Bonus edition: travel writing networks you need to join

Online tools to help you expand your travel writing network

Before we kick off with January’s bonus newsletter, we have a short announcement to make: we’re going to be launching our first ever online course for early-career or aspiring travel writers in spring 2024. We’ll be running an exclusive discount for our first intake, so if you’re keen to hear more, let us know here or by clicking the button below.

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Last autumn I got an email: “You just got invited by KITI Team to join The KITI”. Ugh, another annoying media database to store my details and send me irrelevant press releases for eternity, I thought. I ignored it. But then it came again, with the promise of an event on how to write a travel book.

Oh dear, I thought. We’re being usurped! It turns out we’re not, though. KITI Social sort of is a media database, but it’s also turned itself into a platform that offers a whole lot more. It is now one of several networking tools and networks travel writers can be a part of to help boose their profiles in the industry and get more commissions (and more trips).

So, I figured this new kid on the block would be a great excuse to explore some of the other tools we all need to consider using. Here’s where to do your online networking beyond social media:

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TravMedia

I’ve been a user of TravMedia since 2013 and it has, without doubt, been a huge helping hand in with my career. I’m an avid user of its Journalist Alert system, which allows you to send a call-out to PRs about a specific trip/commission you need assistance with, and when I was an editor I often used it for pitch calls. As a freelancer, I’ve even got work from it. And the TravMedia team has been responsible for several boozy nights out in London where I’ve met many of you — my colleagues — at their in-person events. Essentially, I’m a fan. And you should be to. Here’s Louise Napier, the company’s MD, to explain more.

What exactly is TravMedia?

TravMedia is a global community of travel writers, travel PR professionals and influencers. Our registered users depend on TravMedia in their working lives to exchange news, images and ideas, to communicate and to build their business networks. TravMedia.com operates sub-regions that collectively cover all continents of the world, and we achieve this from offices in countries including Australia, Asia, France, Germany, United Kingdom, USA and Brazil, our most recent opening.

What’s the origin story?

TravMedia was launched by founder and CEO Nick Wayland in 2000. The site’s first new international venture was TravMedia UK, which Nick launched with Henry Hemming, now TravMedia’s Global Managing Director back in 2003. In 2023 Louise Napier, who joined us in 2016, was appointed Managing Director of TravMedia UK. Other global offices opened swiftly in the years ahead. In 2013, TravMedia launched IMM (International Media Marketplace), with shows in the UK and Australia.

The show, dubbed “The Event Connecting Travel Brands with the Media” now operates annually in six global destinations, with hundreds of thousands of meetings pre-booked between industry brands and the media and content creators. IMM UK takes place 19-20 February this year (QEII Centre London). TravMedia UK also operates the TravMedia Awards (deadline for 2024 entries is this Wednesday, 31 January) the travel industry’s highest profile Awards platform for travel media, travel writers, PR professionals and brands, and influencers. Awards night at five-star hotel The Londoner, Leicester Square, in London is on Monday 22 April 2024.

What can travel writers gain from signing up to the platform?

A TravMedia registration gives freelancers a regular email News Alert containing the latest press releases, updates from PRs (including trip and story opportunities), stories from media, videos and more. On the site, freelancers can create powerful biographies, publish their media stories, show their travel plans across a world map, and issue requests for information to complete a story — this is TravMedia’s famous Journalist Alert functionality, which saves writers hours finding the information, images and quotes necessary to complete their articles.

In addition, you can create a network on TravMedia, and use messenger to communicate with your contacts. A TravMedia profile means you’ll hear about our latest events, IMM news, reminders on the awards, and so much more.

So, tell us more about IMM.

IMM enables freelance travel writers to come away with a year’s worth of trips and news/features ideas. You pre-book your meetings for IMM and the built in preferencing technology is designed to get you in front of the destinations, tour operators, travel providers and others you want to connect with. With a Summit, lunches, breakfasts and evening drinks, IMM is also the number one networking opportunity of the year for travel writers. IMM in the UK takes place 19-20 February this year, at its home of the QEII Centre London, and comprises a half day Summit followed by one and half days of meetings and break out events.

What other regular events should we know about?

TravMedia’s main event has to be IMM as those two days take a world of preparation. We are confident that freelance travel writers will get more opportunities from IMM than they can imagine! Then, there’s the awards — any writer who achieves finalist status is invited to our gala dinner at the Londoner. Finally, we run other smaller scale networking events from time to time, based on sponsors who want that sort of gathering. We hope to welcome Talking Travel Writing readers to many of our events in the future.

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The Travel Connection Group

I’ve attended several Travel Connection Group events in the last few years, both online and in person, and always get something out of it. Howard is a stalwart of the travel media and has contacts in every corner, and each year TCG grows to offer something extra. Here’s what its founder has to say.

What is the Travel Connection Group and who are you?

Travel Connection Group (TCG) connects travel media with PR representatives of travel companies and destinations. We mainly do this through a year-round programme of events, both online and offline.

Before setting up TCG I worked for TravMedia in the UK for 14 years, working on developing that as part of the UK operations, developing the site and the event programme, including the launch of IMM in the UK.

Through TravMedia, I built up a healthy relationship with top travel media and travel PRs, and continue to nurture those relationships after 21 years.

What’s the TCG origin story?

In 2017, I decided I needed a change of scene. I’d been at TravMedia almost since the start of its life in the UK in 2003 and felt I needed a change. Originally TCG was a company that assisted people to connect utilising the relationships we had in place, so we helped companies with sales, PR or managing events.

When Covid arrived in March 2020, we moved solely to managing virtual events (both Social with Media and client events), and then started bringing in offline events in the summer of 2021. Social with Media still exists after 4 years, with regular webinars promoting journalists to PR subscribers (Zoom In), and 4 London networking events a year (Zoom Out).

What’s TCG’s Media Getaway?

Media Getaway is the largest travel media event taking place outside London. It’s two fun days of networking between travel journalists from all over the UK & Ireland and travel PR representatives from across the globe. We launched the event in Manchester in 2022, then followed up with Leeds in 2023. In June 2024, we will be heading to Glasgow, where we can expect a much larger turnout than previous years, both from PRs and journalists. As this event takes place outside London, we tend to attract media that wouldn’t normally attend London events, so we’re offering PRs the chance to meet journalists they wouldn’t normally see in a fun environment.

There’s a charge for attending Media Getaway this year. Why?

We try and offer free events to journalists throughout the year. However, the costs for running Media Getaway far outweigh a London networking event, so we’re asking for a small deposit if a journalist is requesting accommodation. We also had a few journalists drop out at the last minute in Leeds, leaving us with paid hotel rooms that weren’t used. The cost of hosting a journalist at this year’s event is approximately £500 so a £40 deposit is a tiny fraction of what we’re providing. We’re also hoping that bringing in the deposit will encourage people to commit to attending the event, so we don’t have these last minute drop outs. This was a difficult decision, believe me.

What other events should we know about?

As mentioned earlier, we host Social with Media events throughout the year. Journalists can opt to sit on the Zoom In panels, where they can promote their work and chat to the other journalists about the current state of the travel industry. They can also attend our Zoom Out events, which take place 4 times a year in London. We are also considering hosting these events outside London if there is enough interest. The Zoom Out events attract some high profile media and PRs, so a very useful event to pick up story ideas, and possibly pitch to editors.

As well as the Social with Media programme, we also host TravYule in November. This was launched in 2023 as a Christmas themed networking event, where we announce the winners of The Baubles – awards handed to deserving recipients in specific areas such as Leadership, Mentorship, Partnership, Diversity and Sustainability amongst others. There is also a Journalist of the Year category where journalists can nominate each other, or themselves. This event was well received at its launch last year, with over 180 people attending. We expect it to be much bigger in 2024, with a lot more people nominated for awards.

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KITI Social

Finally, let’s find out who’s behind KITI Social and what the platform might offer us.

What is Kiti Social?

A global platform and app for better travel publishing results.

Who are you?

My name is Heather Kirk and I am a Canadian entrepreneur with experience consulting for airlines like British Airways and Air New Zealand, hotels like KOR, Kimpton, Westin and Germain Hotels; celebrated chefs, wineries and food retailers; plus destination marketing organizations from Destination Canada to Maui Visitors Association to the Hong Kong Tourism Authority and Visit Malaysia.

Two decades in travel media and marketing has shown me the power of quality storytelling. At the same time, I’ve seen all the pain points. Breaking into new circles takes time and connections. Fuzzy rate standards devalue the craft. Quick global collaborations can become cumbersome. Expensive media marketplaces yield few tangible results. Sourcing leads and contacts take too much time. Organized media trips often result in the same stories being told, diluting quality content. Work opportunities are easily missed because whether in PR or media, creative and PR work takes time and attention away from business development. The list goes on.

Where did it all begin?

KITI Social is set to launch now — as a rebrand of the original and award winning Media Kitty community circa 2001. I came from a tech background into travel PR and marketing and quickly saw the need for a stronger network in the global travel journalism niche to build relationships, share story ideas, be known, secure leads, share news, get work and become more efficient.

KITI Social envisions a shift in the traditional travel media relations workflow. A quicker and more global research and reporting journey — less bureaucracy, more open doors; fewer cliques, wider circles of influence. With our easy to use tools, we aim to empower people with inventive publishing deals and in-person activations.

Why do writers need to use Kiti Social?

KITI Social helps people raise their profile, showcase their work and stay relevant. The Feed offers a spot to announce travel plans, to check in on the move for real time, organic connections, to share recently published work. Scan the KITI radar, a built-in map feature to be featured and see who is nearby. The Callouts section lets you post or respond to queries for experts, leads, trips, jobs. A 24/7 Marketplace is being launched for work opportunities from RFPs and jobs to brand collaborations. We are working on a directory for media-friendly brands and publishers. Private messaging is built into the service. And our mobile app makes it easy to post and reply to others from your mobile device.

How many users do you have now?

There are more than 18,000 registered but the new platform is an opportunity for us to reactivate people as a way of seeing who is currently active and working in the profession. About 1000 have confirmed their accounts and we will be launching formally soon, inviting the whole community to be sure they are up to date with their profiles.