Seven Ways To Create Compelling Travel Articles

Karen Banes
4 min readApr 15, 2018

There’s a lot more to travel writing than creating a laundry list of what happened on your holiday and why it was fun. You’re unlikely to get an editor’s attention with an article that simply recounts what you and your travel companions did each day, especially if you visited a popular, regularly-written-about tourist destination. There are, however, ways that you can create a compelling travel article, no matter where you travelled to.

Narrow it down

Trying to place an article about a popular destination like London or Paris takes a creative approach. A weekend in London is too broad to catch an editor’s (or reader’s) attention, but narrow it down to a piece on London’s inner city farms, and how they are bringing communities together, providing fun activities for families, and teaching urban children where their food comes from, and you have the makings of a saleable travel article.

Broaden it out

An article on San Francisco’s Chinatown and the great Chinese food you can eat there has been done before. How about “Eat Your Way Around the World in San Francisco”, incorporating mini-reviews of five, seven, or ten great ethnic restaurants around the city, including quirky details, the history of the restaurant (or the owners), prices, how to get there, and recommendations of what to eat. If…

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Karen Banes

Freelance writer sharing thoughts on life, society, creativity, and productivity. https://changetheworldwithwords.substack.com