The seven types of travel influencer, and how to spot them (or avoid them)
A quick glimpse at social media may confirm your long-held suspicions: everyone’s a travel influencer nowadays, with Gran and Grandad uploading photos of their latest cruise to Facebook, while the nieces transform a week on the Costas into a Kardashian-worthy reel for TikTok. Some people, however, do it so well that they’ve forged a career out of travelling the world and posting about it.
These lucky globetrotters seem to fall into seven distinct types of influencer. Below, we’ve outlined who they are and where to find them so you can join them somewhere exotic – or give them an extremely wide berth, depending on your preference.
The Danger Seeker
Strange hybrids of old-school foreign correspondents and the cast of Jackass, these daredevils are fearless in the name of social media. Exploring Mexican cartel country and Chernobyl are goals, as is traversing things the rest of us might think twice about (YouTubers seem to love crossing Pakistan’s harrowing Hussaini Suspension Bridge, for example).
Operators such as Lupine Travel, an influencer favourite which runs trips to Mali, Afghanistan and Yemen as well as other lesser-visited destinations, can help ensure things go without a hitch (though each of these countries is on the FCDO’s no-go list, so we’d advise steering clear).
Where to spot them in the wild
How about a cycle along Bolivia’s Camino de la Muerte (Death Road)? Dubbed the most dangerous road in the world, it’s operator Gravity Bolivia’s most popular destination. A day’s ride costs $125pp (£98) and descends for 40 miles from mountain peaks, tackling the mountain-hugging dirt track en route.
And where to avoid them
A Canarian all-inclusive – possibly the safest holiday one can take (aside from the listeria-from-the-buffet risk).
The Plane Talker
There’s something oddly relaxing about watching Youtube videos of airplane meal reveals. The ASMR-ey flick of the foil lid, the gentle prodding of the salad – like meditation to an airline geek. The people who make this content are probably pretty zen too, because they get to try out the latest premium cabins or airport lounges on a quest to help the public decide between airlines. Or are they?
“No one is ever going to feel sorry for an influencer sitting in First Class and that’s valid. I don’t!” says Gilbert Ott of God Save The Points. “What’s less considered though is that you’re rarely in control of your own time, often flying seven-plus time zones away for a single day and immediately turning around – and that most of the flight is spent documenting it for others, rather than being in Out Of Office mode.
“The flights I’ve paid for in First Class are entirely different in feeling to the preview flights I’ve been involved in, where the whole time is spent gathering things like seat dimensions, testing bluetooth connectivity, tasting dishes I’d never want to taste on the ground and creating multimedia content that can be leveraged on a multitude of platforms.”
Perhaps Economy isn’t so bad after all.
Where to see them in the wild
In a newly-revamped First Class cabin. From mid-2026, BA’s will come with larger seats, mood lighting and personal luggage space.
And where to avoid them
On the train.
The Globe-trotting Family
If ever a doom scroll was guaranteed to make you feel dreadful about your life, it’s encountering a tanned, gorgeous family paddling at sunset, just after you’ve shouted at your own children to go to bed while absent-mindedly performing a risky sweep of a schoolbag in search of last week’s packed lunch.
Behind a lot of the perfect pictures are mums who work tirelessly on both marketing and schooling in the name of making memories. The payoff is free trips to some of the world’s best hotels. Clare Fisher of @traveltheworldfamily says: “You can often find us at tropical beach destinations like the Maldives. We are addicted to the luxury resorts, fun, relaxation and paradise that this incredible country offers, but we typically visit during the off-peak season around June/July as this is when resorts are able to partner with influencers.”
Where to spot them in the wild
Villas with waterslides and an incredible outdoor playground make Soneva Jani in the Maldives a popular snapping spot. Best At Travel has a week’s B&B from £4,271pp for a family of four (0203 993 0648, bestattravel.co.uk).
And where to avoid them
UK self-catering – far too grey to make the matching swimwear pop.
The Foodfluencer
TikTok has a lot to answer for: middle-aged people who now think it’s OK to dance and hope everybody’s watching, a disconcerting algorithm that knows your darkest thoughts, and the teenage fixation with Japanese convenience stores. This last is the result of ‘Foodtok’, a movement to document everything that makes it into your mouth, wherever you are in the world.
Some of these accounts are more riveting than others: there are only so many ‘what-I-ate-in-a-day-at-Disney World’ reels you can watch in one sitting, but the low-fi voiceovers and dry reviews of Japan Eat are as addictive as MSG. The best ‘foodfluencers’ have also played an important role in the democratisation of the food scene, highlighting tiny, tucked away restaurants as well as pricey Michelin-starred palaces.
Where to see them in the wild
In Italy, making pasta sauce with a nonna. Or at a Japanese 7-Eleven, filming onigiri and egg sandos. Trailfinders’s two-week A Food Lovers’ Japan tour is a grid-worthy trip for gastronomes that includes a cooking class in Kyoto, tour of Osaka’s street food and stay in a Buddhist monastery. From £3,479pp including private and group activities and some meals but excluding flights (020 7084 6500).
And where to avoid them
In the local Costa.
The Loved-up Lotus Eaters
In 2020, a weird fever hit the world. It wasn’t coronavirus. It was the compulsion to show how happily united you were as a couple, preferably against a backdrop of paradise beach or incredible cityscape. You’ll know these influencers: their pandemic played out in the Gili Islands in a heady combo of turquoise sea, beach bungalows and revealing swimwear while the rest of us wore jogging bottoms for the daily walk around the garden.
Though these accounts can be polarising, they’re certainly popular. Marie Fe and Jake Snow (@mariefeandjakesnow) have 1.3 million Instagram followers on their shared account and have now branched out into hotels in Bali.
Where to spot them in the wild
Kissing on a balcony in front of the Eiffel Tower for full romance factor. The penthouse at influencer-favourite the Four Seasons Hotel Georges V has the best view of the structure in the city – but costs upwards of £18,500 per night (comparatively cheaper suites with monument vistas cost from around £5,500 per night; 0033149 527000).
And where to avoid them
Anywhere that’s too reserved for full PDAs. So, England again.
The Great Outdoors Fanatic
The influencer least likely to don a bikini, this one prefers layers of Patagonia and artfully muddied hiking boots but still normally manages to look like a supermodel. With a penchant for ‘van life’, they’re mostly spotted in the wilderness in all weathers and favour American national parks over beach resorts or swish city hotels.
Get this one right and there’s scope for high earnings. Brands are keen to showcase their products helping photogenic go-getters climbing mountains or traipsing through the jungle. The GOF has lately spawned a sub-category of High-Achieving GOFs who mix high-powered careers with extreme marathons (see helicopter pilot, luxury real estate broker and influencer Alvaro Nuñez Alfaro and ex-Made in Chelsea star Spencer Matthews).
Where to see them in the wild
Alaska. KE Adventure Travel’s two-week Alaskan Wilderness Adventure involves nights in remote backcountry, on the hunt for bears, wolves and moose. From £5,995pp including flights and some meals (017687 73966).
And where to avoid them
Dubai.
The Spa Aficionado
Each trip brings them ever nearer to both aesthetic perfection and eternal life. Welcome to the world of the wellness/travel hybrid influencers who are ice bathing and cryogenic chambering their way across the globe, one expensive spa at a time.
Often survivors of hectic jobs in banking, this lot are desperate to shed the haunted look that comes with long days under strip lighting and have the financial nous to make a career out of sponsored posts and collabs. Whether they’re documenting a deeply-cleansing retreat in Thailand or a medically-driven stay at Switzerland’s Dolder Grand, they do it looking glowy and scrubbed to perfection.
It’s worth noting that even this type of influencing can be dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing: in October 2024, Twitch streamer and YouTuber Kanel Joseph, who is more usually seen tackling Parisian pickpockets or using board game money in supermarkets, reportedly had to be taken to hospital after spending a little too much time in an ice bath.
Where to see them in the wild
Bali. Maya Ubud Resort is popular for its spa, yoga studio and misty pool which segues to jungle. Tui has a week from £1,807pp B&B including flights.
And where to avoid them
On any sort of camping holiday with communal bathing facilities.
