After the success of the inaugural Diversifying Travel Media trip to Croatia in 2023, Intrepid Travel took four new mentees to Portugal’s Côa Valley in 2024. Why? Because it works. When you bring in writers from different walks of life, you see first-hand just how many perspectives come from one shared experience. That’s why it’s so important and why we champion it here.
*The Portugal stories by the mentees are now published on Adventure.com. Head to the end of the article to read them.*
A couple of years ago, I took part in Intrepid Travel’s first Diversifying Travel Media (DTM) trip to Croatia alongside fellow mentors Lottie Gross, Shafik Meghji and Georgina Lawton. It was an enlightening week, resulting in four excellent features from the mentees—Chau Jean Li, Kira Richards, Sakhita Sharma and Queenie Shaikh—who impressed us with their questions, curiosity and ambition.
Last year’s DTM initiative, this time to northern Portugal’s lesser-visited Côa Valley, saw a new cohort of mentees Jessica Heather, JD Murphy, Toyo Odetunde and Liseli Thomas travel by train to Porto for a similar trip; exploring the region and talking to conservationists, chefs and curators to find great stories, alongside travel writing workshops each afternoon with the accompanying mentors.
It’s fair to say travel writing is a competitive, and sometimes closed, industry; some publications appear to take on few new writers, low pay in some quarters can make it unviable (for the record, anchor gigs, stable side hustles or other work are increasingly common), and getting a foot in the door can feel challenging. And these factors are often multiplied for writers from marginalized backgrounds; be that because they’re older, disabled, Black, neuro-divergent, LGBTQ+.
But there’s work out there and a career to be had—with support and legwork. And that legwork isn’t just for writers; it’s on publishers, publications and editors to open that door, improve pay, and understand that diversity equals variety equals sparkling stories…..
That’s why I whole-heartedly support schemes like Intrepid’s Diversifying Travel Media. “It will often feel deflating for new writers not knowing where to begin,” says Richard Franks, a mentor on the 2024 trip alongside Lottie Gross, Nori Jemil and Shilpa Ganatra. “Initiatives like this provide invaluable experience for emerging writers that wouldn’t otherwise know how to get on a press trip, look for stories or pitch to editors. I wish this was around when I was starting out.”
While most new writers face challenges, those with diverse backgrounds can face more, says Shilpa: “Unconscious bias, and spam filters not liking your name, for starters. The cumulative effect is significant. The foot-in-the-door stuff really matters at this point, and redresses some of the balance.”
“Representation is more important than a lot of people realize—if an emerging writer from a particular background doesn’t see someone like them in the media, they’re less likely to try and break through themselves.”
- Richard Franks, mentor and travel writer
Whoever might groan at the ‘D word’, well, the National Council for the Training of Journalists ‘Journalists at Work’ 2024 report highlighted lack of diversity in UK media: 91 per cent from white ethnic groups, and journalists more likely from higher socio-economic backgrounds. And 66 per cent of new journalists took on underpaid work experience, while writing for free aka for ‘exposure’ with the trip in lieu of payment remains an issue.
“It makes it difficult for anyone to get in, but especially those from diverse backgrounds,” says Lottie who led the workshops both in Portugal and Croatia. “On the Portugal trip, we had diversity of all kinds, from ability to race and gender. It made for so many interesting conversations.”
And when you see those perspectives unfold in real-time, it’s magic; something I saw this first-hand in Croatia. Four mentees, same itinerary, and end result: A personal essay connecting Croatia’s landscapes to childhood trips in Pakistan; a profile of a local couple who left city life to create an ecotourism idyll; a story exploring one town’s commitment to its cultural heritage; and a feature showing how one of Croatia’s most visited national parks had managed overtourism.
It was a similar tale in Portugal. “I loved seeing how each writer had their different take, and tailored this in their pitches and writing,” shares Nori. And I can verify that. The four stories we’ve commissioned for Adventure.com are testament to that; food heritage, rewilding meets personal-essay, sustainable living, and ancient rock art.
There’s a demand for these distinct takes: “It’s been comforting for the future of travel media to see more editors calling for pitches from diverse backgrounds,” says Richard. “Representation is more important than a lot of people realize—if an emerging writer from a particular background doesn’t see someone like them in the media, they’re less likely to try and break through themselves.”
As Shilpa notes, “New voices are often where the most interesting takes are, and many in the industry recognize that. I’m hopeful this leads to a more equitable industry.”
It’s also incredibly fun and rewarding to be part of this. “I adore watching new writers ‘get it’,” says Lottie. “The writers we had were bright, motivated and curious—all excellent qualities in a travel writer. It’s as much a learning curve for me as it is for them.”
I can 100% agree, having mentored under Intrepid’s 2023 DTM initiative, Talking Travel Writing’s mentorship programme, and Women in Journalism. You not only learn from mentees (and fellow mentors), but you’re reminded of who’s helped you in your own career.
But as publications/editors, we have to make space for this. It’s natural to use established writers whose writing we love, but it’s about balancing that with new voices. We need to be open about what we want from pitches, how to follow up/best-practice, and manage expectations to avoid ‘gatekeeping’. We need to pay fair, pay promptly, and rebalance the writer-editor dynamic.
For writers, finding a USP can help; after all, not everyone can write about their career as a former firefighter and connect it to rewilding landscapes. But it’s not just gender, ability, race that makes you distinct. It’s about you, your relationship to a place, or unique observations about a topic.
“Travel writing doesn’t have to be about far-flung destinations,” says Nori. “Write about your hometown or somewhere on your doorstep.” This is something Richard is passionate about. “I’d like to see more local people writing hyper-local stories for national publications,” he says. “I don’t think newspapers and magazines understand the impact a good hyper-local piece can have on a community.”
While initiatives like Intrepid’s are not the only route in, they’re a sign the industry wants to be more inclusive. “They’re opening up conversations that need to be had,” says Lottie. “Programmes like this and the Travel Media Awards Step Up scheme are giving early-career writers a way in,” adds Nori.
Of course, they’re often over-subscribed, so start work way before that application form. For starters, read read read. And I’ll die on that hill. Reading is how you instinctively learn about pace, structure, tone, what you like—and don’t like—about a story. As Nori says, “Read widely and don’t try to emulate someone else. Find your voice—authenticity will make you stand out.”
And if you don’t have bylines? “Use your Instagram, a blog, Substack etc. to write up travel stories and show off your talent,” suggests Lottie. “This goes down well with editors, but also with judges—if we can see you’ve made the effort, we’ll be confident the DTM press trip will be beneficial.”
Bringing in new voices, while championing longstanding writers, is something this publication has always tried to do; And once again, it’s been a joy to work with mentees from Intrepid’s second DTM initiative. I hope you enjoy reading their stories about Portugal’s Côa Valley as much as I have.
– Rewild, restore and connect: How a trip to Portugal brought solace to a traumatized firefighter by JD Murphy
– Far from the crowds: A guide to Portugal’s lesser-known Côa Valley by Jessica Heather
– Ancient Banksy in Portugal: Were the Neanderthals the first champions of public art? by Liseli Thomas
– Portugal for slow foodies: How one cook in the Côa Valley is helping preserve rich traditions by Toyo Odetunde
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Meera Dattani is executive editor at Adventure.com and an award-winning freelance travel journalist, with an interest in food and cultural heritage, wildlife, conservation, identity, and decolonizing and modernizing travel. Based in London, she has written for publications such as National Geographic Traveller, BBC Travel, Lonely Planet, Condé Nast Traveller, and Travel Weekly.
