Thankfully, we had a really good group, and it was small. The people in the group definitely do make a difference.

The tourism board fam trips I’ve been on have always had very full itineraries to make the most of the time there. It can be overwhelming at times, but a good group can make it really fun.

I’ve definitely witnessed that behavior of which you speak. Some of them act like prima donnas and are extremely unprofessional. I’ve been stunned at some of their behavior. I definitely would like to avoid large groups in the future, and I would like to tailor the trip a bit more to ensure that I can actually produce better quality content for my readers.

For a long time I shrugged away from the idea of doing a press trip because I was concerned about being lumped in with the unprofessional bloggers who see it as free travel and treated accordingly. I am more open to press trips now however, I will always keep in mind how much work it really is as every professional blogger should.

Thank you for posting this, I really appreciate what you’re saying!

It really is quite odd. And sometimes the itineraries they have really don’t showcase their region well. I just finished a blogger trip meant to promote a specific city, and I have to ask myself why would I bother promoting it based on what they decided to spend most of their time on with the bloggers. It was a horrible waste of time and money in my opinion. And as I live in that city currently, I found their focus to be rather odd.

I definitely agree. I just finished my 2nd blogger trip, and after these two experiences I will be weighing things out from a much different perspective.

My goodness! That’s insane! I think most companies and agencies get that we’re actually working and providing a service, but it seems many bloggers are constantly calling these trips “free,” and I think they’re doing a disservice to the industry, themselves, and their readers by doing so.

What you describe is not just that other people don’t understand that it’s often hard work and not just fun travel. It takes an adjustment when you start doing this to recognize that this is NOT just taking a vacation to the place. Now, I think more carefully about what the scenario is and whether I realistically will even enjoy being in that location. Am I being paid? how much? how does it offset travel and other costs (what I’m not doing at the same time)? How hard will I be working? Do I have the opportunity to “tack on” anything fun just for myself? Do I even want to go visit here with my limited time, if someone didn’t invite me? Do I gain anything professionally besides getting to say I visited ?

I still like getting the chance to combine work and travel but I definitely weigh the pros and cons more carefully before accepting!