Stephanie Moreland
Professional Writer & Photographer
Stephanie Moreland
Professional Writer & Photographer
2008 NATJA Conference
This entry was posted on 6/26/2008 6:04 AM and is filed under On Writing.
For me, the real kick-off to the annual NATJA conference took place last night when Pauline Frommer gave a speech following dinner. She was poignant, decisive, compelling, and hearing what she had to say made me take a deep breath and thank my lucky stars that I have stumbled into a career in the travel industry. I also found it enormously comforting that there are seasoned professionals in the travel industry who think like I do---that despite my shrinking rookie status, I have the power to "get it", then write about it, and ultimately to make my positive mark somehow on the travel industry.
Several themes appeared during her presentation such as how we as travel writers will face the obvious challenges in the upcoming years. Gas prices are at an all time high, the cost of flying is increasing, and people will be tightening their belts and making sacrifices. There has been numerous buzz in the media about families canceling the annual summer vacation due to low funds. In a professional world that solely depends on travelers who are looking for information, destinations who want to spread information, and writers who thrive on passing along the information, how will we all weather the looming storm?
According to Pauline Frommer, travel writers need to take a good hard look at the way we write travel. In other words, we need to think creatively about how we will present the information, and who we are presenting it to. I think one of my favorite things that she said was, "luxury travel can no longer be the mainstream". While she certainly acknowledges that there is an appropriate niche for luxury travel, she believes that we must think in practical terms---and practically speaking, most Americans can not afford to spend $300 a night on a luxury hotel in a very expensive destination. Practical, sensible, widely useful, and very sage advice from someone who has been in this industry since she was 4 months old traveling with her famous father. So why didn't the rest of us think of that?
Although I'm a magazine junkie---especially travel magazines---it does irk me to flip the pages and read about the "Top 10 Luxury Hotels in the World" or the "15 Best Spa Getaways" fully knowing that I will probably never set foot in any of them. Why should I care when I'll probably never get there. What about having something like "Week-long Vacations for $800 or Less" or "The 15 Best Camping Trips in the US" or "The Lest Expensive European Must-See Cities"? That's what I'd pay $4.95 to read. But, I suppose I'm the minority...or am I? I feel a change coming on...
In addition to her practical, realistic, and refreshing approach to the travel industry, she emphasized the importance of travel writers becoming involved in the legislation process. She encouraged all of us to seek out a Congressional representatives and other political figures, to take action, and to stand up for issues that affect all of us in the travel industry. To reiterate her point, she went as far as to talk about how difficult we make it for international visitors to come to the US---we are so paranoid about illegal immigration, that we make it virtually impossible for actual tourists to visit. This wouldn't be such a big deal of tourism wasn't a 5 trillion dollar a year industry. Yes, that's correct---travel is a 5 trillion dollar a year industry. Think it might help us a little if we tried to actually promote it instead of prohibit it? We might find some financial gain in that as a nation.
She emphasized bringing people back into our national parks, which sadly, have not shown increased numbers in years---visitation to our national parks has leveled out in recent years. And, there is still land that is prime for the development of new national parks. Preservation is key these days. Sustainable travel, ecotravel, green travel, and conservation are all the rage now (despite that they should have been the rage over 10 years ago). The stripping of our natural resources is no longer a reality that we can afford. So why not create new national parks, preserve our heritage, cherish the natural beauty, and celebrate the diversity that is within the borders of this country? In Europe, it is possible to hop on a train and go just about anywhere, and the real genius is that it doesn't cost much money. Pauline suggests that we start taking a good hard look at our transportation issues---including our train system. Can you imagine seeing this beautiful country by train like Europeans do---and knowing that you'd have enough money left over to pay your mortgage? Ah, how sweet life would be. I agree that it's time for a shift in our thinking---our collective thinking. And I believe that we should do it soon. We should do it before too late.
I don't know you personally, Pauline, but thank you for your wisdom. I'm certainly on board. Let's just hope we have some others that will follow suit.
Several themes appeared during her presentation such as how we as travel writers will face the obvious challenges in the upcoming years. Gas prices are at an all time high, the cost of flying is increasing, and people will be tightening their belts and making sacrifices. There has been numerous buzz in the media about families canceling the annual summer vacation due to low funds. In a professional world that solely depends on travelers who are looking for information, destinations who want to spread information, and writers who thrive on passing along the information, how will we all weather the looming storm?
According to Pauline Frommer, travel writers need to take a good hard look at the way we write travel. In other words, we need to think creatively about how we will present the information, and who we are presenting it to. I think one of my favorite things that she said was, "luxury travel can no longer be the mainstream". While she certainly acknowledges that there is an appropriate niche for luxury travel, she believes that we must think in practical terms---and practically speaking, most Americans can not afford to spend $300 a night on a luxury hotel in a very expensive destination. Practical, sensible, widely useful, and very sage advice from someone who has been in this industry since she was 4 months old traveling with her famous father. So why didn't the rest of us think of that?
Although I'm a magazine junkie---especially travel magazines---it does irk me to flip the pages and read about the "Top 10 Luxury Hotels in the World" or the "15 Best Spa Getaways" fully knowing that I will probably never set foot in any of them. Why should I care when I'll probably never get there. What about having something like "Week-long Vacations for $800 or Less" or "The 15 Best Camping Trips in the US" or "The Lest Expensive European Must-See Cities"? That's what I'd pay $4.95 to read. But, I suppose I'm the minority...or am I? I feel a change coming on...
In addition to her practical, realistic, and refreshing approach to the travel industry, she emphasized the importance of travel writers becoming involved in the legislation process. She encouraged all of us to seek out a Congressional representatives and other political figures, to take action, and to stand up for issues that affect all of us in the travel industry. To reiterate her point, she went as far as to talk about how difficult we make it for international visitors to come to the US---we are so paranoid about illegal immigration, that we make it virtually impossible for actual tourists to visit. This wouldn't be such a big deal of tourism wasn't a 5 trillion dollar a year industry. Yes, that's correct---travel is a 5 trillion dollar a year industry. Think it might help us a little if we tried to actually promote it instead of prohibit it? We might find some financial gain in that as a nation.
She emphasized bringing people back into our national parks, which sadly, have not shown increased numbers in years---visitation to our national parks has leveled out in recent years. And, there is still land that is prime for the development of new national parks. Preservation is key these days. Sustainable travel, ecotravel, green travel, and conservation are all the rage now (despite that they should have been the rage over 10 years ago). The stripping of our natural resources is no longer a reality that we can afford. So why not create new national parks, preserve our heritage, cherish the natural beauty, and celebrate the diversity that is within the borders of this country? In Europe, it is possible to hop on a train and go just about anywhere, and the real genius is that it doesn't cost much money. Pauline suggests that we start taking a good hard look at our transportation issues---including our train system. Can you imagine seeing this beautiful country by train like Europeans do---and knowing that you'd have enough money left over to pay your mortgage? Ah, how sweet life would be. I agree that it's time for a shift in our thinking---our collective thinking. And I believe that we should do it soon. We should do it before too late.
I don't know you personally, Pauline, but thank you for your wisdom. I'm certainly on board. Let's just hope we have some others that will follow suit.