Media is the biggest travel influencer´´

Yellowstone has helped sell ranching holidays and remote USA

Media is such a powerful influencer when it comes to travel inspiration and we are so often asked “did you see XYZ on TV last week?”

Some people like to travel for speciality cuisine after seeing a celebrity TV chef in a popular ‘foodie’ destination. Others are inspired by Instagram reels and Tik Toks showing the trending places to visit. However I think the most powerful influences are films and TV shows. Race Across the World has certainly introduced Canada to many of our customers. The series showcased Canada’s diverse scenery and friendly people, but we do recommend hiring a car or taking public transport rather than car sharing like on the show!

Amazing Hotels – Life Beyond the Lobby fuelled interest in Singapore, Madeira and Iceland. While Yellowstone has helped sell ranching holidays and remote USA holidays. And apparently there is a growing market of first-time superyacht charterers due to “The Below Deck effect”.

Whether its targeted marketing or subcconscious drip-feed advertising, beautiful imagery and video does influence our holiday choices.

I’ve noticed that there seems to be a current stream of documentaries featuring famous people visiting different and unusual places.

I was hooked watching Judi Dench when she went to Borneo, and her experiences inspired my own trip. It’s a fantastic place and seeing the orangutans in their natural habitat is a very special travel memory of mine.

I love everything Joanna Lumley does for her travel documentaries as she really gets under the skin of a place. Like her, I too was born in India and spent my first five years visiting with my mum and brother (dad was already there), so that is a country that holds a lot of interest for me and is what initially sparked my love for travelling.

I also really enjoy watching Michael Portillo and his train journeys and Simon Reeve has been to some incredibly remote places in his documentaries. These have all played a part in inspiring my clients to be a bit bolder in their holiday choices – and if I can pair these with my own experiences I can really paint a picture that is inspiring.

Watching Judi Dench explore Borneo inspired my own travels