MsInterPReted: PR Tips from Travel Writers

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On this episode of MsInterPReted, Fletcher’s director of media relations, Allison Lester, talks about tourism PR – travel writing, pitching and hosting media tours. Allison has 13 years of journalism experience and organizes media tours for our clients.

We welcome two travel writers to talk about their experiences in travel writing. They provide advice and talk about the trends in the travel journalism industry valuable for tourism PR.

Susan Barnes has more than 20 years of journalism experience and writes for multiple outlets including USA Today, Food and Wine, Garden and Gun, Travel + Leisure – just to name a few. She writes about travel, lifestyle, food and beverage.

Ashlee Fechino is the founder of the Happiness Function, which is a travel outlet she started to inspire happiness through travel and outdoor recreation in the U. S. She’s also a nationally syndicated travel writer.

On this episode, we discuss multiple topics related to tourism PR:

  • How our guests got into travel writing and what it’s like as a career.
  • The dos and don’ts of pitching travel journalists.
  • What qualities make for a great press trip.
  • How to get coverage in some of the travel industry’s biggest outlets.
  • Trends in the rise of wellness travel.

“I really appreciate when someone pitches to me like they already know what I’m about,” said Ashlee. “I really appreciate when reps check out my site, get a feel for my work, and then we exchange ideas.”

Susan says “I think that when PR people come to me with story ideas, or a kernel of an idea we work together to find the story to tell. Generally, I prefer pitching over email because I file away pitches. If I see something I might not be able to use now, but if it’s something that interests me, I will come back to that email. It may be next week. It may be at the end of the year.”

RELATED: Passport to Publicity: 6 Tips to Pitching Your Tourism Destination

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Kelly Fletcher is the founder and CEO of Fletcher Marketing Communications, bringing more than 25 years of experience in strategic communications and brand reputation management for regional, national, and Fortune 500 companies.