Turn Your Passport Into Profit: How to Become a Travel Influencer in 6 Steps

A travel influencer uses social media to document their vacation experiences, offering insights and recommendations that can impact their audience’s travel choices. They frequently collaborate with brands for promotional purposes and generate income through these partnerships. Social media users rely on travel influencers for honest opinions and suggestions in an oversaturated market, and businesses rely on them to get their products, services, and experiences to an untapped audience. This means that these influencers are a vital part of the tourism ecosystem.

Today’s travel influencers need to do more than just post beautiful photos and videos, however. To be truly successful as a travel influencer, it’s all about sharing personal experiences and evoking the emotions of each location to truly connect with your audience.

How do travel influencers earn money? 

Travel influencers can monetize their content through multiple channels:

• Affiliate marketing by using programs like Amazon Associates or Booking.com’s affiliate program to promote travel products and services, while earning a commission for sales from your unique links
• Brand partnerships, which can mean creating sponsored content or taking part in campaigns ranging from hotel stays to tour company promotions
• Selling products such as ebooks, photography presets, destination guides, or merchandise
• Advertising and generating revenue through display ads on your website or in your social media posts

Travel influencer pros and cons

Travel influencer pros

• Free vacations: As a travel influencer, you can be comped for luxury hotels, Michelin-starred restaurants, and sometimes even full vacation experiences.
• Growth: Traveling means being pushed outside your comfort zone, helping you grow personally and professionally.
• Expanded horizons: You’ll experience different cultures, meet diverse people, and gain a broader perspective on the world we all share.

Travel influencer cons

• Vacations are work: Since traveling is your job, that means it’s not all fun and games—you’ve got to hustle to create content 24/7. After a long day of going on tours and excursions, you won’t be able to relax since you’ll likely want to post while the experience is still fresh.
• Nomadic life: Living a transient lifestyle can be exhausting and take a toll on your mental health—not to mention how physically taxing it can be to cross time zones and lug suitcases through countless airports.
• Loneliness: It can feel isolating on the road, especially when you’re far from home and loved ones.

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How to Become an Influencer in 6 Steps

1. Find your niche.

What type of travel gets you going? Are you all about luxury or do you lean toward budget backpacking? Do you strive for family adventures or enjoy something more specific like voluntourism or mountain climbing? Hone in on what you’re passionate about, because you’ll have to spend countless hours writing about it.

Successful travel influencers typically focus on specific areas:

• Luxury entails high-end resorts and experiences, such as those highlighted by Kiersten Rich (@theblondeabroad).
• Budget means traversing far and wide without breaking the bank, as advocated by Matt Kepnes (@nomadicmatt).
• Adventure will have you climbing mountains, exploring remote regions, and feeling like you’re living out an Indiana Jones fantasy, as depicted by Alyssa Ramos of @mylifesatravelmovie.
• Food-focused is oh-so-delicious, building content around culinary experiences like Mark Wiens.
• Sustainable promotes eco-friendly exploration and environmental practices, as seen with Kathryn Kellogg (@going.zero.waste).

2. Pick your platform(s).

Pick the platforms where your target audience spends the most time and make content that works for those channels. The work will be a lot easier if you love the platform you’re on.

Popular platforms for travel influencers include:

• Instagram for stunning visuals and quick highlights
• TikTok for quick travel tips and trendy destinations
• YouTube for longer travel vlogs and detailed destination reports
• Blogs for in-depth guides and more control over your content

3. Build your brand.

Create a unique voice and style that speaks to your audience on your website and across social media profiles. Ask yourself what sets you apart from other content creators in this space. Consider developing a specific visual aesthetic, a unique content angle that differentiates you from the rest, or a personal story that connects you with your audience. 

4. Create awesome content.

Take the time to make diverse, engaging, and visually appealing photos, videos, blog posts, and stories. Prioritize quality over quantity, but make sure that you are consistently posting. 

• Photos and videos can capture your destinations in a unique way. If you’re a scuba diver, for instance, you may want to focus your visuals on sea creatures from around the world. If you’re a bookworm, you might depict each country’s most beautiful libraries.
• Storytelling that goes beyond basic descriptions will create an engaging narrative about your travels and experiences.
• Practical info that your audience can actually use can help make you stand out—whether that’s how to travel solo as a woman or the best food options each locale has to offer.

5. Engage with your audience and community.

Reply to comments, have Q&A sessions, host livestreams, and share content from your followers to build community. Genuine connection is what transforms casual viewers into dedicated followers.

You’ll also want to connect with other travel influencers, particularly those in similar niches. The community can be impressively supportive, and collaborations can help you reach new audiences, stay updated with the latest trends, and remain relevant in this competitive field.

6. Connect with brands.

Connect with relevant hospitality, travel, and tourism brands by reaching out on social media or via email, joining travel influencer sites such as Evolusen and Travel Mindset, and applying to travel influencer gigs on our comprehensive content creator jobs database.

1. @drewbinsky
Drew Binsky has millions of subscribers, and it’s easy to see why: In his extraordinary travel experiences from all over the world, he goes way beyond the usual tourist spots to explore hidden cultures and embark on wild adventures. He’s done it all, whether hanging out with cannibals, exploring abandoned Soviet towns, braving extreme cold, or visiting countries that are disappearing.

2. @MissMinaOh
Mina Oh is a food-focused travel influencer who’s all about tasty bites, fun, and offbeat adventures. She dives into the local scene, showing her audience a unique side of the wild Pacific Northwest and beyond, sharing new cultures and fascinating foods with her viewers.

3. @JoJosWorld
If you love theme parks and especially those of the Disney variety, Jonathan Crichton is the influencer for you. While Disney parks are his favorite, he also posts about other attractions across the U.S. and around the world.

4. @thebucketlistfamily
Husband and wife Garrett and Jessica Gee began their traveling journey when Garrett sold his app to Snapchat. After six months, they decided to sell their possessions and continue their nomadic lifestyle. Since then, they’ve explored the world nonstop and grown a family along the way. 

5. @lexielimitless
Lexie Alford’s passion for travel has led her to explore the Earth extensively. By the age of 21, she had already visited every country in the world, which she shared through captivating photos and videos. Starting in 2023, she achieved a groundbreaking feat by becoming the first person to circumnavigate the globe in an electric vehicle.