This is probably a controversial topic, but here we go. An OMAAT reader asked me a question about the often negative perception people have of travel influencers, and I think it’s worth discussing, as it’s something I’ve noticed as well. When I write blog posts that include reference to stories from travel influencers, it’s amazing to see the amount of vitriol directed at many of them.

That often seems a little much, but let’s unwrap this all a bit. I’ve observed a lot of things over the years on this front, and have also had some insightful conversations on the topic (note that the videos I’m embedding below are pretty random, and I’m not trying to suggest any of them are good, bad, or whatever).

Everyone defines travel influencers differently

Let me start by acknowledging that everyone defines a “travel influencer” differently. I mean, on the most basic level, we’re all influencers in some way. I suspect most of us into miles & points are travel influencers for our friends, if nothing else.

Some people probably consider me a travel influencer. If you feel that way, that’s totally fair. I’m not very concerned about how I’m labeled, and I do hope that I influence the decisions of others in some way.

But I think with how media has evolved, most people would consider the “influencer” industry to be largely about social media, and increasingly, about short form video content.

Even then, you have vastly different kinds of travel influencing that are happening:

In the miles & points world, you have people who create short videos about premium products, which I’d generally consider to be harmless enough; maybe they’re a little cheesy at times, but so what?

You also have people providing miles & points tips, or tricks on how to maximize travel; if the advice is good, that’s great, but the issue is when people don’t know what they’re talking about

You have influencers who work with major travel brands, publishing professional quality pictures and videos; sometimes the hotel is the focus, while other times, the hotel is just a backdrop for what almost feels like modeling or a romance story

Then you have the whole world of influencers who are basically providing destination travel tips, often about “hidden gems” or places you have to see; the problem is that if you’re traveling to Mykonos for the first time in 2025, you’re probably not the person who should be giving destination advice

Then you have the world of people reviewing experiences, though that can of course vary significantly

Then you have the whole industry of influencers selling others on how to become influencers

Let me be very clear — like any industry in the world, there are some great folks out there who do a quality job, and there are some less great folks. So I absolutely don’t think all “travel influencers” deserve to be villainized.

The issue, broadly, with travel influencers

I think the reason that many people get frustrated and annoyed with travel influencers is pretty obvious. I think that largely comes down to the shift we’ve seen in how media is consumed, with more people looking at pictures and videos, rather than reading.

The way I view it, there are a few key themes:

All too often, there’s a lack of authenticity; not because travel influencers are bad people, but because they’re competing for eyeballs, and you’ve gotta make an over-the-top splash to get attention

Just as “clickbait” is an issue with written media, I think providing advice in short videos is challenging, in terms of providing information that’s both compelling and accurate

The influencer culture at large has changed the way that many people travel; so many of our travel decisions are driven by “inspiration” that we get from people we follow, rather than actual research

A lot of the advice provided by influencers is just not good, frankly; everyone wants to appear to be a subject matter expert on something, or like they’ve discovered a “hidden gem,” when all too often that’s not the case

I don’t like the blurred line between modeling and content creation; like, you’ll see very attractive people who are successful travel influencers, and then they’ll sell courses to people on how to be successful, without acknowledging that their appearance may be the single thing that gives the most visibility

I know one issue that many travel brands have with influencers is that some have ridiculous asks, and are really entitled

Personally (and certainly to the detriment of my own business), I sort of despise using social media. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy seeing content from other people, I just don’t personally like to share much myself, because I’m not interested in playing “the game.” That’s not to say there aren’t some people who do a great job being authentic, but they’re definitely the exception rather than the norm.

I also have to say that in some ways, I feel kind of sad for the world that kids are growing up in nowadays. It’s hard enough to live your life happy under the best of circumstances, and with social media being such a big part of peoples’ lives, it just seems like it leads to even more sadness. We see all the good parts of other peoples’ lives, without necessarily recognizing that they’re only sharing the highlights.

In defense of the travel influencer industry

Now, in defense of travel influencers, let me say this. A lot of them work really hard. A couple of years ago, I stayed at a hotel at the same time as a couple of “travel content creators,” who obviously had a brand partnership with that hotel. I didn’t know who they were, but after checking the hotel’s geotag on Instagram, I figured it out.

Honestly, they’re the types of influencers I find to be sort of cringe. It’s basically just them being super romantic with one another in all kinds of settings, in the cheesiest way imaginable. But I have to give them credit for how hard they worked, which you don’t really appreciate from what they post on social media.

We overlapped for a few nights, and basically the entire time they were just filming all kinds of different content, from morning to night. Like, even before sunrise they were out and about doing “shoots.”

In the end, they only posted a few things to their Instagram account. I think people often have the impression that travel influencers just snap a few pictures on vacation and then relax the rest of the time. But at least for them, that definitely wasn’t the case, and they spent most of their time creating content. And even when they had meals that look so relaxing and enjoyable in videos or pictures, really it was just them filming the same movements 20 times.

I know many people will rant how these social media influencers are useless, and there’s no way their content influences actual consumer behavior. Obviously it’s tough to quantify this kind of exposure. In the past, I would’ve probably somewhat agreed with that conclusion.

But I’ve also realized that I’m seriously getting old, and times have changed. A while back, I had a conversation with a 30 year old. She was super smart and engaging and interesting to talk to. I don’t know how our discussion got to this, but she basically explained that she gets most of her information and news on TikTok, and that’s also true of many of her friends.

That kind of blew my mind, and made me realize that I need to get with the times, and figure out something. So in that sense, I can see how these kinds of influencers are increasingly important for travel brands. Because if you get your news and decide where to travel from TikTok, then this kind of influencing suddenly becomes a lot more relevant.

I also recently had a discussion with a personal friend, who happens to be a marketing executive for a major travel brand. I asked how he feels about using travel influencers to promote the brand. He simply described them as a “necessary evil,” which I think is probably how many would feel.

Bottom line

Media has certainly evolved a lot over the years, increasingly moving to social media and short form video content. Admittedly we’re all from different generations and have different ways we like to consume media, so there’s no right or wrong answer as to what kind of media is good.

The whole “travel influencer” sphere has certainly exploded in recent years, and I figure it’s useful to talk about that a bit, including both the positives and negatives. While there are definitely some cringe and inauthentic aspects to it, I also have to say that I know a lot of these people work very hard, and increasingly, younger generations get their news and information via short form video.

That’s my take, but I’m much more curious to hear from OMAAT readers — how do you feel about “travel influencers,” and the way media has evolved?