Once Upon a Time: How to Tell a Great Story in Your Written Travel Content

From first-person adventure articles in travel magazines to storytelling TV adverts for tourism brands, narrative has always played an important role in travel content writing. Just laying out the cold hard facts doesn’t always do the trick – even the most avid of travellers need a little inspiration and encouragement to visit a new place, try a new service or buy a new product; being told to do so isn’t enough. That’s where telling a compelling story can help.

Read on for examples of great travel narratives, and advice on how to use storytelling in your own content writing.

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More of Our Best Winter Travel Content

Over the past week, residents of the blizzard-hit north-eastern United States have been sharing their remarkable snow photos online, reminding us that – no matter how unseasonably warm it may be here in the UK – we are still in peak winter season. And considering that a whole month has passed since we last shared some of our finest winter travel content, we think it’s high time for an update.

So, what’s new? Well, we have had a piece published on Run in the Dark Edinburgh, a night-time jogging event in the Scottish capital. For those wanting to improve their written travel content in 2016, we’ve also shared some of our top editing tips with Media Kitty. As for the archives, for anyone looking for last-minute ski holiday inspiration, we’ve pulled out features on Canada’s Mont-Tremblant and the Swiss mountain resort Zermatt. And, because we know that some of the more forward-thinking among you may already be planning your summer escape, we’ve also included a brand new travel guide we produced on the Languedoc region in the sunny south of France.

Scroll on down to read a small excerpt from each.

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Visit Aquitaine in South West France: An Expert Travel Guide for Oliver’s Travels

Fine wine, fantastic food, sunny weather and stunning beaches; it’s easy to see why the South of France attracts so many holidaymakers from the UK and beyond. The region is just one of several destinations covered by Oliver’s Travels, who offer luxury rental properties – from country cottages and swanky chalets to lighthouses and grand castles – across Europe.

Of course, choosing where to go and which glamorous villa to kick back in for a week or two is just one requirement on a holiday planning hit list. There are lots of other little choices that come into play. Do you set off in summer or winter? Do you hire a car or attempt to master the public transport network? Do you fly or take the ferry? Not to mention deciding which activities to try and, crucially, what and where to eat.

This is where we came in. Oliver’s Travels asked our expert travel writing team to produce a series of destination guides that would inspire holidaymakers and help them navigate the ins and outs of some of their most popular rental regions. We took on guides to a wide range of destinations, from Ibiza to the Algarve, Scotland to Mallorca.

Most recently, we wrote about Aquitaine in south-west France. Planning a visit? Then scroll down for an extract.

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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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