If you’re a travel writer, you have the advantage of being able to write an article, post, or essay about almost any aspect of your travels. The text can be posted on your travel blog; if not, it has a good chance of being published elsewhere. So the answer to the question of how to find a travel story to write about is pretty simple and handy for someone who travels often.
The types of travel stories are many and varied, from “best of” articles to those that can be arranged in the boxes of the respective segments: adventure, gastronomy, luxury, etc., or simply your areas of interest. Because if the author is passionate about Egyptian mummies or the Great Barrier Reef, his stories will definitely focus on the subject of his passion.
Finding a travel writing niche
The point is that when you start writing about travel, the main challenge is knowing how to stand out from the crowd and get your writing noticed. The market is vast and competitive – practically anyone writes travel articles today—even those who don’t claim to be writers. Scattered approaches to topics won’t hit the mark, so you need to narrow your writing down to topics you can excel at.
Finding a niche, and filtering a field, is an excellent way to distinguish yourself as a travel writer. And those publications or websites will be more interested in accepting your submissions and taking your texts on board, especially if you show that you are a good connoisseur of that niche.
And there’s another point. Let’s say you choose to write about European UNESCO World Heritage villages. At first glance, you will get the impression that no one is interested in your chosen niche and that no one is interested in a forgotten European village, even a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Wrong! You will soon discover that there is a whole community of people with the same interest and many publications that focus on UNESCO Heritage sites.
These types of travel stories that focus on your passions are the best choices for a travel writer. Passion breeds passion, and this will show both in the quality of the texts but will also be reflected in how they will be received by people who share the same passions. Plus, this is a straightforward and handy way you’ll start making money from your travel writing.
There are plenty of niches you can tackle; the ones below are some of the most common. But within these, you can find the sub-niche you feel most comfortable in and make it your successful domain. And maybe these could be inspirational regarding how to find a travel story to write about:
- City guides for travelers (with sub-niche in a specific city)
- Family travel
- Recipes from countries around the world learned on the spot (with sub-nomination on a country)
- Travel resources for digital nomads
- Luxury resorts
- Michelin-starred restaurant reviews
- Adventure tourism
- Wedding destinations
- Campsites and camping equipment
- Tourism for adults
- Spiritual destinations
- Volunteer tourism
An interesting conclusion can be drawn after reading GlobalData’s report on the prominent trends shaping the niche tourism market in the near future.
As the pandemic has dramatically changed the tourism market, we find that the preferences of the Hashtag generation – the travelers born between 1991 and 2005 – are helping to bring many forms of niche tourism to the forefront. Almost all niche tourism types covered in GlobalData surveys over the last three years have shown an increase in demand from this area. This generation is the future of the tourism industry, and the results indicate that their need for niche travel types will contribute to the industry’s recovery. Therefore, the choice of travel writing niche should also be made in line with reported statistics.
The travel writing niche brings advantages and disadvantages
Choosing a travel writing niche brings both advantages and disadvantages. One of the advantages of approaching niches is that you don’t need extensive documentation. For example, if you choose to write about tour guides and their work, you don’t need to know anything about the types of planes and their capacity. You don’t need a narrative talent, just persuasive writing. Besides, it will be easier to demonstrate your skills when you are asked to provide evidence for your writing, especially as you have everything you need to position yourself as an expert after a while. As a point of reference for your niche, which is why you will end up being sought after and quoted.
Choosing a niche in travel writing comes with a bundle of disadvantages. The first is that you won’t seem as credible if you want to write about something else. Imagine you’ve been writing about UNESCO Heritage villages for years, and suddenly you start writing about European beach destinations. Something will seem to break.
Then, the more you tend to niche, the less you will be able to earn from your texts. And that’s because the number of editors who need your texts will automatically decrease. The slices are tiny when the cake is too small, no matter how many people sit at the table. If you don’t niche down, you may not become as well known, but your chances of earning more are certainly higher.
Last but not least, after years of writing about the same things, boredom is likely to set in. Passion remains a passion, of course. But we’re human, and we often want a bit more variety: to write about something else, to have different kinds of clients, to have different approaches and topics.
Conclusion about how to find a travel story
The thing to remember, however, is not necessarily about writing travel niches. Whether you want to address a niche or appeal to a wider audience, the most important thing is what you’re going to put on the table. What you will demonstrate. What you will deliver. Because as long as you confirm that you can produce quality copy and that you’re a good travel writer, success will follow. It’s just a matter of time, approach, and learning some techniques that you know how to “sell” yourself.
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