Travel Influencers’ Pandemic Content

In the years that followed 2020, influencers were a more common marketing tool in the travel industry. Pictures of beautiful beaches and picturesque cities became commonplace. And let’s face the truth, it’s hard not to love these gorgeous photos and dream about a romantic trip abroad.

Let’s now look at the content of travel influencers in 2020, given the restrictions placed by governments worldwide in response to the coronavirus epidemic.

2020 travel content

We saw a rise in the number of travel influencers before the 2020 pandemic. Social media content was first seen by travellers for a long time. This included YouTube videos and photos from travel. Recently, however, we’ve seen these content being sponsored by brands. Social media has made travel content more relevant to people’s lives, as foreign travel is becoming more affordable and accessible. There’s a large market for budget travel content. Influencers share tips on how to travel cheaply for those who don’t have the time or resources to do it by them.

In the opinion of Heepsy, these are the top travel influencers of 2020. While many have been social media influencers since a while, some have seen their popularity grow throughout 2020 via various contents.

If we take a look at Murad Osmann as an example. Recently, he was named a top travel blogger and photographer. It all started in 2012 when he shared holiday photos with his wife Natalia Zakharova. Their “Follow Me To” series was started by Natalia Zakharova and he now has sponsorship from some of the most prestigious brands.

The coronavirus pandemic has prevented the couple from traveling for several months. They have adopted a new approach to social media to keep their followers happy. They have shared throwback photos from past trips and positive messages during this difficult time, just like others. In their captions, they have been asking questions to help engage their followers.

A changing industry

Travel influencers have been one of the most affected by the pandemic that has ravaged the entire industry. Since they are unable to travel, their content needs to be re-evaluated. This is the reason for their rise in influence. Across social media we have seen some different approaches with most influencers choosing to post throwback pictures to earlier travels or attempting to change their content to something different such as routine or cuisine.

If we take a look at Francesca Murray (@onegrloneworld), we can see how she has kept up some of her striking pictures by discovering her stunning home island of Martinique in the French Caribbean. As a woman-of-colour, she has used her platform to discuss important issues and share messages. A Paris post also includes a caption about the negatives of traveling – something influencers rarely talk about. This allows followers to interact with her and reminds them that they are people just like you.

Travel content in 2021

The travel community has seen a significant shift in 2020. With no prospect of travel restrictions being relaxed anytime soon, it appears that influencers will need to maintain a change in content. Travel influencers will need to be more creative and authentic in the future.

We’ve seen that influencers such as Murad are posting throwbacks. Francesca uses her platform to raise awareness about societal issues and help others move into other fields of work. However several, like travelling couple Kara and Nate (@karaandnate), have taken a different approach whilst staying within the realms of travel. Influencers and the general public have been embracing domestic travel within their own countries this year. For some this has meant weekend trips, but others like Kara and Nate, have used motorhomes and caravans to travel around their country.

Kara and Nate began a Channel on Youtube many years ago to encourage people to follow their adventures to 100 countries. In 2019, they reached their goal and have continued their travels and vlogs. However, they were left stranded in Manila due to the coronavirus pandemic. They returned to the US and purchased a van to continue their journey.

The couple, originally from France and Cyprus, moved to Scotland to start exploring Europe. Once European limits are lifted, they plan to make their road to Eastern Europe, vlogging about it on their Channel on Youtube The Sun Cruisers.

Christos and Emilie (@thesuncruisers) decided to take on the task of themselves renovating!

Many members have taken after YouTube influencers like  Nate and Kara, deciding to embark on the life of van themselves, and see where it takes them.

Final Words

Although there was a sudden difficulty in the travel industry this year, various brands have still managed to find influencers that can work well with their business.

Travel influencers have managed, in the end, to adapt their content so that they continue to inform and inspire their followers about key issues.