Recently Travel Weekly invited top travel editors of Travel + Leisure (Nancy Novogrod), Conde Nast Traveler (Klara Glowczewska) , National Geographic Traveler (Keith Bellows), Budget Travel (Erik Torkells) , Town & Country Travel (Heidi Mitchell), Travel + Culture (Kate Sekules), USA Today (Veronica Stoddart) for its 3rd annual Travel Weekly Consumer Travel Editors Roundtable. This year the roundtable focused on the types of travel industry news and activities that the editors really care about (and why).
Below is a summary of the major topics and conclusions that were retained from that gathering and that can be applied by Public Relations and writers from the travel and other major industries:
- Travel Magazines, in general, provide service and inspiration to people that just want to know where to go on vacation (where to stay and eat, what to do and visit and how) ... so their stories focus on the reader's travels
- Articles stories should only be assigned when an editor knows that they are great stories that are going to be of value to, work for and serve a reader's need and if "the reader is really going to that place". And only then the editor should start thinking on how to sell it.
Stories should always allow readers to enjoy and get something usable out of the magazines that they buy
- The reader has to want and love the articles so that they agree to buy the magazine and read about other cultures and places that are brought to them in writing
- For a good travel article all you need is to have a very good angle, a point, freshness and also great editing since most of the people are not interested in other's people's trips. So what makes a good writer is his or her ability to go somewhere without a particular purpose and write a piece about it and to be able to gauge the differences and capture the authenticity, the local style, the traditions, the unique experiences and the other side that a particular place and its people has to offer, avoiding focusing on the colonization of the international brands. Do it and see it firsthand and write about it making sure that the article doesn't disappoint the readers with the things that are recommended. Everything must be accurate.
- the secret is to think on destinations that pretty much every traveler that reads the specific travel publication wants to go
- Real writers versus travel writers: real writers / novelists or journalists that can write a travel story focus on their own unique experiences versus travel writers that have the experience of travelling, that can gauge what they see (at hotels, spas, food, all sort of experiences) against anything else they previously experienced and can provide their point of view. Both can’t be someone that is mere hotel critic, a list maker or a "I'm going somewhere, do you want anything?" type of person.
- An editor job is "to make the magazine sell" and "look at trends as they emerge"
- Travel content is one of the most popular areas online
- "there's travel and there's reading about travel"
- "every writer is trying to give editors what they want"
-"some of the world best literature has been travel literature, and wasn't written by a travel writer"
- Present affluent consumers are interested in new experiences, in trying a recently opened hotel that is luxurious, has good reputation via word of mouth and really delivers in terms of service quality with no margin for mistakes.
- With the low value of the dolar situation, the high cost of travel and the economy not doing so great, it is clear that, since travelers have more diverse international travel options, they all want value for their travel ideals, interests and needs. Travelers will start looking for alternatives:
* in terms of cheaper destinations (long-haul flights make easier than never to get to Asia, Latin America and other destinations where the dolar goes further)
* not traveling internationally as much or for shorter periods of time
* staying closer to home (shorter-distance or more domestic type of trips)
* plan more often a leisure trip onto a business trip
- Of course there will be always people that will continue committed to spend and to travel as part of their luxury lifestyle, and there are other "budget" people always looking to try to find that great deal ... for those, that makes part of their entire pleasurable travel experience.
- New travel terminology: "Staycations" - when people decide to vacationing by staying at home and enjoy what the home environment has to offer. The thing with this concept is apparently that if they don't travel to other places they probably will not learn anything from a stay-at-home backyard vacation. See more on this topic at Time Out New York , Washington Times, Fodors, Sun Journal, Chicago Sun Times, Times and Transcript and Honolulu Adviser.
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