What tourists are looking for before visiting a destination – from bloggers and guidebooks

There’s no disputing it.  Well-known guidebook companies such as Rough Guides who sell their books for most countries and cities worldwide do exceedingly well, mainly because their market and loyal customers know what they’re looking for at the holiday planning stage, and know that Rough Guides can deliver.  The company would not have survived and evolved over 40 years from its roots otherwise.

To quote a managing editor of the UK company:

“Broadly speaking, customers buy Rough Guides for hard facts and fantastic tips – reliable information about all the sights, but also places to seek out off the beaten track and ways to avoid the crowds. We tell it like it is and pride ourselves on the quality of our writing. Rough Guides are always a good read, as well as a mine of information. Our research shows that guidebook users cross-reference with online resources, be it blogs or Tripadvisor, etc.”

So there you have it; A famous guidebook company able to recognize the quality and usefulness that blogs can offer when researching a destination to visit…recognizing that there needs be no competition, rather collaborate and compliment alongside.

Albeit a relatively new industry and requiring a different style of writing to that of Guidebooks, Travel Bloggers do share the same sentiments of guidebook authors that drive them in their work: a passion for their topic and a desire to deliver professionally researched material for their audience.  Yes, the audience may be digital and new – in the sense of people who prefer to read online, but this does not make the role of blogging any less serious…blogs work alongside that of guidebook companies, complimenting each other.

Tourists are looking for well-researched, knowledgeable content about a destination; the best places to eat, to visit, recommendations of where to stay.  Whilst Guidebooks covers all this in small, factual detail, travel bloggers are afforded the opportunity to focus on quality and really dig deep by visiting a hotel and destination for a greater length of time, writing from a personal angle and offering their opinion.  Travellers respect a well-researched destination and honest feedback, combined with social media feeds whilst at the destination, showcasing the ‘real person’ aspect.

Here is where Travel Bloggers Greece comes in nicely.  As a network of bloggers whose special knowledge is Greece due to living here, either as expats or Greeks, and who all specialise in different aspects of blogging such as Adventure travel, Solo, Family and Luxury (to name but a few)—with a worldwide audience ranging from North America, the UK, Europe and even as far afield as Australia, you can be sure your destination and hotel has a far reach, should you choose to partner with us.
We’ve already seen articles here about why original content (written by bloggers) is crucial for hotel sales and advice on how to work with travel bloggers.  Now that you’ve seen that the role of a blog compliments guidebooks and that tourists often consult both to gain a different perspective of a destination when researching for their travels, hopefully you will be convinced to join this burgeoning industry and invest in bloggers.

We look forward to working with you.

This delve into what tourists are looking for from Guidebooks and blogs is written by Travel Bloggers Greece member Rebecca Hall who has been running her own award-winning site Life Beyond Borders since 2010. A member of the professional journalistic association British Guild of Travel Writers, Rebecca lives in Athens and the UK and is the author of the novel Girl Gone Greek – loosely based on her experiences in Greece.  She is a guidebook writer for Rough Guides and enjoys working with hotels and destinations to help them highlight their best qualities in this digital era.

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