Cocktails on the dream beach: Is travel journalism a dream job?

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I am writing these lines on the sailing ship Starclipper. As Costa Rica’s tropical rainforest passes me in slow motion, a gentle wind ruffles the sails and a few dolphins dance on the bow wave. There’s nothing to do on this sunny day. I enjoy life and let my daily worries fly away. Costa Ricans even have a name for this carefree attitude towards life, which has become the country’s motto: Pura Vida, pure life. And if that’s not lucky enough, I also make money by lazing around.

So, did I find myself my dream job? Yes and no. The son of a civil engineer working in development aid, I grew up abroad and was born with an interest in foreign cultures. So it made perfect sense that I wanted to make a career out of it. After some twists of fate, that’s actually what I became: a travel journalist.

Travel journalism: Time is money

But it has little to do with my old romantic idea: spending a long time in one place, immersing yourself in the depths of culture, looking for the most surprising stories out of the ordinary – I experience such things only on my private trips. . When I travel for business the motto is: maximum experience in the fewest days possible. In Australia, Canada or South Africa, one week is the rule. I was only in Thailand for five days.

Why? Travel journalists are invited by destinations, regions or tour operators. When budgets are tight: Time is money.

Almost no free itinerary options

Days on site are filled accordingly: sunrise bike tour, morning with a local tour operator, hotel tour, meeting a Swiss on site. Then, a visit to the museum, lunch with a delegation from the tourism association, a three-hour transportation to the next town, a visit to the waterfall in between, a city tour, check-in at the hotel and then dinner with the officials. Then go to bed exhausted and continue in the same manner the next day.

As a travel journalist, you are often completely determined by someone else. Press trips are business trips with all the negative characteristics that such trips have, even if some Instagram stories suggest otherwise. Because while the photo of the cocktail on the dream beach is often taken within half an hour, you will suggest to your followers that you did nothing else all day.

Travel journalism – sometimes the best job in the world

Still, I consider being a travel journalist a privilege for which I am grateful, even on the most stressful trips I am invited to. Sometimes it’s just a job that gets me out of bed in the morning (even if the hotel is on the other side of the world).

Other times, it’s the greatest job in the world, especially when I don’t have to rush from appointment to appointment. Like a week-long sailing trip off Costa Rica where I had as few obligations as the paying guests. Then it feels like a holiday during working hours.

Source : Blick