The freebie debate The debate about whether journalists and bloggers should accept freebies is so old and hoary that I’m reluctant to bring it up again. But my recent experience in Germany shed a bit of new light on it for me, so tough, back to the well-chewed territory… For those not in the know, [...]
Continue reading about Travel writing and freebies: The bias that matters
Close encounters of the guidebook kind This morning, I had what I thought was an extraordinarily encounter. Guide book writers may be more acquainted with it than I am. But, to me, it just didn’t make sense. I am currently in Bath, researching a city guide for a major Australian newspaper. As part of that, [...]
Continue reading about Lesson for hoteliers: How to disappear from the guidebooks and lose customers
Round the world trip As some of my regular readers may be aware, I recently spent two months travelling around Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Singapore. I was on a somewhat whistlestop round-the-world trip, and I primarily did it because I had a number of commissions for various clients in the UK and Australia. [...]
Continue reading about Corporate blogging: Does it compromise a writer’s independence and integrity?
A lesson learned Last November, I learned a valuable lesson. We were half-planning a Caribbean holiday, when we saw flights to the Seychelles for under £400. Figuring we’d never be able to get there as cheaply again, we snapped the tickets up and decided to take the opportunity to do a famous luxury destination on [...]
Continue reading about An important travel lesson: When good deals make for bad holidays
A PR’s job I am acutely aware that there is more to doing travel PR than forever leaping every time a journalist clicks their fingers. In fact, some PRs may argue that dealing with journalists only forms a small part of their job. But it is a part of the job nonetheless, and the whole [...]
Continue reading about One common mistake that PR companies make – and how to fix it
You’re currently reading the third draft of this post. It was initially designed as a name-and-shame hatchet job. I rewrote it once because I felt it may be a tad unfair, and I rewrote it a second time because I felt it may be a little hypocritical. In the process, I’ve become horribly confused about [...]
Continue reading about Sponsored posts: Where is the line between journalism and marketing?
Dear hotel chains, While I completely understand your right to brand your hotels – after all, your guests will often choose to stay with you because they know what the brand name usually offers – you are starting to take the piss. Let me explain something about names. My name is David Whitley. [...]
Continue reading about When hotel branding gets silly: An open letter
Going solo When I was travelling down the Australian coast last year, I did so as a normal human being rather than a pampered travel journalist. One of the things that struck me was how difficult it can be to do anything when you’re on your own. How many? The classic example was in [...]
Continue reading about Solo travellers: Why tour companies are missing out on customers
On the tourist trail Apologies for this blog being quiet of late – I am currently in the middle of a fairly exhausting jaunt through South Africa. As part of this trip, I have been doing a lot of tours, and as a result, have come to a conclusion or two about how tour operators [...]
Continue reading about How tour operators should deal with journalists
Tourism potential of Samoa As some of this blog’s readers will know, I spent a week in the Pacific nation of Samoa last May. It goes against the grain of this blog to say it, but I found it the most extraordinary place I’ve visited this, and possibly any other year. When there, I thought [...]
Continue reading about How to bring tourists back after a disaster: Samoa’s big problem