Content creators have replaced traditional travel campaigns by offering authenticity, trust and human connection that no advertising budget can replicate, industry figures told the TravMedia Summit in London on March 9.
Speaking on a panel titled “Highly Influential: How Creators Are Reshaping Travel Marketing and Storytelling,” Bonnie Rakhit, former travel editor of British Elle, Dominique Mills, an inclusive travel creator, and Nicky Kelvin, principal spokesperson at The Points Guy, argued that the shift away from polished editorial content had been driven by audiences demanding genuine experience over scripted promotion.
“Travel has always been an emotional purchase,” said Rakhit. “Content creators can deliver that — we take you on the journey with us. That’s what today’s consumer is buying into.”
Mills said trust was the foundation of effective creator content. “When I’m advertising something, it is a recommendation from a friend,” she said, adding that an eSIM brand which insisted on a scripted video saw poor results, but returned after she pushed for a more casual approach — with the revised video performing twice as well in its first 12 hours.
Kelvin said The Points Guy reaches 100mn people a year and has deliberately shifted investment towards individual creators rather than the corporate brand. He described taking a film crew aboard a Virgin Atlantic A330 Neo to Boston, with a casino set up on board, generating 1.3mn views on the initial piece of content.
All three panellists warned brands against over-scripting campaigns. “If you have to be so prescriptive, you are working with the wrong person,” said Kelvin. “When you allow a creator to speak in their own voice, that’s how you’re going to win as a brand.”
On the long-term threat from AI, Rakhit was direct: “The AI can’t go to the beach and it can’t go to the restaurant.” Kelvin noted that The Points Guy’s parent company also owns Lonely Planet, which uses an AI-driven itinerary platform built on the expertise of real contributors. “Technology will improve but as will our desire for human connection,” he said.
The TravMedia Summit, held alongside the International Media Marketplace (IMM) at the QEII Centre in London on March 9-10, brings together PR professionals, editors, and travel writers for a day of keynote sessions and panel discussions led by senior figures from across the travel industry. The summit serves as the conference for PR professionals, editors, and writers to gain insights from the industry’s most influential leaders and discuss the trends and challenges affecting the sector.