10 questions we get as travel writers (and our answers)

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When we tell you that we work as travel writers, on our digital magazine FREEDOMtravel, we sometimes get some questions. Here are the most common questions we get, and our answers to them.

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1. What is your favourite country?

By far the most common question we get asked is "What is your favourite country?". It may seem like a simple question, but at the same time it is super hard. We think a big part of travelling is discovering new places, and we love many countries. How can we choose a single?

Sometimes we answer "France". We like France a lot, and it's a country that offers variety - beautiful scenery, sun and swimming, good food, etc. But that doesn't mean we want to hang out in France all the time. We love everything from Central Europe to Africa and Asia.

Perhaps it would be easier to answer the question "What is your favourite country when you want to xxx?" (Replace xxx with go on a sun holiday / experience a city weekend / go skiing / enjoy good food / experience adventure etc).

2. Do you 'only' work on this or do you have another job?

There are many who wonder if we "only" work with this or if we have another job, and it is a reasonable question considering that it is quite difficult to make a living as a travel writer. The answer is that we previously had full-time jobs in parallel and that I (Helena) worked as a public health scientists until the end of last year.

Now we try to make a living from this, with income from advertisements, sponsored articles, lectures and so on. But we also take various jobs on the side. For example, I've been writing articles for another company for most of the year, and right now I'm moonlighting as a lecturer in my old job.

3. are you a journalist?

From time to time, people we meet ask if we have a background in journalism. It's a reasonable question, but the answer is no. Our previous professions (construction company owner and public health researcher) probably explain very little about how we became travel writers...

It all started because we love travelling and we got a motorhome. I (Helena) have always loved to write and started in March 2009 a blog. And even though I'm not a journalist, writing has always been a big part of my life. I studied creative writing at Södertörn University and as a public health scientist I have produced reports, scientific articles, educational materials, website content and much more...

4. What do you do if you are asked to write about something you don't like?

Sometimes we are commissioned to write about a destination, product or service (paid collaborations are labelled, of course), and in relation to this we have been asked what to do if we write about something "we don't like". This is a good and important question, but in practice we don't think it's usually a problem. For us it is extremely important that always be honest with readers in our reporting, and we don't compromise on that. So, what do we do?

If the whole assignment is about something "we don't like" - then we can say no from the start, and this has happened with products or services. But most assignments are about destinations, and it has never happened to us that we dislike an entire destination. On the other hand, you might find a boring restaurant, an uncomfortable hotel bed or a campsite with grumpy staff... or whatever it might be.

If we come across a slightly dull but ok place, we can always write correctly about it (e.g. "this is what you get/what's available"), while we highlight and write much more positively about the places we really like. If a client sends us to a place that we really think is bad (it has happened, albeit rarely), we may choose to leave. On occasion, we have found another site on our own that we would rather write about. Then we have informed the client.

5. How much do you travel per year?

Many people are curious about how much we travel per year, and it is very. Because we have a motorhome, which serves as both accommodation and an office, we can be on the road for long periods. We haven't counted, but we might be travelling with the campervan for about five months. Then we do other trips as well, so we're probably travelling for about six months a year, although of course it can vary.

6. Who writes and who photographs?

Some people wonder who writes and who photographs. When we reply that I (Helena) do most of the writing and photography, many people wonder what Peter actually does? Then we can explain that there are very many other tasks when running a digital magazine.

Peter shoots, edits films, manages specialised cameras (drones and underwater cameras), develops projects and layout of the website, writes some major articles/lists, does all the travel planning, manages all the collaborations, takes care of the company's finances, drives the camper van, maintains the technical stuff, cooks all the food... and a thousand other things.

7. Who usually drives the motorhome?

We, who often travel with motorhome, is sometimes asked who among us drives the most? This question is quite easy to answer, since only Peter has a driving licence. But then, of course, there are other questions ... Why don't you have a driving licence, Helena? What do you do if Peter gets sick?

Well, I (Helena) tried to get a driving licence in my youth, but I didn't like driving even a regular car. And our motorhome is like big as a house (at least when I think about driving it). If Peter gets sick, we'll have to stay somewhere until he gets well, or we'll have to get home some other way. We'll just have to solve it then ...

8. Why don't you start a podcast?

You wouldn't believe how often we get questions or suggestions about starting a podcast. We get it, many people love listening to podcasts. But the answer is simple. We don't have the time and we may not have the commitment. I am passionate about writing and Peter likes to edit film. Everything takes time and we have to prioritise.

9. Have you thought about moving abroad, and if so, where?

When some people realise that we work digitally, they ask if we have thought about moving abroad. The answer is that we may have touched on the idea at times, but at the moment it doesn't feel relevant.

We are interested in travelling to different places, so we get different things to write about. Sitting still in one place is not a good fit at the moment, and when we do it is Stockholm not so bad. In Stockholm we have friends and a network in the travel industry, which is good for this job.

10. What trends do you see in travelling?

We are also sometimes asked about travel trends and how we think people will travel in the future. Here we may not have any extremely unexpected answers, although we can of course reflect a little. We believe that many people love to travel, and that travelling will therefore continue to be popular, even if you sometimes have to adapt to circumstances in the world.

We believe that nature will continue to be popular, as will swimming holidays, close destinations, camping, caravanning, sustainable travel and travel that focuses on personal well-being. At the same time, we believe that some people are looking for excitement and adventure, and want to go on longer journeys.

A final reflection is that we believe that experience trips for companies can become even more common - as many people work at home at the computer and need to meet for shared experiences.

Now we think we've answered the most common questions we get as travel writers, but if you have any more questions, just shout them out in the comments section!

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