The travel industry has been hit incredibly hard by the coronavirus pandemic; hotels, tour operators and attractions have all had to shut down business for months – cancelling upcoming customer bookings and issuing refunds.
For smaller travel companies in particular, this could be devastating for their business.
As travel bloggers and influencers we have seen the impact ourselves. No doubt many of you have had your upcoming trips for 2020 postponed and have had to switch up your content strategy in line with not being able to visit new places.
Now, as the travel industry slowly looks ahead to a hopeful reopening on the horizon, it is time for travel influencers to ask how we can play our part in supporting the industry once travel does resume.
#PayingOurWay
Which is why I am asking travel bloggers, influencers and content creators to all do what we can to help the travel industry recover, with the launch of the #PayingOurWay movement.
I’m asking that travel bloggers and influencers be patient in understanding that hotels; restaurants; tour companies; visitor attractions, and the the rest of the industry may not be in a position to offer freebies to travel bloggers for a while after reopening – but they will hugely benefit from any content we can share to continue to promote the wonderful world around us and inspire people to start travelling again once they can.
When travel does reopen and it is safe for us to travel again, I am encouraging bloggers and influencers – who have benefited from many press trips, freebies and support in the past – to help out the industry by booking their own hotel stay; holiday; city tour – whatever you fancy – and if you love it then creating content about the experience free of charge, without asking for any compensation or freebies.
This way we can help get some money back into the industry, help to promote the places and brands that we love, and play a crucial role in continuing to inspire our networks to travel – at a time when the industry is particularly in need of our support.
By doing this we can help ensure the long-term future of the industry that we enjoy so much, and that is the basis of all the content we produce.
Why I Launched this Movement
Here at Mrs O Around the World I independently book and pay for many of the holidays and stays which I write about in my travel blog. I also do work on destination, hotel and brand campaigns and have been privileged to enjoy some fabulous free hotel stays and well compensated campaigns, but it is important to me that I also continue to support the industry with my own paid holidays too.
The reason I choose to do this as standard practice is not only to help contribute financially to the travel industry but also to ensure I don’t lose perspective of the costs my readers will experience when booking trips. If all my trips were free it could be easy to lose a sense of how much others are investing in travel. By ensuring I also continue to invest in travel I know that the experiences and destinations I share with my readers are places I feel would be worth their investment as well as mine.
While I understand this same practice may not be feasible for all travel bloggers and influencers, in the current circumstances I felt it was more important than ever to promote the message of travel bloggers and influencers #PayingOurWay to support the industry and reignite the spark for travel following these tough times.
Of course if a hotel or travel company approaches you to ask you to take part in a complimentary stay that is a different matter, but what this movement is encouraging is that as travel bloggers we don’t proactively ask for free stays right now and that we do proactively help the industry by booking our own trips.
Ultimately, the travel industry has been incredibly generous to travel bloggers and influencers over the years, providing us with support and experiences to create our travel channels and now would be a really great time to say thanks.
Who’s in?
How You Can Get Involved with #PayingOurWay
Want to get involved with the #PayingOurWay movement and help the travel industry to bounce back? You can join in by:
- Sharing a blog post about the #PayingOurWay movement on your site
- Tagging your social media posts with #PayingOurWay and spreading the word to your followers
- Booking your next travel experience when it’s safe to travel again
- Sharing content from your trip across your social media and blog to continue to inspire your community to travel
Until the next trip.
Mrs. O
PS. Where am I going next? I have booked a variety of UK stays, most of which have one thing in common: an outdoor pool! But first, I booked a stay at the Daylesford Farm so I can enjoy some of the best British organic delights with all the Bamford wellness classes I feel I really need right now.