By every measure, 2020 has brought us all uncertain and the unknown. From industries, events, and travel shutdowns to hundreds of millions unemployed globally.
According to The Future of Travel by Janie Osborne in the New York Times, passenger traffic is down over 95% compared to last year. The staggering economic impact involves over 100 million travel industry jobs impacted, as well as over a 300 billion dollar decrease in revenue globally in the travel industry alone.
What travel will look like in the coming months and years is transforming and evolving daily. According to travel industry experts in a virtual global travel summit, I attended She's Wanderful, there is a definite consensus on local travel and road trips.
As a global traveler to over 25 countries and a retreat host, I am imagining with you the next time I cross off bucket list items. I am reminding myself of the countless places I have been and all I have to be grateful for.
I close my eyes and transport myself back to scuba diving in Egypt. snorkeling in Cuba in the Bay of Pigs, and ziplining in Costa Rica with an ocean view.
You love to travel and inspire others by sharing the world through your eyes. Perhaps, you are a global traveler, content creator, and entrepreneur already? You may have heard of or be part of travel communities like She's Wanderful, We Travel, SideWalker Daily and We Are Travel Girls.
I and we may not be globetrotting just yet, but I am and we are inspiring travel now and in the future.
Inspiring travel includes virtual travels, travel content, influencer marketing, online courses and summits, and future travel.
Shot on my Canon EOS M100 with timer - Art Bold setting.
Insights into Travel Industry Innovation
As a multi-passionate creator, educator, and traveler, I am constantly creating and transforming. I have found both my own transformation, as well as community is required to create a life and business you love.
If you didn't know, I am conceived in Bulgaria, born in Poland, lived in a refugee camp in Italy for six months, and in four countries and the USA by the time I was two years old. I am also fluent in Polish, Bulgarian and Spanish. I have traveled to 27+ countries and have a deep love of travel largely due to my mom.
Like many of us, I am and we are impacted in 2020 including speaking and workshops on-site, live workshops, and global retreats canceled. I didn't spend much time at all wallowing in what was impacted thank God. Years ago, I might have.
I immediately began to consider all the ways I and we could pivot. I implemented an IG Live series to align to our online mastermind, increased participation in social media and influencer marketing communities, and connected with communities for online live events like She's Wanderful and Rise Conferences.
I set an intention and prayed before each of these events for alignment, clarity, and direction on aligning virtual, online, and live events for now and in the future. Specifically, on how and what to #createit connect, and cultivate next.
Right away, within the beginning of the Women in Travel Summit, I knew I was aligned for integrating virtual, online, and future travel. The same happened with the Rise X Live Online Conference for shifting to online workshops and an online summit for creators to #createit.
Step by Step Innovation
A clear strategy, structure, and systems began to be divinely downloaded in my mind. I started by sharing my reflections of each event on the blog and podcast. I outlined creating the websites to share service, as well as connecting and cultivating with communities including Facebook Groups, content creation and influencer marketing, and travel bureaus and brands.
Would you love to transform and travel virtually with the community you love around the world? You may start now with connecting and creating online with creators, and communities sharing on social via lives, videos, and collaborations.
This may expand to content creation strategy and execution including guides, virtual tours, and online courses and events. Travel bloggers, content creators and travel bureaus and brands may expand further to future travel like our 7 in 7 in 7 with 7 Retreats in 7 Continents in 7 Months.
I am and we are aiming for 21-22 and currently gathering data.
On May 27, 2020, I attended an incredible virtual meeting day with creators & brands. I connected with @alexaolavarria, @monicagoesshow and @trustedtravelgirl among content creators involved in She's Wanderful.
My next blog post on Virtual Travels: Content Creators and Collaborations with Women in Travel will dive deeper into my experience with the Virtual Meeting Day with She's Wanderful. We all connected online via Zoom with the help of Chris's tool, BloggerBridge.
A few years ago, we participated via a live meeting day with BloggerBridge and TBEX in Finger Lakes, NY, and loved it. BloggerBridge is an incredible tool to help create connections between creators and brands in advance of the event online.
I use BloggerBridge regularly, and other tools on both ends as a creator and as a brand for our influencer marketing community. When I found out She's Wanderful is partnering with BloggerBridge, I knew I would love it.
Zip Lining in Costa Rica Ocean View
5 Ways to Inspire in Travel Now
According to GutsyTraveler, there has been a 230% increase in the number of women-only travel companies in the past six years. Whether you are a traveler, content creator, and/or retreat leader, women in travel are on the rise.
While our travels may look different at this moment, there are ways you may inspire in travel now and for the future. Although patience and diligence may be required, we will fly again globally.
Some ways for you to inspire travel now and in the future include:
1 Virtual Global Travels
2 Travel Content in Communities
3 Influencer Marketing Online
4 Online Courses & Summits
5 Future Travel Innovation
You may start with how to create content like a boss with prior travels, one day guides in your city/country, and transformation travel guides. Another idea could be creating an e-book on a destination.
Action Items:
1 25 Countries I've Traveled to and Love E-Book June - August 2020
2 How to Create Content Like a Boss AnyWhere in the World (Mexico Edition)
3 One Day Guides on Varna, Bulgaria, Costa Rica, San Diego, Cuba, London and more
4 Open invitation for press for One Day and Transformation Guides & future paid for creators
5 Reaching out to travel bureaus and brands for ongoing content strategy, creation, and community
Photo Credit: Brett Seely in San Diego Shoot
Virtual Global Travels
At this moment, you may find yourself virtually traveling from your living room. Why not remind yourself of all the incredible global travels you've had while inspiring others? You could start with resurrecting prior travel photos and videos from global travels you loved.
You could share on social media stories & lives, posts and videos, and blog and podcast episodes. Perhaps, you share on your own platforms, as we as others. After all, isn't the goal to help others travel through your eyes?
Although you may not be traveling globally right now, you may still inspire others to do so in the future. I don't know about you, but I don't plan on stopping any inspiration in travel, wellness, and business. In fact, with all this increased time at home, I have increased it and continue to.
Even if you don't have travel content, you may inspire travel to your city now. I recently created behind the scenes videos in Atlanta on a walk and meditation in Chastain Park, as well as a walk in Buckhead. This is a great way to get started and grow in creating content especially with travel predictions focusing on local and road trips in the coming months.
You may reach out to prior travel collaborations to share on their social media and content platforms. This may involve virtual tours and behind the scenes especially in your own city, and with prior travel content you have.
Some travel bureaus and brands are investing in campaigns and would love to hear from you. Either way, you open the door to reigniting the relationship for the future.
Action Items:
1 Share videos and experiences in Atlanta
2 Repurpose video & posts from prior travels
3 Connect with bureaus and brands on virtual tours
4 Integrate into inspiring travel series
Adventures in Holbox Island via Airbnb Experience
Content Creation Strategy
Whether you create content for travel or other industries, consider strategy, structure, and systems with short-term and long-term content forms. Make sure you evaluate how you are creating a relationship with others, as well as invitations into ways you serve online, live, and travel.
For example, our content creation strategy includes covering content on wellness, marketing, money, business, and travel. I break this down further into 12 themes from jump start transformation to smart social to boss brand to crazy confidence.
At the forefront of my mind is creating evergreen content that may be shared over and over across social media platforms ranging from Instagram to LinkedIn. Speaking of sharing, this includes automating sharing via tools like Tailwind and IFTTT which I share in the Social Media series, and in our online courses.
Another great way to increase your web traffic is both by adding in features as we do with our Creator Series, One Day Guides, and Transformational Travel series. We have creators do their own voice overs for the podcast resulting in increasing press for them, as well as our website traffic.
Also, I contribute and guest features on various blogs and podcasts as well. You may evaluate your strategy further by tracking analytics on Google, as well as running Google, Facebook, and/or Instagram ads.
These themes on social media, blogs, and podcast flow into our freebies, online courses, live events, and agency and consulting. We cultivate content and community further by connecting via Facebook Groups, Influencer Marketing Communities, and brands with wellness, business, and travel.
My Action Items:
1 Increase the length of series on blog & podcast
2 Align IG Lives, Videos, and Takeovers & Features
3 Update TailwindApp and Smart Loop weekly
4 Increase features from creators on One Day and Transformational Guides
5 Align with progressive and innovative travel bureaus and brands for virtual travel
6 Track analytics on social platforms and Google for growth and conversion
7 Tweak content length, series, guests, and features.
7 Reasons to Attend Transformation Events (Houston, TX)
Photo Credit: John Via Airbnb Experience
Influencer Marketing Like a Boss
At its core, social media and influencer marketing are word of mouth sharing authentically among friends when done right. I started exploring social media and influencer marketing return on investment in 2014. I have learned a ton by connecting and creating with >15,000 influencers on over 10 platforms reaching over 700 million in reach last year.
Whether you are in the travel industry, or any other, you and your team should include influencer marketing in your strategy. With virtual travel, creating a community online becomes increasingly important.
Since March, we have expanded our collaborations to include:
1 IG Live Summits & Takeovers & Tours
2 Online Workshops & Summits
3 Influencer Management
to name a few ideas you may want to expand upon in influencer marketing to increase your reach to millions. Our strategy includes creating community short to long-term. We track influencer marketing metrics of influencers, campaigns, reach, conversions, and results and return.
My Action Items:
1 List 2 Campaigns every 2 weeks in 3+ Facebook Groups & Influencer Marketing Platforms
2 Track Influencers, Reach, Conversions, and Results and time between for results
Influencer Marketing Platform - featured Joici in Brazil
Online Courses and Summits
While we may not be attending live events now, with technology in online courses and live streaming, it's simple to create your online courses and summits now. You may want to start by speaking via online events.
There is no time like the present though to create an online course in a week like us. Tools like Skillshare, Kajabi and Teachable make it easier than ever to create an online course whether you want to take people virtually to a destination, or teach them how you create content when you travel.
Online courses and workshops are a great way to feature others and collaborate as well. You may want to host online interactive workshops as well with you on live online via platforms like Zoom, Google Hangouts, and private YouTubes. We recently pivoted our prior live workshops to online workshops.
Last, but definitely not least, you may want to think about hosting an online conference or summit. I recently attended Women in Travel Summit Online and Rise X Live, which I shared in two recent blogs and shows.
In addition, I knew I would pivot our prior interactive Creation Club Weekends to an online summit as well. We are hosting a "CREATEIT Online Summit with options for a one day, three days, and seven-day pass to create hands-on with wellness, marketing, and online business during the summit with >20 creators.
Imagine the online courses, workshops, and/or summit you could create now. In travel, this could align with content creators, travel bloggers, bureaus, and brands easily.
Action Items:
1 Post Workshop Collaborations in FB and Influencer Communities
2 Connect with Entrepreneurs / Delegate to VAs
3 Set-Up Workshop and Summit Agreements
4 Update Websites for Features & Bios / Delegate to VAs
5 Set Up Technology & Schedule for Workshops & Summit
Leo Parias in Costa Rica
Future Travel
Don't worry I didn't forget about travel itself. How could I? Remember, I am the one who has traveled to 27+ countries, hosted retreats in 5+ countries, and have a God given dream & desire to travel to 100+ countries. After all, our retreats to San Antonio, Brazil and more got cancelled this year too. I am still re-learning Portuguese right now on Duolingo in preparation for the future!
One of my travel dreams is to visit 7 Continents in 7 Months in 21-22. During this time, I welcome divine inspiration. I am taking leaps of faith and our future travel includes 7 Retreats in 7 Continents in 7 Months including solo-travel, meet-ups, press trips, brand integrations and collaborations.
Obviously, right now there are many things unknown. As a result, we currently have a survey for bloggers, creators and brands. In addition, I am planting seeds with travel communities and brands now so they are aware as more things become known. As things develop, we will continue to identify the best approach, integrations and shifts for safety and community.
Consider what future travel ideas and innovation you may create, and or get involved in communities with!
My Action Items:
1 Gather survey data for 7 Continents & Retreats
2 Integrate Virtual Travel, Creators and Content now
3 Mention in Travel Communities and Summits
4 Host Online Travel Series Monthly mentioning
5 Modify Approach and Outreach Monthly
Our Cuba Retreat... dreaming of travel globally, community high vibes, and our future retreats
Pictured @jenmorilla @light.travels shot by @ps.iloveweddings Preston Olsen
Inspiring Travel Now and in the Future Virtually and Globally
Inspiring travel now is possible in many ways. By reviving your past travels and creating community, you will inspire yourself and others now. You may increase your gratitude and expand horizons no matter where you are in the world now by sharing locally during this time.
Creating evergreen content on destinations via blogs, podcasts, and e-books is a great way to fill your time now, as well as inspiring travel now. Consider all the ways you may connect with and serve travel bureaus and brands now.
This is the time to expand your digital marketing channels and strategy. Keep creating, transforming and inspiring yourself and community around you. Inspiring travel now and in the future includes virtual global travels, content creation, influencer marketing, online courses and summits, and future travel.
How will you inspire travel now and in the future? What will you do to #createit next?
You'll love create content like a boss.
CREATE WITH OUR COMMUNITY
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