Discovering St. Louis, Missouri: A City Destination Travel Guide For Expedia

For more than two years now, we’ve been producing destination travel guides for Expedia, a leading online travel provider. Our in-depth city guides have covered such varied destinations as Livorno in Italy, Kitakyushu in Japan, Istanbul in Turkey and Christchurch in New Zealand. These are just a few in a long list of online vacation guides.

Most recently, one of our expert travel writers produced an online travel guide on the ever-fascinating city of St. Louis. And to give you a taster of what you can expect from St. Louis, you’ll find this destination overview below.

Of course, the full city guide goes into a lot more detail, covering many of St. Louis’ most compelling attractions, including the famous Gateway Arch, as well as the top-notch City Museum and the somewhat surprising Grants Farm. But before you read about all of those here, scroll down to check out the introductory overview below.

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Ending With a Bang: Three Great Ways to Conclude Your Travel Articles

In travel writing, endings matter. They are the last words the audience will read and, when done well, they have a tendency to linger. A good ending is the feeling or image that survives, the thing that keeps the story alive and kicking in the reader’s mind long after they’ve finished the article.

In our last writers’ blog, we dealt with the all-important opener. This time round, we’re turning our attention to the equally important conclusion. It may come last, but the ending should never be an afterthought.

Travel writing endings need to not only alert readers to the fact that the story is over, but they also need to reinforce the main points of the article. The chronological end to your experience is usually not the best choice (embarking on a return flight does not make a good finale); you’ll need to come up with something better. Anyone who regularly reads travel content will be aware that the quote has become a fairly standard way of wrapping things up. And although a juicy end quote can be extremely effective, it’s a trick that is fast becoming overused.

With that in mind, here are three other travel writing techniques that can help spice up your finale.

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Getting off to a Great Start: How to Write a Winning Travel Writing Opener

Never underestimate the power of a good opening line. First paragraphs — even just first sentences — will dictate your reader engagement. While the headline hooks your reader’s attention, it’s the introduction that reels them in.

Travel writing relies heavily on storytelling (we spoke about this already in a previous blog post), but it’s important to remember that good stories don’t always begin at the beginning.

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Once Upon a Time: The Importance of Good Storytelling in Travel Writing

It’s that wonderful time of the year again, when the John Lewis Christmas advert has people all around the country reaching for their hankies. Viewers tune in their thousands and they know what they’re going to get: a stripped-down cover of a classic pop number by some young up-and-comer, a cute animal and a gentle tug on the heartstrings that — depending on your tolerance for this sort of thing — stops just short of cloying sentimentality. Why do people love it so much? Because it’s a familiar, well-executed story.

Whether you’ve fallen for Monty the Penguin’s charms or not, there is something to be said for the John Lewis method. Good storytelling works and not just in retail. In the travel industry, it’s especially important.

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