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Job outlook for travel journalists in the United States
Are travel journalist jobs in demand?
Travel journalist job and salary trends over time
Travel journalist jobs over time
Travel journalist job growth rate over time
| Year | # of jobs | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 12 | 0.00% |
| 2020 | 13 | 0.00% |
| 2019 | 14 | 0.00% |
| 2018 | 12 | 0.00% |
| 2017 | 13 | 0.00% |
Average travel journalist salary over time
Travel journalist salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $95,966 | $46.14 | +3.5% |
| 2024 | $92,711 | $44.57 | +3.0% |
| 2023 | $90,050 | $43.29 | +4.8% |
| 2022 | $85,925 | $41.31 | +4.1% |
| 2021 | $82,542 | $39.68 | +4.0% |
Travel journalist jobs by state
Most common states for travel journalists
| Rank | State | Population | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | District of Columbia | 693,972 | 7 | 1% |
| 2 | Montana | 1,050,493 | 7 | 1% |
| 3 | North Dakota | 755,393 | 5 | 1% |
| 4 | New York | 19,849,399 | 31 | 0% |
| 5 | Michigan | 9,962,311 | 25 | 0% |
| 6 | North Carolina | 10,273,419 | 22 | 0% |
| 7 | Pennsylvania | 12,805,537 | 16 | 0% |
| 8 | Washington | 7,405,743 | 12 | 0% |
| 9 | Tennessee | 6,715,984 | 11 | 0% |
| 10 | Massachusetts | 6,859,819 | 10 | 0% |
| 11 | Kentucky | 4,454,189 | 9 | 0% |
| 12 | Wisconsin | 5,795,483 | 7 | 0% |
| 13 | Maryland | 6,052,177 | 7 | 0% |
| 14 | Nevada | 2,998,039 | 5 | 0% |
| 15 | West Virginia | 1,815,857 | 5 | 0% |
| 16 | New Jersey | 9,005,644 | 3 | 0% |
| 17 | Vermont | 623,657 | 1 | 0% |
| 18 | Maine | 1,335,907 | 0 | 0% |
| 19 | Rhode Island | 1,059,639 | 0 | 0% |
| 20 | New Hampshire | 1,342,795 | 0 | 0% |
Travel Journalist job outlook: Expert opinions
Our panel of travel journalist experts
The University of Findlay
Montclair State University
New Mexico State University
Metropolitan State University of Denver
Our Lady of the Lake University
American University
University of Oregon
Towson University
University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Indiana University - Purdue University Indianapolis
University of New Mexico
Fairfield University
University of Kentucky
The University of Kansas
University of Nevada - Reno
Bates College
University of Kansas
Cal Poly
What Travel Journalist skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Amy Rogan: Journalists do a number of things and no two days look alike. Journalists need to have sound, solid news judgement and know their audience and what their audience needs to know. They pitch stories to their editors, producers, or managers, then they research their story topic, find the appropriate interviews and set those up. Once they complete the interviews and gather all their research they then have to craft a story that captures the readers’ or viewers’ attention and serves the community. Typically, that is just one day of work unless you’re working on a special project. Multimedia skills are in high demand because journalists are on so many platforms these days. You need to know how to write for print, digital, and broadcast. And, if you know how to shoot and edit video as well as write, your name goes to the top of the list.
What will help Travel Journalists increase their earning potential?
Amy Rogan: People working in journalism probably most dislike the hours and the pay but it’s truly one of the most rewarding fields to work in. It can be stressful but also exciting and challenging. Whether at the local level or a larger stage, it’s truly a service to your community to provide vital information.
Associate Professor Thomas Franklin
Associate Professor, Multimedia JournalismMontclair State University
Radio, Television, And Digital Communication
What Travel Journalist skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Associate Professor Thomas Franklin: In the area of multimedia storytelling, versatility is paramount. Much like a Swiss Army knife, having a diverse skill set is invaluable. While it's beneficial to cultivate expertise in a specific area, especially as you progress in your career, starting out often calls for a broader approach. Exploring a range of skills and interests allows you to discover your true passion before committing wholeheartedly. Once you've identified your passion, devote yourself to it wholeheartedly and strive to become an expert. However, don't overlook the importance of putting in the time to develop those skills. Whatever path you choose, continually seek out innovative ways to improve and refine your craft. Embrace creativity and experimentation, always pushing yourself to do better and explore new horizons.
What Travel Journalist skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Darren Phillips M.A.: First and foremost, I would advise journalists starting out to be curious and to read, read, and read some more. The best storytellers are voracious consumers of information — credible information — and they’re infinitely curious about world events, politics, history, and the like. Knowledge is power. It’s also marketability. Be an expert, or at least know enough about the wider world to be able to bring relevant context and nuance to your work. This requires you to read. For journalism students still in school, this also means taking elective courses in government and economics, geography, and other subjects outside your major that will help you make greater sense of complex topics. Reading and just a life-long commitment to learning are so important.
What will help Travel Journalists increase their earning potential?
Darren Phillips M.A.: Maximizing salary potential as a media professional starts with everything I’ve already mentioned. Journalists and even PR and advertising professionals must be extremely well informed on a broad range of topics. This starts with reading and just being a voracious media consumer. This also requires one to think critically, to consume media from disparate sources, to not shy away from contrarian viewpoints, and to work hard and in good faith to synthesize information responsibly. This ties in with maintaining strict allegiance to industry best practices including media ethics. Reputation is everything. Make sure your employers, prospective employers, and clients all understand and appreciate your professional integrity and just your commitment to truth and accuracy. Moreover, embrace change, lean into technological change, and become a bit of a techno geek. Work hard making contacts and building a professional network. Work hard, generally. Hard work goes a long way in any vocation. Beyond that, attend industry conferences, pay close attention to your online presence, curate your social media profiles carefully and put some real time and thought into things like your LinkedIn profile and online portfolio. Lastly, don’t be put off by rejection. Rejection comes with the territory in any competitive career field. Believe in yourself, stay positive, stay open minded, learn all you can, read like crazy, keep grinding, and success will follow eventually.
What Travel Journalist skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Alfredo Sanchez ACUE: Students will need to become more digital and Social Media savvy. As digital platforms continue to reshape how audiences consume news and information, digital and social media proficiency will be increasingly crucial. However, Multimedia Storytelling must be a cornerstone of our industry. Integrating multimedia elements such as video, audio, graphics, and interactive elements will become more prevalent in broadcast journalism. Professionals who can tell compelling stories using a combination of multimedia formats will be in high demand. I always encourage students to enroll in Data Visualization courses. The ability to extract meaningful insights from data and present them visually engagingly will help broadcasters provide deeper insights and context to their stories. We must remember Mobile Journalism (MoJo). Using your mobile devices to capture, edit, and publish news content will become a standard for journalists. Last but not least, journalists must build meaningful connections with audiences through interactive storytelling, live chats, audience polls, and user-generated content will become increasingly important. Broadcasters who can foster active engagement and dialogue with their audience will be able to cultivate loyal viewership and build community around their content.
What will help Travel Journalists increase their earning potential?
Ms. Amanda Brown: Changes in how people interact have made strong interview skills even more critical. Initiating with light conversation before tackling tough questions can significantly influence the outcome. Mastering active listening and effectively communicating with diverse individuals while staying neutral are essential. In journalism, the emphasis is on presenting facts objectively, allowing the story to shine without personal bias.
Assistant Amy Eisman
Assistant ProfessorAmerican University
Arts, Entertainment, And Media Management
What general advice would you give to a Travel Journalist?
Assistant Amy Eisman: One skill is easy: be flexible. The technology is changing at lightning speed. At the moment, it helps to be strong at data journalism and understanding emergent technology, such as AI. Topic areas of interest include climate coverage, health and education. It also helps to be a great team player; the speed of news means you rarely work alone. Overall, make sure you embrace the basics in the field: accuracy, fairness, transparency, independence and accountability. Be a solid writer and an even better editor and producer. No one can predict what is next for technology. Employers therefore will look for people who uphold the values of the past, are enthusiastic about the present and are curious about the future.
What general advice would you give to a Travel Journalist?
Damian Radcliffe: The three things I would emphasize are resilience, adaptability and being nice to work with. Resilience matters, because there is constant churn and disruption in many industries, including journalism. Many graduates find it harder to get their start than they realize, those that succeed – and keep succeeding – are resilient. They’re driven. They learn from knockbacks. Those are skills you will need throughout your career.
What Travel Journalist skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
K. Megan Hopper Ph.D.: Certainly becoming even more mobile and multi-modal than one already has to be in the field. I would also say becoming aware of Artificial Intelligence and how to best navigate it and if using it, how to do so responsibly and ethically.
What will help Travel Journalists increase their earning potential?
K. Megan Hopper Ph.D.: By diversifying your skill set as much as possible. Being able to competently gather facts and organize them effectively, shoot interesting and impactful video, capture effective soundbites, post on the web with supporting hyperlinking, and being accurate, timely, and ethical at all times.
What general advice would you give to a Travel Journalist?
Pallavi Guha Ph.D.: Mastering all trades, for example, if you are a journalist, you need reporting skills, social media storytelling skills, basic photography/video skills, and editing skills. Using storyboards and graphics such as Canva, and effectively using social media for sourcing, interviews, checking accuracy, and promoting stories will become irreplaceable.
Natalie Becerra
Career Development SpecialistUniversity of Nebraska - Lincoln
Journalism
What Travel Journalist skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Natalie Becerra: I think some very important skills that will be important to have are resourcefulness and research skills. Especially in the journalism and media industries everything is very trend driven. That means people need to have better research-backed strategies if they want to see long-term, sustainable success. It will be hard to just rely on clickbait and bandwagoning forever, so people should sharpen their research skills and foster a sense of curiosity and resourcefulness to dig deeper and find information for themselves.
Rodger Johnson
Visiting Lecturer of Practice in Public RelationsIndiana University - Purdue University Indianapolis
Department of Journalism and Public Relations
What skills will help Travel Journalists earn the most?
Rodger Johnson: There seems to be a cult fetish with money and wealth in our culture - this is unhealthy - and leads people to do things with their skills that can be both unethical and unhealthy for them and their audience. It's not about the money; it's about building extraordinary relationships, navigating complicated bureaucracy, uncovering the stories that inform and move people forward toward better lives. The money will be there because one's audience will continue to read and pay for good stories. One may not become a millionaire, but that's not important, so long as they touch lives with the stories they write.
Kate Cunningham
Multimedia communication instructorUniversity of New Mexico
Department of Communication and Journalism
What skills will help Travel Journalists earn the most?
Kate Cunningham: In some cases, more specialized skills like website development or data science can be useful toward earning more. Some newsrooms offer bilingual bonuses for staff with fluency in other languages.
Leadership ability and positions in management also could lead to higher salaries within the field.
Matt Tullis
Director of Digital Journalism, Co-Director of Sports Media, Assistant Professor of Practice of Digital Journalism, Author of Running With Ghosts, Host and Producer of Gangrey: The PodcastFairfield University
College of Arts & Sciences
What skills stand out on Travel Journalist resumes?
Matt Tullis: More than anything, what stands for a recent journalism graduate isn't on the resume. It's the clips they have of articles and stories they've written for their student newspaper/website and during their internship. Those in the journalism industry want to see that recent graduates have already worked as reporters while in college. I mentioned clips from an internship, and that is also incredibly important.
What skills will help Travel Journalists earn the most?
Matt Tullis: I don't know if there is a definite answer to this, other than you just have to be willing to work hard to pull off amazing journalism. The more you do that, the more you move up the ranks.
Scoobie Ryan
Associate DirectorUniversity of Kentucky
School of Journalism and Media
What skills stand out on Travel Journalist resumes?
Scoobie Ryan: Traditional skills on a journalist's resume are important-writing, editing, and storytelling-but we're seeing demand for things like the ability to fly a drone and use it to gather video. A student who has an FAA drone pilot's license on a resume plus the ability to shoot and edit video shot using a drone stands out. As a result, our Drone Journalism class is very popular.
Students who can use a variety of hardware and software are in demand for MMJ jobs. Our students get experience with Canon DSLRs, Sony Mirrorless, 360 cameras, GoPro Fusions, and more. They learn to use the Adobe Creative Suite. Students also need to be able to shoot, edit and post a story using just a smartphone.
Knowledge of social media is essential-not just how to use it, but its rhythms and pace. Students must understand how to promote a story on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok, livestream it on Facebook, and post to YouTube.
Producers are in high demand. They must be able to know how a story will develop and stay ahead of it. They need to write well on deadlines, work collaboratively, stay calm, and multi-task.
It helps if they're platform agnostic. We encourage them not to think of themselves as print reporters, broadcasters, or web producers. Journalists who can find the truth, verify it and present it using the platform best suited to reach their audience are in demand.
Steve Rottinghaus
Career and outreach coordinatorThe University of Kansas
William Allen White School of Journalism
What will help Travel Journalists increase their earning potential?
Steve Rottinghaus: Journalists like creating content that matters to a community and helping community members make decisions based on facts. They enjoy meeting different people and telling their stories. In a 24/7 news cycle, the time commitment can become overwhelming. Working nights, weekends, and holidays are common, especially in smaller news organizations.
What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for Travel Journalists in the next 3-5 years?
Paul Mitchell Ph.D.: Having good computer skills and phone skills are a must-anything dealing with AI as well.
What general advice would you give to a Travel Journalist?
Paul Mitchell Ph.D.: A couple of things: make sure that you have used your time wisely as an undergrad. Often, students expect to get great jobs out of college, but they're not equipped because their skillset is not up to par. So take advantage of internships, job opportunities. Also, be willing to interview multiple times. This will help those to be more comfortable during an interview.
Matthew Hall
President of the National Society of Professional Journalists and editorial and opinion director at The San Diego Union-TribuneWhat general advice would you give to a Travel Journalist?
Matthew Hall: The only constant in journalism these days is change, and that's been compounded by the pandemic. There are obviously fewer journalism jobs in the industry than there were last year, let alone 10 years ago, so emerging journalists should make sure they understand and are not scared by troubling industry trends, daunting shifts in technology and declining trust in the media. Luckily, people's appetite for news is larger than ever and journalists can do a lot to gain audience trust and knowledge about the field from a young age. That includes always acting ethically, interacting with their communities and joining an advocacy organization like SPJ for networking, training, and support. In the next several years, you're going to see an accelerating shift away from daily print publication and paper products to digital journalism, so young journalists should learn how to code, how to get the most out of social media and how to find and tell stories using only a phone. If they do, then they, journalism and the country will be OK. No one can predict which trends or technology will emerge in coming months or years, so the best journalists will stay on top of industry developments, be quick studies and stick to what's tried and true in journalism: Telling stories that matter to communities that care.
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Travel Journalists?
Dr. Daniel Sanford: One of the most interesting changes we've seen since the start of the pandemic is that everyone in higher education has been very quickly acclimated to teaching, learning, and writing, using online tools. Graduates are entering a workforce where the same thing has been happening. Coronavirus has shown all of us that we don't need to be in a room together to work and collaborate. This health crisis will recede, but that insight is going to stick around. It's going to be an essential skill for graduates to do good work and to fully participate in workplace cultures, using remote tools.
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Travel Journalists to find work opportunities?
Dr. Daniel Sanford: What I've seen in college students, during this period of intense upheaval, is a stronger desire than ever to engage with the world in positive ways. More than ever, the world needs people to work to effect positive change. That happens in fields that are organized around the idea of impacting society and nature in positive ways (e.g., medicine, social advocacy, community organizing, conservation), and those fields are also growing and great places to start a career. But it also happens everywhere, and now more than ever, through writing. The ability to use effective rhetoric (the art of persuasion, built around understanding one's audience) in social media and web writing is incredibly important in engaging with the challenges the world is facing. It's also highly employable!
Dr. Tara Welch
ProfessorUniversity of Kansas
Department of Humanities - Classics
How do you envision technology impacting Travel Journalists in the next 5 years?
Dr. Tara Welch: Technology has already made the ancient world more available and accessible, and digital resources and research tools enable exciting new work to happen without the need to travel. Teachers are also becoming more effective at leading online and hybrid classes. Those are here to stay. In the present climate of social distancing and digital meetings, however, I see a craving for human interaction - those exchanges that remind us that we are spontaneous, creative, and responsive beings. No matter the technology, Classics (like all of the humanities) will always be about humans.
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Travel Journalists?
Dr. Tara Welch: There will be an enduring impact on everyone, graduates included. Our graduates are facing a slow economy and a transformation in higher education, but Classics and Archaeology majors are well trained for these circumstances. Classics is an interdisciplinary field and teaches us to look at problems and questions from a variety of perspectives, so Classics majors are versatile and adaptable. We also learn in Classics how to make the most of the limited, and often incomplete, remains of the ancient world. Reconstructing a toppled monument or understanding a fragmentary poem involves some sleuthing and a great deal of logic and critical thinking. Our majors read carefully and work carefully - and they don't shy from complex situations.
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Travel Journalists to find work opportunities?
Dr. Tara Welch: The qualities I just described are applicable anywhere, anytime, and in any field. For those who wish to work directly in Classics - in teaching Latin or ancient history, for example, or in participating in archaeological digs - an advanced degree (Ph.D., MA, or MEd) is generally required. Most people who work directly in Classics relocate for their job, but most of our graduates work in other fields - publishing, museums, research and analysis, libraries, education, government, and politics, etc. - and can find good opportunities where they are.
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Travel Journalists to find work opportunities?
Eileen Buecher: The majority of our students live and work in California. In addition to CA, the top ten states recruiting Cal Poly English majors by the above-mentioned job functions include: New York, Washington DC, Texas, Georgia, Massachusetts, Washington, Colorado, Illinois, and Ohio.