This is probably a controversial topic, but here we go. An OMAAT reader asked me a question about the often negative perception people have of travel influencers, and I think it’s worth discussing, as it’s something I’ve noticed as well. When I write blog posts that include reference to stories from travel influencers, it’s amazing to see the amount of vitriol directed at many of them.
That often seems a little much, but let’s unwrap this all a bit. I’ve observed a lot of things over the years on this front, and have also had some insightful conversations on the topic (note that the videos I’m embedding below are pretty random, and I’m not trying to suggest any of them are good, bad, or whatever).
In this post:
Everyone defines travel influencers differently
Let me start by acknowledging that everyone defines a “travel influencer” differently. I mean, on the most basic level, we’re all influencers in some way. I suspect most of us into miles & points are travel influencers for our friends, if nothing else.
Some people probably consider me a travel influencer. If you feel that way, that’s totally fair. I’m not very concerned about how I’m labeled, and I do hope that I influence the decisions of others in some way.
But I think with how media has evolved, most people would consider the “influencer” industry to be largely about social media, and increasingly, about short form video content.
Even then, you have vastly different kinds of travel influencing that are happening:
- In the miles & points world, you have people who create short videos about premium products, which I’d generally consider to be harmless enough; maybe they’re a little cheesy at times, but so what?
- You also have people providing miles & points tips, or tricks on how to maximize travel; if the advice is good, that’s great, but the issue is when people don’t know what they’re talking about
- You have influencers who work with major travel brands, publishing professional quality pictures and videos; sometimes the hotel is the focus, while other times, the hotel is just a backdrop for what almost feels like modeling or a romance story
- Then you have the whole world of influencers who are basically providing destination travel tips, often about “hidden gems” or places you have to see; the problem is that if you’re traveling to Mykonos for the first time in 2025, you’re probably not the person who should be giving destination advice
- Then you have the world of people reviewing experiences, though that can of course vary significantly
- Then you have the whole industry of influencers selling others on how to become influencers
Let me be very clear — like any industry in the world, there are some great folks out there who do a quality job, and there are some less great folks. So I absolutely don’t think all “travel influencers” deserve to be villainized.
The issue, broadly, with travel influencers
I think the reason that many people get frustrated and annoyed with travel influencers is pretty obvious. I think that largely comes down to the shift we’ve seen in how media is consumed, with more people looking at pictures and videos, rather than reading.
The way I view it, there are a few key themes:
- All too often, there’s a lack of authenticity; not because travel influencers are bad people, but because they’re competing for eyeballs, and you’ve gotta make an over-the-top splash to get attention
- Just as “clickbait” is an issue with written media, I think providing advice in short videos is challenging, in terms of providing information that’s both compelling and accurate
- The influencer culture at large has changed the way that many people travel; so many of our travel decisions are driven by “inspiration” that we get from people we follow, rather than actual research
- A lot of the advice provided by influencers is just not good, frankly; everyone wants to appear to be a subject matter expert on something, or like they’ve discovered a “hidden gem,” when all too often that’s not the case
- I don’t like the blurred line between modeling and content creation; like, you’ll see very attractive people who are successful travel influencers, and then they’ll sell courses to people on how to be successful, without acknowledging that their appearance may be the single thing that gives the most visibility
- I know one issue that many travel brands have with influencers is that some have ridiculous asks, and are really entitled
Personally (and certainly to the detriment of my own business), I sort of despise using social media. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy seeing content from other people, I just don’t personally like to share much myself, because I’m not interested in playing “the game.” That’s not to say there aren’t some people who do a great job being authentic, but they’re definitely the exception rather than the norm.
I also have to say that in some ways, I feel kind of sad for the world that kids are growing up in nowadays. It’s hard enough to live your life happy under the best of circumstances, and with social media being such a big part of peoples’ lives, it just seems like it leads to even more sadness. We see all the good parts of other peoples’ lives, without necessarily recognizing that they’re only sharing the highlights.
In defense of the travel influencer industry
Now, in defense of travel influencers, let me say this. A lot of them work really hard. A couple of years ago, I stayed at a hotel at the same time as a couple of “travel content creators,” who obviously had a brand partnership with that hotel. I didn’t know who they were, but after checking the hotel’s geotag on Instagram, I figured it out.
Honestly, they’re the types of influencers I find to be sort of cringe. It’s basically just them being super romantic with one another in all kinds of settings, in the cheesiest way imaginable. But I have to give them credit for how hard they worked, which you don’t really appreciate from what they post on social media.
We overlapped for a few nights, and basically the entire time they were just filming all kinds of different content, from morning to night. Like, even before sunrise they were out and about doing “shoots.”
In the end, they only posted a few things to their Instagram account. I think people often have the impression that travel influencers just snap a few pictures on vacation and then relax the rest of the time. But at least for them, that definitely wasn’t the case, and they spent most of their time creating content. And even when they had meals that look so relaxing and enjoyable in videos or pictures, really it was just them filming the same movements 20 times.
I know many people will rant how these social media influencers are useless, and there’s no way their content influences actual consumer behavior. Obviously it’s tough to quantify this kind of exposure. In the past, I would’ve probably somewhat agreed with that conclusion.
But I’ve also realized that I’m seriously getting old, and times have changed. A while back, I had a conversation with a 30 year old. She was super smart and engaging and interesting to talk to. I don’t know how our discussion got to this, but she basically explained that she gets most of her information and news on TikTok, and that’s also true of many of her friends.
That kind of blew my mind, and made me realize that I need to get with the times, and figure out something. So in that sense, I can see how these kinds of influencers are increasingly important for travel brands. Because if you get your news and decide where to travel from TikTok, then this kind of influencing suddenly becomes a lot more relevant.
I also recently had a discussion with a personal friend, who happens to be a marketing executive for a major travel brand. I asked how he feels about using travel influencers to promote the brand. He simply described them as a “necessary evil,” which I think is probably how many would feel.
Bottom line
Media has certainly evolved a lot over the years, increasingly moving to social media and short form video content. Admittedly we’re all from different generations and have different ways we like to consume media, so there’s no right or wrong answer as to what kind of media is good.
The whole “travel influencer” sphere has certainly exploded in recent years, and I figure it’s useful to talk about that a bit, including both the positives and negatives. While there are definitely some cringe and inauthentic aspects to it, I also have to say that I know a lot of these people work very hard, and increasingly, younger generations get their news and information via short form video.
That’s my take, but I’m much more curious to hear from OMAAT readers — how do you feel about “travel influencers,” and the way media has evolved?
While it's possible to get a few good tips from travel influencers, their posts on social media often seem too perfect to be real. They remind me of the travel brochures at my aunt's travel agency when I was an avgeek boy. Those glossy publications lured travelers with idyllic photos and fantastic descriptions of destinations. Same goal, different medium.
A crying shame is when a yacht of travel influencers goes down in the Bermuda triangle... with an empty seat.
Anyone influenced by an influencer is an idiot, Full stop.
The fun of travel is research and interest. Any person who influences is doing it for what, profit! So the key is speak, learn the language and go where few people go, it’s the same authenticity without the fools!
I spent several nights at the Villa Franca Positano years ago when it was bookable through Hyatt as an SLH property--an incredible five star boutique hotel perched way above the Amalfi Coast. It must have one of the most stunning rooftop pools in Europe, but it was very small and intimate. During one of the afternoons sunning there, a 20-something Italian woman arrived with her mom. It started innocent enough - taking casual photos of...
I spent several nights at the Villa Franca Positano years ago when it was bookable through Hyatt as an SLH property--an incredible five star boutique hotel perched way above the Amalfi Coast. It must have one of the most stunning rooftop pools in Europe, but it was very small and intimate. During one of the afternoons sunning there, a 20-something Italian woman arrived with her mom. It started innocent enough - taking casual photos of the view, sharing some bruschetta for lunch. Then, over the course of three hours, the young woman proceeded to commandeer the rooftop for a private photo session. The bartender became her photographer and assistant, asking guests if they wouldn't mind moving for some of the photos. She went in and out of the dressing room to change swimsuits at least four times. The other guests and I began chatting about how obnoxious and disruptive the whole process was.
Turns out, she wasn't even a guest of the hotel, but a minor influencer (~150K followers) masquerading as a jetset model. We managed to find her Instagram account, where she posted photos from the shoot over the course of several days and pretended to be enjoying a week-long holiday at the hotel.
Needless to say, the artificiality and entitlement of travel influencing is a cancer in my opinion.
Why would I watch someone describe the seat back pockets. Coach basically sucks for 90% of the airlines out there. And if one is flying domestic USA they all suck. Most people fly coach.
My problem on travel influencers are comprised of the following: inauthentic/incorrect advice, incorrect monetization, and always flying something other than economy class. If you're giving the wrong advice, already mentioned, it hurts the whole experience. If you are doing the wrong calculations of price, that lies to those who do not know about the points and miles. Not sorry, but you did not 'pay' <100$ for that first class flight. Then the last is never...
My problem on travel influencers are comprised of the following: inauthentic/incorrect advice, incorrect monetization, and always flying something other than economy class. If you're giving the wrong advice, already mentioned, it hurts the whole experience. If you are doing the wrong calculations of price, that lies to those who do not know about the points and miles. Not sorry, but you did not 'pay' <100$ for that first class flight. Then the last is never flying economy, do you think those that want to get to their destination have the opportunity to fly up front? No! They want that chance but you need to review economy as well and I'm not sorry if your gentle and senile a** cannot take sleeping straight up.
As someone in his mid '30s and with a younger brother barely older than the young woman Ben spoke with about news sources, it blows my mind how close the dividing general dividing age line appears to be between reading to get information, or watching 20-120 minute documentaries, compared to short-form social media content. Even worse, thanks to the Republican-led outcry against internal fact-checking by Twitter and other social media, many social media users are...
As someone in his mid '30s and with a younger brother barely older than the young woman Ben spoke with about news sources, it blows my mind how close the dividing general dividing age line appears to be between reading to get information, or watching 20-120 minute documentaries, compared to short-form social media content. Even worse, thanks to the Republican-led outcry against internal fact-checking by Twitter and other social media, many social media users are increasingly turning towards AI to vet the accuracy of what they see and read, if they try to vet it at all. Which is far from foolproof, as evidenced by Twitter's bot claiming that Gavin Newsome's photos of national guardsman sleeping on the floor in California was actually photos of the Afghanistan evacuation, when in reality those were real photos from the situation in California.
Welcome to the future where the only things you can truly trust are what you see with your own eyes and hear with your own ears, because everything recorded and replayed could just be straight up AI slop or somebody misrepresenting footage from years prior to get the clicks and clout from being "first" to report something on social media.
Enjoyed reading this. I know we cannot turn back the clock and this post will give away my age – remember when we would read info provided by a travel writer for information about our next vacation? For a very short time I worked in the hotel industry, and we would host travel writers on familiarization trips (fam trips). Now we are flooded with short videos of destinations with an “influencer” posing in front of...
Enjoyed reading this. I know we cannot turn back the clock and this post will give away my age – remember when we would read info provided by a travel writer for information about our next vacation? For a very short time I worked in the hotel industry, and we would host travel writers on familiarization trips (fam trips). Now we are flooded with short videos of destinations with an “influencer” posing in front of the Trevi Fountain or some other world-famous monument and presto, everyone wants to flock there for their own photo opportunity. As my mother would say -this is why we can’t have nice things. IMO this means of marketing reflects society’s inability to focus on something for more than 45 seconds. And, the over tourism makes traveling less pleasurable for those of us who enjoy “slow travel” rather than racking up the photos of our breakfast, lunch and dinner.
My biggest issue is their terrible behaviour when creating "content" and also encouraging terrible behaviour among their audience. I couldn't care less about their stupid videos, but they and people who follow their crap advice can be a real nuisance when encountered in real life.
"...she basically explained that she gets most of her information and news on TikTok, and that’s also true of many of her friends."
And, in a nutshell, this explains why we are doomed as a culture. Obtaining all of your news/information from Tiktok is like obtaining all of your nutrients from a bag of chips.
1. Ben, you're also considered a travel influencer.
2. "she gets most of her information and news on TikTok"
We know we're in good hands when a whole generation just like their predecessors get every information and news from SkyMall magazine.
Theyre an absolute pox.
Being in the hospitality industry, I noticed that influencers really minimum influence on their audience while taking advantage of all the properties they are staying at. They are just bragging about all the luxury they are benefiting from towards people who can't even afford the same properties. They usually stay between 3 nights and a full week. Everything is totally complimentary. Hotels are blinded by the number of followers, believing that they will end up...
Being in the hospitality industry, I noticed that influencers really minimum influence on their audience while taking advantage of all the properties they are staying at. They are just bragging about all the luxury they are benefiting from towards people who can't even afford the same properties. They usually stay between 3 nights and a full week. Everything is totally complimentary. Hotels are blinded by the number of followers, believing that they will end up acquiring a percentage of thousands or millions of followers, but in the end, the outcome is just a question of online visibility for a few days.
My challenge with influencers isn't the content - I can simply ignore or unfollow. Its that they "ruin" some experiences for the rest of us. If I am paying $400+ a night for a luxury hotel to relax on the few vacation days I get a year, the last thing I need to see is someone filming themselves 10 hours a day all over the property. It makes the whole experience feel cheap.
The...
My challenge with influencers isn't the content - I can simply ignore or unfollow. Its that they "ruin" some experiences for the rest of us. If I am paying $400+ a night for a luxury hotel to relax on the few vacation days I get a year, the last thing I need to see is someone filming themselves 10 hours a day all over the property. It makes the whole experience feel cheap.
The good news is most influencers concentrate around the same hotels and travel destinations. Fortunately, there are thousands of real "hidden gems" around the world which have avoided their wrath. Just go there!
I reckon the Worst Influencer in the World is Donald Trump. No way POTUS (or any political leader) should be making important policy announcements on social media.
And a pox on The Mainstream Media who lazily just follow him and then use that as their “Latest News” every 60 minutes.
Oh no uncle woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Woke. How else do you access social media ? On the television ? Radio ? Record player ? VHS ? Cassette deck ? Did you just discover the World Wide Web using your land line ?
Ron-I can’t imagine looking through a “Trump lens” in every aspect of life. Seek help! I’m serious. Your TDS and hate will give you cancer. If you hate the guy so much then stop letting him live rent free in your head.
I wonder why the companies have the impression that it is necessary evil...if you or the companies think that the influencer are over entitled why can't they hire someone else? I feel like the competition is fierce so the prices should go down. When you say over entitled in your opinion, can you tell us a bit more details of what entitlement you are talking about? In the end, the companies are for profit so...
I wonder why the companies have the impression that it is necessary evil...if you or the companies think that the influencer are over entitled why can't they hire someone else? I feel like the competition is fierce so the prices should go down. When you say over entitled in your opinion, can you tell us a bit more details of what entitlement you are talking about? In the end, the companies are for profit so the influencers do not generate enough profit for them, they won't pay as much. Am I missing something?
Precisely this. If they think influencers are a necessary evil, then the hotel industry is just stupid. They've had years of experience to know which marketing techniques work, and if they're falling prey to "influencers" with minimal actual reach, then they deserve getting taken for a ride. Let's be real, the amount of people who trust SM travel influencers *and* have the money to actually go to those places is miniscule. No, younger Millenials and...
Precisely this. If they think influencers are a necessary evil, then the hotel industry is just stupid. They've had years of experience to know which marketing techniques work, and if they're falling prey to "influencers" with minimal actual reach, then they deserve getting taken for a ride. Let's be real, the amount of people who trust SM travel influencers *and* have the money to actually go to those places is miniscule. No, younger Millenials and Gen Z do not have money to stay at a $1k/night property. If hotels think they're gaining anything at all, they're foolish.
I very much appreciate Ben's focus on written word instead of shorts, objective reviews and perspective. Keeping and improving the bar for the content created, for what I come here - hotel and J/F reviews and comparison. Thank you, Lucky!
I appreciate that the doesn’t do the whole social media thing as well. He keeps true to his style, and the consistency and authenticity is what kept me a reader here. I especially like how he’s the sole reviewer, unlike other sites, keeping with the consistency theme.
Among content creators, I’d say I like Jeb Brooks the most. Nothing flashy or over-the-top.
Boorish
Occasionally but rarely are most of the pieces useful. Most of it is posing and Gen Z preoccupation with fake social media content they have not sifted. Then again, many travel blogs/vlogs,reviews are also little more than tax write off justifications. Who after all needs 50 photos including of plugs, airline amenity kits and cups of coffee!!!??
A cancer on society.
Uhh...given you're a travel influencer, this is an odd premise.
Ben wrote: ‘I don’t know how our discussion got to this, but she basically explained that she gets most of her information and news on TikTok, and that’s also true of many of her friends.’
This is ridiculous in that she does not know the full extent of an issue. It is very limited. I would always try to get different angles on a story. Also, quite a few people distort the online content for...
Ben wrote: ‘I don’t know how our discussion got to this, but she basically explained that she gets most of her information and news on TikTok, and that’s also true of many of her friends.’
This is ridiculous in that she does not know the full extent of an issue. It is very limited. I would always try to get different angles on a story. Also, quite a few people distort the online content for their own purposes. I have seen people actually believe what is posted on social media (from personal accounts) as the absolute truth when it is actually the opposite.
It is indeed ridiculous, @SJC, but oh so true, and it explains many of the grave issues currently faced by so many "democracies" around the world.
Jeb Brooks is the only decent travel YouTuber. Rest of them are trash. The most irritating guy is Josh Cahill.
Social media is a cancer on society, and it gets worse each day. Influencers of all varieties suck, but they are hardly the worst part.
It depends on the individual influencer. You find the ones who you trust and stick with them, and the ones you don't trust you ignore. For me, it comes down to the tone and approach they take to the product, the informational value that is provided, and whether there is perceived bias or not (authenticity). There is a reason why I am a long term reader here.
The one thing I have noticed however is...
It depends on the individual influencer. You find the ones who you trust and stick with them, and the ones you don't trust you ignore. For me, it comes down to the tone and approach they take to the product, the informational value that is provided, and whether there is perceived bias or not (authenticity). There is a reason why I am a long term reader here.
The one thing I have noticed however is the fact that influencers often take small differences/shortcomings and then heavily emphasize them which irks me.
Also, the choreography. When an airline, hotel, etc goes out of the way to do a theatrical choreographed performance or when an influencer throws their clout around to get product/services (without disclosing the fact), that's when the hatred seeps in.
"A while back, I had a conversation with a 30 year old. She was super smart and engaging and interesting to talk to. I don’t know how our discussion got to this, but she basically explained that she gets most of her information and news on TikTok, and that’s also true of many of her friends."
It is such a paradoxical paragraph that clearly explains the common denominator that the vast social media addicts share:...
"A while back, I had a conversation with a 30 year old. She was super smart and engaging and interesting to talk to. I don’t know how our discussion got to this, but she basically explained that she gets most of her information and news on TikTok, and that’s also true of many of her friends."
It is such a paradoxical paragraph that clearly explains the common denominator that the vast social media addicts share: Low level of knowledge in any subject matter. They impress you because you are a sucker who is mesmerized by their sweet talking skill. You gain knowledge by reading books and sources that display
accuracy, transparency and impartiality and having basic knowledge helps weeding out junk info and history revisionism. Maybe I am old school.
I don't mind certain* travel influencers, but you bring up a key point: authenticity. It's rare in this day and age, not just with travel influencers as well.
When it comes to travel influencers, I love people who just show you what it is, not curated, no leaving phones while walking out the door, no "top 10 spots in Bali" with a drop-down caption below to get clicks, etc. I personally love the people...
I don't mind certain* travel influencers, but you bring up a key point: authenticity. It's rare in this day and age, not just with travel influencers as well.
When it comes to travel influencers, I love people who just show you what it is, not curated, no leaving phones while walking out the door, no "top 10 spots in Bali" with a drop-down caption below to get clicks, etc. I personally love the people who take a few videos on their travels and post about them, but that's just me. People also aren't geared towards that due to how our brains have adapted to this new social media stuff.
Those who excessively use social media (including me at times) have been bombarded with so much information that if it isn't visually pleasing and has a hook that is clickbait, we scroll past. My favorite one was a reel a little bit ago about how a couple got "kidnapped in Cairo" after they were dropped off at the wrong hotel and were too scared to walk outside. Kidnapped, yeah, sure...
The difference between people who write/use pictures, and people who make videos is significant to me. I have no interest in the latter
I used to feel like you @James K, but I have to admit that I really enjoy video content by Japanese creators. They really shine without ever saying a single word or ever showing their faces. And for my next trip to Japan, I'll definitely be influenced to taking a trip on a ferry :)
Please tell me this is directed at Kara/Nate and Josh Cahill…
I’d rather watch hours of Noel Phillips’s Loo Reviews than ever see those three inauthentic whiners on social media and YouTube again!
Josh Cahil epitomizes everything that is wrong with Travel YouTubers.
I’m of two minds with regard to this issue.
On one hand, it’s great that young people (at least those who come from humble backgrounds—no interest in watching rich kids parade around the world) have found a way to turn their passion into a career.
Much preferable to what some of you old timers lecturing them have done, i.e. sacrificing your youth and vigor to a soulless corporation in exchange for premium fares paid...
I’m of two minds with regard to this issue.
On one hand, it’s great that young people (at least those who come from humble backgrounds—no interest in watching rich kids parade around the world) have found a way to turn their passion into a career.
Much preferable to what some of you old timers lecturing them have done, i.e. sacrificing your youth and vigor to a soulless corporation in exchange for premium fares paid by them.
On the other hand, I don’t get why so many influencers end up become purveyors of narcissism more than knowledge. Many have a lot of information and insights to share; they’re usually just trying to create (very bad, low budget) reality TV.
Since other people have named names, I find Drew Binsky absolutely obnoxious. He’s another one who got huge financial help from Daddy. Worse, he not only pretended that he did it all on his own, but is pretty well-known for not compensation local people (especially in developing countries) who introduce him to food and other experiences, even those who spend hours with him, in some cases on camera. Just shameful!
I truly feel that influencers in earlier days offered truly unique content and perspectives. A window into a world you had yet to experience. Unfortunately, as in any market with total saturation and “over supply”, quality suffers. There is very little originality in content now.
By two bigger issues are on stimulation of over-tourism, and building a revenue model for self gain that exploits countries, people, and Mother Nature more broadly. In the music...
I truly feel that influencers in earlier days offered truly unique content and perspectives. A window into a world you had yet to experience. Unfortunately, as in any market with total saturation and “over supply”, quality suffers. There is very little originality in content now.
By two bigger issues are on stimulation of over-tourism, and building a revenue model for self gain that exploits countries, people, and Mother Nature more broadly. In the music industry, ans an example, royalties are paid when music is publicly broadcasted. None of the same rules apply with travel influencers. I don’t see any influencers re-investing in local communities economically, either by mandate or by choice.
I’ve also had many special moments on travels ruined by influencers, their equipment, and their zealous over-reach. I’m ready for the market correction or AI disruption to gain momentum.
Jeb Brooks is the only guy that I can barely tolerate.
Agreed, “barely” being the operative word with his dramatic pauses and fake laugh/smiles.
Some of the over-the-top content is annoying, yes, but I don’t view that as the main issue. I mean, are clickbait influencer videos really any worse than reality TV in that regard?
To me the biggest issue is the “scamminess” factor afflicting the influencer industry at large, not necessarily just travel influencers. You see these obviously choreographed campaigns where dozens of influencers post essentially identical videos at the same time. And nobody discloses that it’s...
Some of the over-the-top content is annoying, yes, but I don’t view that as the main issue. I mean, are clickbait influencer videos really any worse than reality TV in that regard?
To me the biggest issue is the “scamminess” factor afflicting the influencer industry at large, not necessarily just travel influencers. You see these obviously choreographed campaigns where dozens of influencers post essentially identical videos at the same time. And nobody discloses that it’s part of a paid campaign or who paid them. They’ll censor or delete comments that the content sponsor disapproves of, while not prominently disclosing that it’s sponsored content. Etc., etc., etc. Frankly I have no idea who’s trying to earn an honest living vs. who’s a hack, and so I ignore them all.
I've noticed a lot of them start out fine but then they stop hiding their narcissism. I used to follow Kara and Nate until it became all about her crying crocodile tears about nothing getting comments like "OH YOU'RE SO BRAVE GIRL" and him taking his shirt off.
The other weird thing about Kara and Nate is that in spite of being a “couple,” they have zero chemistry.
Agreed. I followed them back in 2016-17 and back then they were much greener and often genuinely enthusiastic and grateful to be seeing the places they were going. By 2019 that had shifted, and I unfollowed them. Don't know how they managed the pandemic (I assume they rented a camper like literally everyone else) but honestly didn't even know if they were still around now. They got much more commercial and lost their soul.
They're pretty awful. A strong #2 are the bloggers who advovate for lower wages and b!+(# about every little thing about an airline (you and Gary Leff).
Ben is much better than Gary, they’re polar opposites really
I'll give you that. Gary is a leech on society.
My favorite travel "influencer" is Wolters World (great YouTube videos). He provides useful travel advice for visiting new places. It's all pretty down to earth and is much more about actually visiting a place than "being seen" in a place.
So annoying
Can’t stand these people. Nonstop D****e has to be one of the worst too.
Nonstop Dan is annoying because he’s obviously a trust-funder astroturfted by his Wall Street daddy, yet feigns being self-made. Plus he’s so frumpy; he manages to look 18 and 50 at the same time. He also still regularly wears masks in 2025.
Disagree, love his videos. His video’s are by far the most in depth ones. He’s also very respectful of crew and fellow passengers. His videos are the reason I got into (deeply) into aviation and miles and points over 7-8 years ago.
Insanely annoying. Why are you taking your shirt off in the Singapore airlines boarding process? Why are you demanding to skip in line at the check in because you think you’re better than other people? Why are you trying to hog the entire beach to take photos? These people deserve alllllll the hate they get. And this is coming from someone as an “influencer” in other spaces.
Lmao, please tell me someone didn't get undressed in the SQ boarding line
Annoying. Unbelievably annoying.
If they have found a way to monetize their ridiculousness - Kudos to them.
The cons of social media far out weigh the pros, and that applies to "travel influencers" too. At the end of the day, it's all about knowing who to trust since it's given everyone a voice. I don't consider you a "travel influencer" because you have quite a niche and you're also really a blogger (this is a compliment, by the way). The vitriol largely stems from the fact that social media is inherently narcissistic....
The cons of social media far out weigh the pros, and that applies to "travel influencers" too. At the end of the day, it's all about knowing who to trust since it's given everyone a voice. I don't consider you a "travel influencer" because you have quite a niche and you're also really a blogger (this is a compliment, by the way). The vitriol largely stems from the fact that social media is inherently narcissistic. Most "influencers" scream look at me and what I'm doing, and it comes off as incredibly obnoxious. I am in a group of incredibly dedicated travelers and someone recently posted a "trip report" from a country I've visited. I checked it out and he was there for all of 2 days and his bottom line was "I guess it's worth checking out." Meanwhile, he didn't see any of the main sites. When I went to his page, he has almost half a million followers. Followers who are getting this horrendous advice.
Agreed. Anyone with a cell phone camera can be an influencer on social media. I have personally wintnessed (on-scene) influencers producing segments. Narcissistic phonies. Whether it's travel or fashion or investment advice, only the gullible tune in.
@pstm91, absolutely! Influencers are focused on promoting themselves, whereas a product expert has actual knowledge, not only personal opinions. One day I came across a random video suggested by Instagram. The image showed a woman posing and doing all types of "look-at-me-flying-BA-business-class poses".
Interestingly, the text below the BA images was a rant about JAL supposedly discriminating against families with babies by showing seats occupied by babies during check-in so other passengers could seat...
@pstm91, absolutely! Influencers are focused on promoting themselves, whereas a product expert has actual knowledge, not only personal opinions. One day I came across a random video suggested by Instagram. The image showed a woman posing and doing all types of "look-at-me-flying-BA-business-class poses".
Interestingly, the text below the BA images was a rant about JAL supposedly discriminating against families with babies by showing seats occupied by babies during check-in so other passengers could seat elsewhere. Well, the number of responses that woman got far exceeded any of @Ben's posts about DL. And nobody pointed out that the images where about BA and had nothing to do with JAL. That video clearly shows how some influencers' most popular content does not need to be factual, logical, or even creative. As long as the influencer's face keeps popping up everywhere (thanks to clicks and interactions), they don't care how or why that result is achieved.