Travel Media Trip – Cozumel Follow Up

Press Trips for Bloggers
Updated: Feb 15th, 2011

This past week I spent 4 wonderful days in Cozumel, Mexico on a Travel Media Trip, as a guest at the fabulous Park Royal Resort (of course you’d already know this if you follow us on Twitter). We’re adding a new section to our website for Destination Travel Articles, so watch for mine about the Park Royal which will be posted later this week (along with some photos), followed soon by another article about Cozumel.

Travel Media Trips are a great way for Travel Writers to get to see a destination at little to no cost. Although there is only occasionally a contractual “requirement” in exchange for a free trip, the unspoken expectation is that you’ll participate in helping the destination promote itself through the articles you’ll write when you get back. A prolific writer or blogger can spend just a few days exploring a new place and come home with enough ideas, notes, photos, video, and inspiration to write a great many articles – I know I’ll be writing on various aspects of my trip for several weeks and for several different blogs as well.

It can also be a lot of fun and just a great getaway! Our group was given first-class treatment at the Park Royal Resort (to be fair, I’m sure they treat all guests equally as well, but I certainly felt like royalty while I was there). They wined and dined us, chauffeured us to and from the airport (and into town for some shopping), and even treated us to a fun submarine excursion to view the underwater marine park called Chankanaab. Of course we also had plenty of time to just relax and enjoy the resort’s amenities.

While all of that is a great ‘perk’ of being a travel writer, an even greater benefit to writers is the networking opportunity you’ll get — to connect with other travel writers and bloggers from all different backgrounds, experiences, writing genres, and geographic regions. This particular trip – which was exceedingly well organized and implemented – introduced me to several other wonderful writers, all really great people with whom I know I will stay in touch (see below for their websites).

If you’re a travel writer who hasn’t been on any Media Trips yet, stay tuned for an article with the “Top 10 “Do’s and Don’ts For Travel Media Trips” that will be posting this week both here at our site and on EzineArticles.com as well.

The bottom line is that a travel Media Trip is much more than just a way to earn free travel – it’s a way to broaden your experience as a travel writer, to gain valuable contacts, to meet wonderful people, to find inspiration, and to become a better writer.

If you’re new to travel writing, keep working at it – publish your travel articles on your own site, submit them to article marketing sites, as well as to travel publications. The more articles you can get published, the greater your chances of being invited on a Media Trip.

~Trisha

Have you been on any Media Trips? What was your experience of it?

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If you’re interested in reading more, this Media Trip was sponsored by the Royal Holiday Club. You can read about their recent awards for Park Royal Resort, and also read their Park Royal Resort TripAdvisor Reviews here). The trip was organized by New Media Strategies (special kudos to Sean and Kristen from NMS who did a terrific job).

You can read more about our experience at the websites of the other attendees, Shera from aFrogInMySoup.com), Nancy D. Brown from What A Trip), and Jon Rochetti from TheDCTraveler.com.

About Trisha Miller 116 Articles
Trisha Miller Editor-in-Chief, TravelWritersExchange.com - Trisha joined the Travel Industry in 1996 with a background in telecommunications and helped to build (and later sell) one of the industry's top inbound call centers specializing in air travel. Her career in Travel Writing began with creating destination-specific content for a corporate travel intranet, and continued as she contributed content to a large number of travel-related companies that were establishing an online presence throughout the late '90's and early '00's. Currently she is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists, and a former Board Member of the International Food, Wine, and Travel Writers Association (2009-2015).  Still a frequent world traveler, and occasional guest-blogger on a number of other Travel Blogs, Trisha writes about travel and technology, sometimes both at the same time. You can follow Trisha on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/TravelWriting

11 Comments

  1. Sounds like it was a fun trip! I’m still a beginner and haven’t yet gotten an article published….and I’m still in the process of setting up my blog (thanks for all your help with that too!)…..but I’m hoping that someday I’ll be invited on a Media Trip – please keep me posted if another one comes your way and you can’t go on it! :)

  2. Sounded like it was a lot of fun :) Media trips are a great way to travel, especially if there’s a part of the world that you just love! Do a Google search for media trips for your favorite part of the world and see what you find. Tomorrow, you may be off to New Zealand or Austria!

  3. What a lot of fun! Media Trips would be a great way to receive free travel and gain exposure as a writer. It sure beats the same old, same old way of networking! Who knows who you’ll meet on a media trip? You could be very lucky and land a great writing assignment.

    I can’t wait for the post on Dos and Dont’s of Media Trips.

  4. The Swine Flu is the focus of the news right now. I would be interested to know what the guests of the Park Royal Resort thought about it since the resort is located in Cozumel, Mexico. It would be interesting to know how media trips are handled when there is a sense of “panic” in the air. How do hotels and resorts handle guests? Do they reassure them? What measures do they take to reassure guests the resort is safe? It would make for an interesting angle for a travel article.

  5. Hi Meg – good questions!

    To be honest we didn’t really hear anything about it until the day we left (last Sunday) and it was (and still is) pretty much limited to just Mexico City (it has not spread to the tourist areas)….so there really wasn’t any sense of panic at all. I really think it’s just over-hyping by the media that is causing so much concern.

    I have been at resorts around the Caribbean and Mexico when there were other issues – severe weather, power outages, etc. – and in all cases the staff at the resorts did a terrific job of maintaining a sense of calm and safety, communicating what is happening clearly and frequently, and making sure guests had plenty of bottled water, food, and blankets. I’ve heard from others who went through hurricanes that the resorts did a great job of taking care of them even for days afterward until they could get home (at no extra cost). Employees stayed on to take care of guests even when their own homes and families were in danger.

    My take is that, with few exceptions, the hospitality industry does a good job of training employees to make sure that even when something bad happens, guests will still leave with a good experience of the place and it’s people, making them want to return.

  6. Thanks for the information about Media trips. That is certainly something to aim for! Looking forward to top 10 list! Sounds like a great trip!

  7. Yo! You guys are hella brave for going to Cozumel, Mexico. What about the Swine Flu? Weren’t you worried about it? Don’t know if I would’ve went to Mexico, even for a media trip. Would’ve went somewhere in America or Canada via car. Then again, if you want a good story, I guess you’ve gotta do what you gotta do…travel on my friends, travel on my friends.

  8. Hey Kartman – thanks for stopping by!

    Actually we weren’t as brave as it seems – the media has really blown the whole swine flu story way out of proportion, and given it way more air time than it deserves. All of the cases in Mexico were limited to Mexico City, which we were never anywhere near (Mexico City in one of the largest cities in the world with around 25 million in population, and suffers from systems that are far below our standards here in the US – I’m referring to sanitation, water and sewage, health care, and public hygiene).

    The reason that some people in Mexico City died from the flu is primarily because many people there do not have any health insurance, and little access to health care regardless. People there tend to just tough it out, where we here in the US tend to call our doctor at the first sign of a cough or sniffle. Having quick and easy access to first-rate health care can mean all the difference in the world.

    And while I do like your idea of a “road trip” media trip (that could be fun!) I feel I should point out that you can pick up a cold or flu just as easily here at home as you can while abroad.

    Besides, we didn’t even hear about the whole issue until we were flying home – you know what they say….”ignorance is bliss”!!

  9. Yes, ignorance was bliss, but I honestly still feel like we were never in any danger while there. Like you said, the risk was minimal. In fact, I think that I’m more at risk here at home than I was there…after all, they did tell us that it’s far easier to get to Cozumel, Mexico from Houston Texas than is is from Mexico City.

    I loved reading your thoughts about the trip and I too felt like royalty the whole time we were there! They definitely know how to take care of their guests!!!

  10. Hey Shera – thanks for stopping by…It was a good trip – I hope we get a chance to go on the same media trip again someday!

  11. Thanks for a great article Trisha, it sounds like you are really enjoying life as a writer.

    I imagine it is very exciting visiting a resort for the first time especially of the place has just been opened and there is a media buzz surrounding it. Must be great to have to test all the food and activities such as the fitness centers and spa treatments not to mention how comfy the beds are!

    Also thanks for the tips on how to become a successful travel writer, I will look forward to your next article.

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