Travel Content and Cultural Sensitivity: How Should You Depict Other Cultures?

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.

When writing about location, ethnicity and society, there are certain to be complicated politics that come into play. Although there’s no one-size-fits-all phrasebook to help travel writers avoid all controversy in their content, there are helpful tricks for traversing this complicated terrain. Scroll down to read the advice of the World Words team.

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Cultural Sensitivity and Travel Content

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.

When writing about location, ethnicity and society, there are certain to be complicated politics that come into play. Although there’s no one-size-fits-all phrasebook to help travel writers avoid all controversy in their content, there are helpful tricks for traversing this complicated terrain. Scroll down to read the advice of the World Words team.

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How to Enliven Your Travel Content

Every day on the internet, the world’s biggest travel websites publish reams of articles, blogs and other content, on everything from the best museums in Manchester to hiking trails in Laos. Thousands of travel pieces compete for the attention of discerning readers and, while elements like SEO are crucial in appeasing the content robots, the most important way to attract human readers is with rich, readable content that stands out from the crowd.

With a world of competition, making your travel content stand out is far from easy. So we asked our expert team of experienced travel journalists and copywriters for their tops tips on how to enliven blogs, destination guides and articles. Want to make travel content that’s original, interesting and engaging? Then follow these five steps…

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Cultural Sensitivity and Travel Writing

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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