I run one of the leading Dutch travel websites about Austria, where I share in-depth guides and insider tips with a broad audience of travelers. Over the years, I’ve joined various international press trips and collaborations, always with the goal of creating high-quality, lasting content.
I’m curious how international travel content creators approach press trips these days. Do you usually join on a barter deal (covering the trip in exchange for exposure), or do you believe such trips should be paid collaborations?
From my experience, the idea of a press trip being a “free holiday” is long gone. On one of my recent trips, the program ran from 7 AM to 11 PM — full on, but also very rewarding. We do bring clear media value to the destinations we cover, the same kind of value that PR agencies normally pay for when working with newspapers and magazines.
I’ve noticed that monetizing through affiliate links has become more challenging in the past two years, with revenues being squeezed by Google and Meta’s ad models. So I wonder: how do you make the business side of press trips sustainable? And if you do work with paid press trips, what do you consider a fair rate, and how do you determine it?
Great question, and I really appreciate how you framed it, because I think a lot of people outside the industry still imagine press trips as “free holidays” when in reality they’re often packed schedules and a lot of post-trip work.
For me, I usually ask for all travel expenses to be covered, but I don’t normally receive direct payment for press trips. The way I make them sustainable is through the content that comes out of them: my articles are monetized with Mediavine ads, and I sometimes include affiliate links where it feels relevant and useful for readers. That said, it’s true that the return on investment isn’t always straightforward. Writing good quality content takes a lot of time, and some trips pay off better than others.
Because of that, I only accept press or sponsored trips to destinations that I genuinely want to visit. Otherwise, it just isn’t worth the investment of time and energy.
I haven’t personally been paid for press trips so far, so I’m really interested in hearing how others approach this and what works for them.
I believe journalists and bloggers should be paid when approached for a Press Trip. This is a full-time commitment for several days. But I'd say it depends...
I haven't seen one fits all model so far so it all depends how do you approach this.
I'd say if this is your main job – you are absolutely right to charge for it. If it is a side hobby and you'd love to visit the destination anyway but don't aspire to make press trips a main hustle – I'd go as a barter deal. It all depends on you though. Also - were you approached by the destination or did you approach them? Do you provide data and insights into what the destination gets?
I've noticed in North America, these types of partnerships are way more valued than in Europe – and brands spent more budget to this. And also – creators who approach the partnership professionally, tend to have better success with press trips.
In terms of affiliate platforms, with Stay22 for example, you can show specific data of which hotels were booked through your website, which articles perform best (with bookings, not just awareness) – that way you can incorporate real data in your pitch and justify your worth.
Hello Vincent, that's a great question -- and I can only answer from the 'other' side. When we invite media to experience the Historic Highlights of Germany or travel with Inside Europe Travel Experiences, we cover most, if not all, expenses, but don't have the budget for a daily fee. Now, as a former journalist, I understand the need to make a living from your work, so it's quite a dilemma.
Co-founder of MNE Chapter, CEO, HYVÄ Coaching & Consulting
I understand the question from the destination perspective. My two cents? Nice if you can provide authentic, evidence-based information about the destination’s current social, economic, and environmental situation including challenges and initiatives. Do not believe / follow the "top 10" "must see" "hidden gem" etc. blabla. Listen to locals. Demand time & space for own discoveries and conversations. Set clear sustainability expectations for planning, before and during the trip.
Also speaking from the other side - it’s important to understand that a substantial investment goes into planning and running the logistics for press trips. That’s time my team is not spending on planning trips for clients. If someone from my team is accompanying the trip to handle the logistics, that’s also time out of the office. We need to see real ROI (bookings, not just likes or views) to justify that investment. Creators who can show that have a much better chance of being invited on a trip.
Publisher, editor, writer, blogger, Al Centro Media
It's a whole lot easier if your site is (or better, sites are) supporting you through revenue from display ads, affiliate ads, sponsored posts, direct products/services, etc. Then you don't have to make your article subject the customer as well and get paid by them directly. Really though it should be this simple: if set deliverables are requested, it's a paid campaign. If you're just expected to write and post how you see fit, like a traditional freelance writer would, then it's an unpaid press trip.
I mostly take the latter because my business is solid without the brand/destination deals--though I do accept them now and then. I have to REALLY want to experience the place to say yes either way though because those are days of time I'm not producing anything of value, just researching and putting pics/videos up on low-value social media, content that's gone in a day or two. I'd rather have control of my time, slow travel instead of running ragged. The output is usually higher quality that way. I wish more destinations would do the "writer in residence" option because they'd get far more exposure out of it for a lower price, with less planning time too. Just put the bloggers up, give them an attractions/public transport pass, and let them loose!
I agree! I've found that group press trips often try to pack too much in, so I haven't experienced enough of any part of it to write about it well. That's what leads to bloggers writing vague "best things to do in X" type articles that don't offer authenticity or any detail. I'd rather do an individual press trip, so I can decide, in consultation with the sponsoring destination, what I am going to see and do and when, as well as what kinds of blog posts I'll write. But in the end, since it's unpaid, I decide how to shape the resulting articles.
I'll do a bit of social media posting, but as you pointed out, that's pretty low value. It's permanent content on my website that provides real value, and over a much longer period of time.
I agree that when a destination just provides accommodations, admissions, transportation pass and meals, it's much more useful to me and to them (and easier for them!). I get much more content out of the trip when it's less scheduled and not with a group.
I don't generally charge a per diem, but lately I'm asking for all expenses to be paid unless I happen to be traveling to that place anyway. I make money through ads and affiliate links, which makes a detailed review of a hotel or destination a valuable piece of content for both me and the hotel or destination.
I remember sitting in a room in a travel blogger conference in Manchester in 2011, with a well-known European blogger (based in the Netherlands) talking about the financial costs of taking time away from running his blog business and travel schedule to attend a non-solicited press trip offer. Even a free trip had to be weighed against the cost, unless he could monetise it.
Sitting behind me in the room, paying attention and taking notes, was a well-known executive of the Austrian National Tourism Office (might still be a TM member but I can't see her).
Barely a month later I became aware of a small group fam trip of blogger friends (inc the speaker) touring Austria and being paid a daily stipend (can't rem how much) just to be there.
When I told colleagues at the British Guild of Travel Writers (65 yrs old this year!) that there were bloggers being paid to go on a press trip, jaws hit the floor! Lol!
As travel blogging and freelance writing are my hobby/passion project right now, I'm still at that stage where I am just happy to be invited and don't mind not being paid. But if I were to transition to it being my full-time profession, I would say it depends on a case-by-case basis.
I see a lot of great responses, thank you for all the insights. I know OP fairIy well and we talk about this a lot in our country.
I noticed that nobody has mentioned the affiliate challenges that we face nowadays. It might just be the Netherlands, but we are currently battling many unreliable affiliate networks which is costing us sales, and increasingly so.
They 'deduplicate' sales versus their own ad channels. That comes on top of Privacy browsers, EU privacy legislation, Adblockers and so on which makes it increasingly difficult to track customers online.
Where 10.000 clicks per year would be a guaranteed 1000 dollars of commission for example, we see many affiliate programs declining 50-70 up to even 90%. Especially in 2024 and 2025.
Besides the technical challenges, we are fighting with affiliate partners that keep finding new ways and reasons not to pay commissions, the so called 'deduplication'.
Writer, Photographer, and Content creator, pathstotravel.com
There are so many great and thoughtful points here! Vincent, do you host combo trips for content creators and journalists or separate?
In my experience, a lot of press trips in North America focus on journalists and getting “traditional” media coverage. Paying for earned content is unethical and a journalist who gets paid for the story by a publication will not expect a payment for the time spent on the trip, regardless of how little they will make on the story (and it is, very little). Could this be why the focus is so often on journalists? Maybe. Content creators are a different business model...
Everyone should get paid for their work. But with so many different ways to get paid as a travel creator the responsibility of paying gets passed around often leaving it to creators to come up with multiple streams of income or keeping their FT jobs. Many do it very well with social media especially. But unless you surpass a certain number of followers that option is out of reach for most, especially with how Instagram algorithm works.
There has also been a lot of conversation about what exactly are destinations paying for when paying creators?
They need to see ROI, which is 100% fair, but travel has a long sales pipeline. Travel isn’t an impulse purchase so while people might be inspired right away they might not go on that trip for another year or four. The effort creators put into it is very real and immediate, while it takes them away from all other responsibilities for the duration of the trip and the time it takes to churn out content after. Plus as basically one-person agencies we also need to promote our websites to get the clicks, to get the affiliate sales.
At minimum, it would be nice to have downtime built into the press trips so people can do some work on the go and not get behind too much. But more often then not, there is hardly time to do a 10min stretch.
Martha and I seldom go on press trips these days. They are usually grueling, there's far too much food, and I'm always asking the same question, "Ok, if I weren't on this stinking bus full of journalists, how would I get here?" and seldom get a good answer.
On the other hand, we've had some good responses from retired folks in Italy who set up trips--including places to stay--to interesting places for us that they like. It's astonishing. I can order what I want to eat, talk to the waiter and other diners, and get a feel for the place from them. Other than that, we just, well, wander around Italy, looking for stories. It's good work if you can make it happen.
Really appreciate all the insights shared here, it’s reassuring to see how differently everyone approaches this.
For me, most of my press trips are still barter deals, and I try to make them sustainable by monetizing through affiliate marketing. That said, I always have a bit of a mixed feeling when turning a hotel stay – which I often cover in detail – into just an affiliate link.
As @chris-thomassen-1644547338 pointed out, affiliate marketing in the Benelux has become a real struggle. My visitor numbers have been doubling year over year, yet affiliate revenues are moving in the opposite direction. The main issue is that so many of the travel-related programs are concentrated in a single dominant network – and frankly, that network has been neglecting the travel vertical for years. There’s little to no innovation in tracking methods, and combined with increasing attribution conflicts and “last click” competition, it’s created a system where commissions decline even as traffic and conversions grow. It’s incredibly frustrating to put in the work and see the numbers do not match the actual value delivered.
On the advertising side, I’ve chosen not to go with Mediavine. With all respect, I feel it takes away from the quality of the reading experience. Pop-ups and irrelevant ads might bring in short-term cash, but at the cost of trust and long-term value. I’ve even seen gambling and pharma ads appear on Mediavine sites, which I couldn’t justify to my audience. For me, protecting the integrity of the site matters more than squeezing out a few extra dollars.
When Booking (quietly) shut down their affiliate program in June, I was lucky to switch to Stay22. Honestly, it’s been performing better than Booking ever did, and I only regret not making the move earlier. (thanks for the tip @maria-stoyanova)
What I sometimes find hard to accept is the contrast with traditional media. Journalists are on payroll, and their publications are rewarded with full-page ads in newspapers or glossy spreads in magazines. None of that is free, yet there’s often “no budget” for content creators whose work lives on for years and keeps reaching new audiences. Meanwhile, a newspaper is lining the cat’s litter box two days later, and magazine circulations keep shrinking. The long-term value of well-maintained digital content seems obvious in comparison.
I also understand the argument that if you get paid for a press trip, your objectivity might be questioned. But in my view, that comes down to making clear agreements upfront: transparency, editorial independence, and realistic deliverables. That way, both sides know where they stand, and the content remains trustworthy.
In the end, I believe our real value as creators lies in long-lasting, authentic content that continues to inspire and convert long after a trip is over. That’s something that both destinations and partners often underestimate, but it’s what makes this work meaningful and sustainable for me.
yesterday
(edited)
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How do you make press trips sustainable as a travel creator?
How do you make press trips sustainable as a travel creator?
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I run one of the leading Dutch travel websites about Austria, where I share in-depth guides and insider tips with a broad audience of travelers. Over the years, I’ve joined various international press trips and collaborations, always with the goal of creating high-quality, lasting content.
I’m curious how international travel content creators approach press trips these days. Do you usually join on a barter deal (covering the trip in exchange for exposure), or do you believe such trips should be paid collaborations?
From my experience, the idea of a press trip being a “free holiday” is long gone. On one of my recent trips, the program ran from 7 AM to 11 PM — full on, but also very rewarding. We do bring clear media value to the destinations we cover, the same kind of value that PR agencies normally pay for when working with newspapers and magazines.
I’ve noticed that monetizing through affiliate links has become more challenging in the past two years, with revenues being squeezed by Google and Meta’s ad models. So I wonder: how do you make the business side of press trips sustainable? And if you do work with paid press trips, what do you consider a fair rate, and how do you determine it?
Great question, and I really appreciate how you framed it, because I think a lot of people outside the industry still imagine press trips as “free holidays” when in reality they’re often packed schedules and a lot of post-trip work.
For me, I usually ask for all travel expenses to be covered, but I don’t normally receive direct payment for press trips. The way I make them sustainable is through the content that comes out of them: my articles are monetized with Mediavine ads, and I sometimes include affiliate links where it feels relevant and useful for readers. That said, it’s true that the return on investment isn’t always straightforward. Writing good quality content takes a lot of time, and some trips pay off better than others.
Because of that, I only accept press or sponsored trips to destinations that I genuinely want to visit. Otherwise, it just isn’t worth the investment of time and energy.
I haven’t personally been paid for press trips so far, so I’m really interested in hearing how others approach this and what works for them.
I believe journalists and bloggers should be paid when approached for a Press Trip. This is a full-time commitment for several days. But I'd say it depends...
I haven't seen one fits all model so far so it all depends how do you approach this.
I'd say if this is your main job – you are absolutely right to charge for it. If it is a side hobby and you'd love to visit the destination anyway but don't aspire to make press trips a main hustle – I'd go as a barter deal. It all depends on you though. Also - were you approached by the destination or did you approach them? Do you provide data and insights into what the destination gets?
I've noticed in North America, these types of partnerships are way more valued than in Europe – and brands spent more budget to this. And also – creators who approach the partnership professionally, tend to have better success with press trips.
In terms of affiliate platforms, with Stay22 for example, you can show specific data of which hotels were booked through your website, which articles perform best (with bookings, not just awareness) – that way you can incorporate real data in your pitch and justify your worth.
There was a recent webinar on partnerships mentioning press trips on Travel Massive & Stay22 and industry: www.travelmassive.com/events/live-webinar-how-to-build-partnerships-that-earn-panel-with-dmos-creators-and-stay22-3394749905
Hope that helps a bit ✌️
Highly recommend to catch the webinar replay (link in Maria's comment) or read over the notes as they covered this exact topic.
Hello Vincent, that's a great question -- and I can only answer from the 'other' side. When we invite media to experience the Historic Highlights of Germany or travel with Inside Europe Travel Experiences, we cover most, if not all, expenses, but don't have the budget for a daily fee. Now, as a former journalist, I understand the need to make a living from your work, so it's quite a dilemma.
I understand the question from the destination perspective. My two cents? Nice if you can provide authentic, evidence-based information about the destination’s current social, economic, and environmental situation including challenges and initiatives. Do not believe / follow the "top 10" "must see" "hidden gem" etc. blabla. Listen to locals. Demand time & space for own discoveries and conversations. Set clear sustainability expectations for planning, before and during the trip.
Also speaking from the other side - it’s important to understand that a substantial investment goes into planning and running the logistics for press trips. That’s time my team is not spending on planning trips for clients. If someone from my team is accompanying the trip to handle the logistics, that’s also time out of the office. We need to see real ROI (bookings, not just likes or views) to justify that investment. Creators who can show that have a much better chance of being invited on a trip.
It's a whole lot easier if your site is (or better, sites are) supporting you through revenue from display ads, affiliate ads, sponsored posts, direct products/services, etc. Then you don't have to make your article subject the customer as well and get paid by them directly. Really though it should be this simple: if set deliverables are requested, it's a paid campaign. If you're just expected to write and post how you see fit, like a traditional freelance writer would, then it's an unpaid press trip.
I mostly take the latter because my business is solid without the brand/destination deals--though I do accept them now and then. I have to REALLY want to experience the place to say yes either way though because those are days of time I'm not producing anything of value, just researching and putting pics/videos up on low-value social media, content that's gone in a day or two. I'd rather have control of my time, slow travel instead of running ragged. The output is usually higher quality that way. I wish more destinations would do the "writer in residence" option because they'd get far more exposure out of it for a lower price, with less planning time too. Just put the bloggers up, give them an attractions/public transport pass, and let them loose!
I agree! I've found that group press trips often try to pack too much in, so I haven't experienced enough of any part of it to write about it well. That's what leads to bloggers writing vague "best things to do in X" type articles that don't offer authenticity or any detail. I'd rather do an individual press trip, so I can decide, in consultation with the sponsoring destination, what I am going to see and do and when, as well as what kinds of blog posts I'll write. But in the end, since it's unpaid, I decide how to shape the resulting articles.
I'll do a bit of social media posting, but as you pointed out, that's pretty low value. It's permanent content on my website that provides real value, and over a much longer period of time.
I agree that when a destination just provides accommodations, admissions, transportation pass and meals, it's much more useful to me and to them (and easier for them!). I get much more content out of the trip when it's less scheduled and not with a group.
I don't generally charge a per diem, but lately I'm asking for all expenses to be paid unless I happen to be traveling to that place anyway. I make money through ads and affiliate links, which makes a detailed review of a hotel or destination a valuable piece of content for both me and the hotel or destination.
Funny you should be talking about Austria.
I remember sitting in a room in a travel blogger conference in Manchester in 2011, with a well-known European blogger (based in the Netherlands) talking about the financial costs of taking time away from running his blog business and travel schedule to attend a non-solicited press trip offer. Even a free trip had to be weighed against the cost, unless he could monetise it.
Sitting behind me in the room, paying attention and taking notes, was a well-known executive of the Austrian National Tourism Office (might still be a TM member but I can't see her).
Barely a month later I became aware of a small group fam trip of blogger friends (inc the speaker) touring Austria and being paid a daily stipend (can't rem how much) just to be there.
When I told colleagues at the British Guild of Travel Writers (65 yrs old this year!) that there were bloggers being paid to go on a press trip, jaws hit the floor! Lol!
These issues/conversations are not new! :)
As travel blogging and freelance writing are my hobby/passion project right now, I'm still at that stage where I am just happy to be invited and don't mind not being paid. But if I were to transition to it being my full-time profession, I would say it depends on a case-by-case basis.
I see a lot of great responses, thank you for all the insights. I know OP fairIy well and we talk about this a lot in our country.
I noticed that nobody has mentioned the affiliate challenges that we face nowadays. It might just be the Netherlands, but we are currently battling many unreliable affiliate networks which is costing us sales, and increasingly so.
They 'deduplicate' sales versus their own ad channels. That comes on top of Privacy browsers, EU privacy legislation, Adblockers and so on which makes it increasingly difficult to track customers online.
Where 10.000 clicks per year would be a guaranteed 1000 dollars of commission for example, we see many affiliate programs declining 50-70 up to even 90%. Especially in 2024 and 2025.
Besides the technical challenges, we are fighting with affiliate partners that keep finding new ways and reasons not to pay commissions, the so called 'deduplication'.
Read more about it here: dutchtravelbloggers.com/the-pain-of-deduplication-in-affiliate-marketing/
I am really curious if other countries experience these issues as well.
There are so many great and thoughtful points here! Vincent, do you host combo trips for content creators and journalists or separate?
In my experience, a lot of press trips in North America focus on journalists and getting “traditional” media coverage. Paying for earned content is unethical and a journalist who gets paid for the story by a publication will not expect a payment for the time spent on the trip, regardless of how little they will make on the story (and it is, very little). Could this be why the focus is so often on journalists? Maybe. Content creators are a different business model...
Everyone should get paid for their work. But with so many different ways to get paid as a travel creator the responsibility of paying gets passed around often leaving it to creators to come up with multiple streams of income or keeping their FT jobs. Many do it very well with social media especially. But unless you surpass a certain number of followers that option is out of reach for most, especially with how Instagram algorithm works.
There has also been a lot of conversation about what exactly are destinations paying for when paying creators?
They need to see ROI, which is 100% fair, but travel has a long sales pipeline. Travel isn’t an impulse purchase so while people might be inspired right away they might not go on that trip for another year or four. The effort creators put into it is very real and immediate, while it takes them away from all other responsibilities for the duration of the trip and the time it takes to churn out content after. Plus as basically one-person agencies we also need to promote our websites to get the clicks, to get the affiliate sales.
At minimum, it would be nice to have downtime built into the press trips so people can do some work on the go and not get behind too much. But more often then not, there is hardly time to do a 10min stretch.
Martha and I seldom go on press trips these days. They are usually grueling, there's far too much food, and I'm always asking the same question, "Ok, if I weren't on this stinking bus full of journalists, how would I get here?" and seldom get a good answer.
On the other hand, we've had some good responses from retired folks in Italy who set up trips--including places to stay--to interesting places for us that they like. It's astonishing. I can order what I want to eat, talk to the waiter and other diners, and get a feel for the place from them. Other than that, we just, well, wander around Italy, looking for stories. It's good work if you can make it happen.
Really appreciate all the insights shared here, it’s reassuring to see how differently everyone approaches this.
For me, most of my press trips are still barter deals, and I try to make them sustainable by monetizing through affiliate marketing. That said, I always have a bit of a mixed feeling when turning a hotel stay – which I often cover in detail – into just an affiliate link.
As @chris-thomassen-1644547338 pointed out, affiliate marketing in the Benelux has become a real struggle. My visitor numbers have been doubling year over year, yet affiliate revenues are moving in the opposite direction. The main issue is that so many of the travel-related programs are concentrated in a single dominant network – and frankly, that network has been neglecting the travel vertical for years. There’s little to no innovation in tracking methods, and combined with increasing attribution conflicts and “last click” competition, it’s created a system where commissions decline even as traffic and conversions grow. It’s incredibly frustrating to put in the work and see the numbers do not match the actual value delivered.
On the advertising side, I’ve chosen not to go with Mediavine. With all respect, I feel it takes away from the quality of the reading experience. Pop-ups and irrelevant ads might bring in short-term cash, but at the cost of trust and long-term value. I’ve even seen gambling and pharma ads appear on Mediavine sites, which I couldn’t justify to my audience. For me, protecting the integrity of the site matters more than squeezing out a few extra dollars.
When Booking (quietly) shut down their affiliate program in June, I was lucky to switch to Stay22. Honestly, it’s been performing better than Booking ever did, and I only regret not making the move earlier. (thanks for the tip @maria-stoyanova)
What I sometimes find hard to accept is the contrast with traditional media. Journalists are on payroll, and their publications are rewarded with full-page ads in newspapers or glossy spreads in magazines. None of that is free, yet there’s often “no budget” for content creators whose work lives on for years and keeps reaching new audiences. Meanwhile, a newspaper is lining the cat’s litter box two days later, and magazine circulations keep shrinking. The long-term value of well-maintained digital content seems obvious in comparison.
I also understand the argument that if you get paid for a press trip, your objectivity might be questioned. But in my view, that comes down to making clear agreements upfront: transparency, editorial independence, and realistic deliverables. That way, both sides know where they stand, and the content remains trustworthy.
In the end, I believe our real value as creators lies in long-lasting, authentic content that continues to inspire and convert long after a trip is over. That’s something that both destinations and partners often underestimate, but it’s what makes this work meaningful and sustainable for me.