Entries about industryinterview

In this month's Industry Interview we are pleased to chat to Gary Arndt of top-ranked travel blog Everything Everywhere. Gary is a well-known travel blogger, photographer and speaker (he was one of the keynotes at TBEX '11) and is a self-proclaimed "one man National Geographic". He's visited a massive 101 countries and 150 UNESCO World Heritage sites to date.

Gary Arndt on Easter Island

What's the inspiration behind Everything Everywhere and what makes it unique?

I enjoy traveling and I enjoy sharing my experiences with people around the world. I try not to write the standard articles with top 10 lists or talk about places I've never visited. I also like to think I stamp things with my personality and that is what makes it unique.

You've been travelling since 2007, is there anywhere you haven't been and where's your favourite place so far?

There are MANY places I haven't been. Just to name a few big ones: Russia, China, India, and Brazil. I've been to a lot of really small islands and out of the way places so far, so I still have plenty of world left to explore.

As for a favorite place, I don't really have one. Different places can be good for different things. For my four-year travel anniversary I made a list of my favourite places in the world in many different categories.

How do you manage to keep your online activities organised while also enjoying being on the road?

It is difficult. It has been a particular issue for me the last three months as I've been traveling in Europe. You want to spend as much time experiencing the place you are visiting, but you also can't ignore your audience. I'm still trying to find a good balance.

You have one of the biggest travel blogs on the web - how is the business side of travel blogging going?

Better and better. I made a decision back in late 2007 when I decided to take this seriously that I wasn't going to sacrifice my long term goals for short term gains. I've purposely avoided things like sponsored posts, selling links and other things which I think aren't wise. I think this is now starting to pay off. Companies are getting used to the idea of working with bloggers and as the site grows, more and more opportunities are coming my way.

You're also known for your photography, what's your best image to date and what advice do you have for budding travel photographers?

Hard to pick a single favorite image. It is like picking a favorite child. I have a free ebook of my 50 favourite photos that people can check out if they'd like to see more. I'm going to update that soon to my 100 favourite photos.

My best advice is to get the best camera you can afford which gives you control over shutter speed, aperture and ISO. Also, use a tripod and use software like Lightroom to edit your photos before you publish them. Back in the days of film you had to work with an image in a darkroom and that hasn't changed. Only now the darkroom is a computer.

Where to next - physically and metaphorically?

I'm writing this on the island of La Palma in the Canary Islands. In two days I'm off to New York for some meetings and then I'll visit Wisconsin to see my family. The next two months I'll be in North America working and speaking at some events. I hope to be in Antarctica this December.

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Check out our other posts in the Industry Interview series:

• Industry Interview with Darren Cronian of Travel Rants
• Industry Interview with Sue Gough Henly

Aside from our ongoing posts in the Talking Travel series, we're now profiling industry insiders and leaders. This month we chat to Darren Cronian – an industry commentator and the brains behind Travel Rants - a site that rants about the problems that consumers face with travel. You can also follow Travel Rants on Twitter and Facebook.

Why did you set up Travel Rants?

In 2005, I visited a high-street travel agency to book a holiday and felt that the service I received was very poor – the agent was more bothered about planning her Friday night out and filing her nails than actually helping me to find a holiday. On my way home I realised there must be tons of issues that consumers have with travel. I had previously read an article about this thing called a ‘blog’, where you could publish content, a few weeks later, Travel Rants was born...

What's the worst travel story you've covered?

There’s been so many of them but one that particularly stands out to me was when the tour operator XL Leisure Group went into administration – tens of thousands of consumers were either stranded abroad or left without a holiday, at the time they were one of the largest tour operators in the UK, so it was huge news.

I wrote a blog post about it and offered some advice, and directed consumers to other useful resources and information. I picked up this story before the national news and the post received tens of thousands of visitors, with tons of comments and emails received from concerned consumers.

For me this was the first time when I realised that Travel Rants had become essential part of the travel industry because it gave consumers an opportunity to ask questions and help them. I also had travel agencies come on to the blog and leave their expert advice, some of the agents where commenting in the early hours. It was a crazy time, but I felt proud that I had created this great community.

What advice do you have for customers wanting to complain about a negative travel industry encounter?

This is something that has come up a lot. The consumer writes a huge six page letter complaining about their holiday, because they want to get it all off their chest, but actually, the best thing to do is to bullet point the essential parts of your complaint; keep it short and to the point.

I wrote a guide about how to complain to a travel company which goes into much more detail, but it is important to keep any copies of documentation, take photos or even a video of the issues you’ve had. Keep a list of the dates you’ve communicated with them and take names of people you have spoken to on the telephone.

You also publish 'My Life in Leeds' – what do you love most about Leeds? Any plans to cover other cities?

As someone who rants about the travel industry, I found myself getting frustrated at the lack of media attention and coverage of Leeds. I’m born and bred here and extremely passionate about the city – the national tourism boards seem to concentrate on the likes of London, so, I decided to create an online guide written by locals who are also passionate about the city.

What I love about Leeds is its huge open spaces and parks, museums and tons of history. The city centre is compact so you can easily walk around it, and you’ll not find many places where the locals are so friendly. I love spending time relaxing and walking along the Leeds waterfront in the summer. What has surprised me since launching My Life in Leeds is that there’s so much of the city that I had not discovered because as a local you tend not to explore that often.

Launching in the next month or two will be My Life in York, a city which is much more high profile as a tourist destination, and is a fantastic city to visit, bags full of history and is only 25 minutes train journey from Leeds. Like Leeds all of the content will be written by locals.

We have many bloggers on Travellerspoint with promising content – any words of wisdom?

I think it is important that before you write your first post, you sit down and look at what you want to get out of the blog; are you writing it to document your travels for family and friends or do you want to make money from writing the blog – it is important to make this decision before starting because the type of content you write will depend on if you can make any money from it.

Let me expand a little – if you are writing about a lovely cafe in Bangkok, this might be inspiration to someone who is visiting the city, but it is not going to make you any money; whereas if you wrote about your favourite hotels in Bangkok, this is transactional content; you could add affiliate links to these hotels and when someone books one, you receive commission.

No matter what you want to get out of your blog, be passionate and write about things that you enjoy writing about.

Where to next?

I have just returned from a week’s holiday in Portugal where I visited the Algarve, then took day trips to Gibraltar and Lisbon. I would love to go on a long haul trip at some point in the next 12 months, maybe to Hong Kong and New Zealand. I love travelling and discovering new places.

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Check out our other posts in the Industry Interview series:

• Industry Interview with Sue Gough Henly

Sue Gough Henly

Aside from our ongoing posts in the Talking Travel series, we're now profiling industry insiders and leaders. This month we chat to Sue Gough Henly – an award-winning photojournalist and writer. We also feature some of her best photography throughout the piece.

What’s your background and where can we find your work?

I am an Australian freelance photojournalist and travel writer who writes for about 15 different publications around the world including Travel & Leisure, Fairfax (The Age, The Sun Herald, Melbourne Magazine), News Ltd, Nine MSN, Vacations and Travel, Luxury Travel Magazine, Royal Auto, The Toronto Star, The UK-based Australia and New Zealand Magazine, The Wine Enthusiast (US) and several airline magazines. I am also just about to finish my first iPhone App on Australia’s Best Places. In addition to travel I write general features as well as profiles and stories about culture, food and wine.

I lived in the United States for 18 years where I was the editor of The Best Places guidebook series to the west coast of the United States and Canada as well as an editor at Workman Publishing in New York, publishers of The Food Lovers’ Guide to France, The Silver Palate Cookbooks and 1000 Places to Visit Before You Die. I am fluent in French and also worked for several years as the press attaché for the Bordeaux Wine Trade Council.

Blue Canoe at Nusakelo atoll

Why travel?

To find out what is around the next bend, to give full reign to one’s curiosity, to escape stultifying routines, to feel alive and engaged with the world. It is also important to remember that you can also ‘travel’ in your own home town, go on safari in your local neighbourhood, if you are observant and open to new encounters and experiences.

Sega musicians and dancers on the beach

What’s your most memorable travel story?

This is difficult as there have been so many. One that always makes me smile ran as an essay in the New York Times (first result here). For me travel has always been about making connections.

What advice or insights would you share with budding travel enthusiasts wanting to break into the industry?

Show don’t tell. Use words that evoke what you see, smell, hear, touch and feel when you are discovering a new place or even exploring a well-known haunt so that I, as a reader, can go on that journey with you.

Village children on Ungalik atoll, PNG

As for the industry, it is changing in front of our eyes as new media evolves. As a result there are loads of exciting opportunities for travel enthusiasts, especially those who fight the good fight for inquisitive, adventurous, and free-spirited writing and against fairy floss, flabby solipsism and other forms of somnambulant drivel.

Three star Michelin chefs, Sebastien and Michel Bras, working in the kitchen of their restaurant, Michel Bras, France