Tag Archives: Travel Writing Terminology

Travel Writing Clichés to Avoid – Part 2

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Clichés are rampant in travel writing. Melting pots, best-kept secrets and cities of contrasts proliferate. And while we believe these phrases can, on occasion, merit an airing, we can’t help but feel that some travel writers are simply choosing the path of least resistance – inserting these familiar and frequently used phrases rather than seizing an opportunity to be creative. We previously listed our dirty dozen of travel clichés on the blog, but that was only the beginning. Now’s the time to share even more worthy additions to the canon of travel writing cliché.

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Cultural Sensitivity and Travel Writing

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After returning from a trip, travellers are usually consumed by an overwhelming desire to tell everyone about the amazing experience they have had. This is what a travel writer is paid to do in the most eloquent way possible. However, it can also be the hardest part to master when it comes to depicting and representing other cultures.

Cultural sensitivity should be paramount when writing travel content, but it is often sorely overlooked. Mariellen Ward of the Breathedreamgo travel blog has discussed the dangers of cultural imperialism (or the belief that your way of life is better) in travel writing, while photographer Bani Amor has criticised colonialism in travel literature.

As a graduate in Social Anthropology, and an experienced travel writer, I am aware of the complicated politics of writing about location, ethnicity and society. Although there is no one-size-fits-all phrasebook to help travel writers avoid all controversy, here are my top tips to help any well-meaning travel writer traverse this complicated terrain.

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12 Travel Writing Clichés to Avoid

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Everyone has their personal peccadilloes about travel writing terms like ‘off the beaten path’ or ‘sun-drenched’, but individual qualms shouldn’t mean a blanket ban on these phrases. These may be overused clichés, but sometimes — to borrow another particularly well-worn cliché — they hit the nail on the head.

However, there are some words and formulaic travel phrases that are so overused, they are positively exhausted. Many of them are churned out so regularly in travel writing that they have lost all meaning, and no longer register with readers. And yet, thanks to writerly laziness, these hackneyed phrases keep cropping up again and again.

We’ve named and shamed 12 of the worst offenders below; our own dirty dozen of travel writing clichés.

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Not a quaff

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