations is fantastic? 🙂 Then I myself, however, try to write why I thought something was bad, like "I can not handle so many people in one place, therefore it was not for me.".
03 July 2020 - 12:46
Tina says:
I hope to inspire people to travel in a more sustainable way, and to broaden their horizons and visit places they may not have thought of. That is my goal, both as a travel consultant & blogger. I have also applied to become an ambassador for fair travel, so it is my plan that such inspiration will reach more people and inspire them to change their travel habits and how they behave at the destination. Commercial zoos and all-inclusive are examples of what I nuance a lot if I write about it and try to raise awareness about why it does not benefit either animals or local people. But there are always good exceptions and I want to highlight that too!
03 July 2020 - 15:36
Daniela | Discovering The Planet says:
Having always loved travel magazines, that was kind of my ideal and goal when I started blogging. To inspire in the same way with positive experiences, events and places that I really like.
Writing about hotels and restaurants that deliver poorly feels like a waste of my time. Time that I could spend writing about the better places.
However, I like to write about the days when travelling when everything goes wrong and nothing is pink :).
I follow blogs that all have different ways and styles and appreciate the differences.
♡
04 July 2020 - 18:29
Lena - good for the soul says:
I generally read blogs to get both inspiration and a picture of the place. Clearly, I appreciate when you get to take part of even some negative. On the one hand, it makes the blog more credible and on the other hand, I would of course be cruelly disappointed and annoyed if someone wrote up a place that is obviously not good. If you just do it in a constructive and fair way, it can not be wrong, I think.
(As you can see, I am now entering your blog. Don't know if it's because I restarted the computer or released anyway).
Hug Lena
06 July 2020 - 5:46