How To Become A Travel Journalist: What It Is and Career Path

What is a travel journalist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

Quoted Expert

Patricia Gaston

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a travel journalist. For example, did you know that they make an average of $46.14 an hour? That's $95,966 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow -10% and produce -5,100 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a Travel Journalist?

Patricia Gaston

Professor of Journalism, University of Kansas

Work hard, be professional, get to work on time, be a colleague who knows how to work well with others, keep up-to-date with what is going on in the world and be inquisitive. Also, be willing to learn -- continue to add to your skillset as you never know what you may be called to do. Those who are prepared are the ones who will see opportunities come their way.

ScoreTravel JournalistUS Average

Salary

7.5

Avg. Salary $95,966

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

7.3

Growth Rate -10%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.4

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.29%

Asian 8.05%

Black or African American 4.89%

Hispanic or Latino 8.92%

Unknown 4.03%

White 73.83%

Gender

female 60.61%

male 39.39%

Age - 38

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 38

Stress Level

7.3

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

9.1

Complexity Level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

2.1

Work Life balance is very poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a travel journalist

Explore travel journalist education requirements

Most common travel journalist degrees

Bachelor's

95.5 %

Associate

4.5 %

Start to develop specific travel journalist skills

Skills	Percentages
Facebook	100.00%

Complete relevant travel journalist training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New travel journalists learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a travel journalist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real travel journalist resumes.

Research travel journalist duties and responsibilities

Manage studio operations, ensuring that shows run efficiently by floor directing, prompting and providing scripts.
Cover destinations and accommodations; cuisine and spirits; and the arts, culture, and high-net-worth topics.
Construct and edit web-published multimedia pieces that are featured on the university's athletic programs.
Create documentaries about individuals facing challenges.

Prepare your travel journalist resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your travel journalist resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a travel journalist resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Travel Journalist Resume templates

Build a professional Travel Journalist resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Travel Journalist resume.

Apply for travel journalist jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a travel journalist job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do travel journalists rate their job?