The future of travel writing: Interactivity, personal branding and power

Abstract

Changes in technology and media in the twenty-first-century have had significant implications for the travel writing profession. In the social media era, where information about travel is readily accessible for many audiences online, both travel writers and publishers are altering the way that they function to succeed in this new environment. This phenomenological qualitative study, based on interviews with 47 travel writers, explores their experiences in the digital age. Findings resulted in three new conceptual models illustrating the different experiences of contemporary travel writers: (1) The Interaction Model, (2) The Personal Branding Model, and (3) The Power Model. The models reflect the fact that the online environment has facilitated interactivity with readers and personal branding, created a change in power dynamics, and given some writers a sense of communitas with their peers. These experiences have implications for the profession and the depth of travel writing and writers’ travelling experiences.