Anatomy of a Press Trip

I watched a television show on the Travel Channel a few years ago called Confessions of a Travel Writer, which featured Andrew Evans, Charles Runnette, Shira Lazar and other writers on a press trip. It portrayed some writers in a bad light, after many snooty demands, and others really taking the experience to craft a story. At the time, I was embarrassed by the show as I couldn’t believe some writers could be so unappreciative. But now I understand that it’s not free travel. It’s a lot of work.

Press trips, also known as FAM trips, are organized by PR companies, destination marketing organizations, hotels or convention and visitor’s bureaus to bring travel media to a place to gain content and “spread the word.” Everyone I’ve ever told about the “free stuff,” whether it be accommodation, tours or trips, I get says, “I should start a blog.”

What none of them seem to understand is that it’s still work. While you’re out on the town, I’m in my room editing photos and writing posts. And the work continues well after I get home, compiling case studies and sending relevant data to my hosts.

For a freelance writer like myself, I try to get as many stories out of a trip as possible that I can place on many outlets. But some people still don’t understand. A recent article on some website called Skift took a well-researched BBC report on junketism in the travel blogging industry and used it to start a diatribe against writers who receive free trips. I should point out that not all travel bloggers take press trips and most of the ones who do, myself included, always disclose what they have received.

So you think you’re cut out for press trips? Read on. 

Upon accepting a place on a press trip, you receive an itinerary with all the activities you will be doing. Some things will be relevant to your readership, but some won’t. You’ll have to do your best to take even the irrelevant organized stops and craft a story out of them. It’s likely you will be packed into a minibus to get from place to place, rushing without enough time to truly understand every place.

The trips start early, typically at 8 am, and don’t end until the wee hours. There is little to no downtime, despite needing that time to decompress, review notes and actually start the writing. You’re handed dozens of brochures and press releases to help you with your story, but it usually ends up in the bin.

Ages and niches of your fellow writers will range, but you can bet on the fact that there will be at least one person to continually complain about the five star accommodation and award-winning food. And speaking of the food, every meal is extravagant.

Two glasses of wine with lunch plus three courses is enough to make even the most gluttonous writer ready to pass out. Everyone stops for the same photos, whether it be your dinner or the basket weaver at the local market.

Press trips aren’t always pretty, but they are a necessary evil in the world of travel writing, whether in print or online media. Some writers may not behave with professionalism on these trips, you can believe that I will always do my best to use press trips as a tool for better content rather than an excuse to be wined and dined.

For a more in-depth tale of the travel writing underbelly and a particular writer’s exploitation of the field, read Thomas Kohnstamm’s Do Travel Writers Go to Hell?: A Swashbuckling Tale of High Adventures, Questionable Ethics, and Professional Hedonism.