Travelfish #396: The parasites of travel

A minor dummy spit on some travel industry stuff                                                                                                                                                                                                        [Travelfish #396: The parasites of travel]( A minor dummy spit on some travel industry stuff [Stuart McDonald]( Aug 3 Hi everyone, A huge thanks once again, to all our supporters who have made a contribution to our crowdfunding campaign. We’re [now at over US$9,200]( donated from 138 people—and the commissioning of stories is ongoing—stories you are making possible. Thank you! Taking a wander around Mu Chang Chai. Photo: Stuart McDonald. --------------------------------------------------------------- If you’ve not heard about what we are trying to do, [you can find out more here](. [Help us hold our breath!]( Last week on pay to read Couchfish, I finished off the Dien Bien Phu Loop with a stop a [Mu Chang Chai](, from where it took [two days]( to get back to [Hanoi](. After that I wrote a special wrap (free to read) on the whole trip [answering some common questions](. I missed one day last week—my apologies. All the photos in today’s newsletter are from Couchfish last week. On free to read Couchfish, my Diversion was [West Sumbawa]( in Indonesia, while the Friday afternoon free read recounted the time [I hitched a lift with an antique smuggler]( in Laos. I love Mu Chang Chai and Mu Chang Chai loves me. Photo: Stuart McDonald. --------------------------------------------------------------- Don’t forget, if you are a Travelfish member, the full Couchfish newsletter is free—just email me your member name and I’ll add you to the list. Cheers and again thank you for all your support Stuart --------------------------------------------------------------- More newsletters! On the topic of newsletters, I want to highlight a few others you may be interested in. One is a repeat reccy, the other three new. Vietnam Weekly (repeat plug) If you’re trying to keep a close eye on what is happening in Vietnam, Mike Tatarski’s [Vietnam Weekly is a must read](. Tim Richards: Travel writer Melbourne–based Tim Richards has a Patreon going for his writing, he’s in lockdown at the moment [so has plenty of time to write](... By the way, he likes his trains. Simon Ostheimer’s Cambodia Travels I only found this one this week, but it looks very promising—[I enjoyed his three part series on Battambang](. Retire in Bali Bali–based Neill Kramer has been plugging away [on all you’d need to know]( if you were thinking of retiring in Bali. --------------------------------------------------------------- Support Travelfish! If you'd like to chip in (if you haven’t already) for using the site, we'd love you to sign up for a year-long subscription for just A$35. [See more here](. --------------------------------------------------------------- The parasites of travel A bit of inside baseball this week—my apologies. Travel industry website Skift ran a piece on July 31 titled [“Has the pandemic killed the freebie trip for travel influencers?”]( It annoyed me. Well, not the piece itself, but rather some of the quotes within it. Fancy a diversion? West Sumbawa, Indonesia could fit the bill. Photo: Stuart McDonald. --------------------------------------------------------------- If you’re not familiar with “freebie trips”, more often referred to as “comps”, let me explain. They’re where a travel writer/blogger/etc, accepts a free (or, in some cases, paid) trip from someone. The “someone” may be a hotel or tour company, or tourism board, or, well, the list is near endless. This kind of thing is common in travel writing (and other verticals). In return for the comp, the writer writes about whoever is doing the comping. There’s all kinds of occasional caveats and permutations. Writers may say they’re independent and that there is no pressure to write a positive piece. In practise it varies. Comped, resounding negative pieces, are few and far between. While I understand the economic math behind the practise, it is not one I support. In 16 years of running Travelfish, we’ve never accepted a comp or media rate. But, much like writing about double pricing, I’m not interested (anymore!) in trying to convince people to agree with me. Whatever floats your boat—and readers can read whatever they want. Big views near Dien Bien Phu, Vietnam. Photo: Stuart McDonald. --------------------------------------------------------------- Which brings me back to the Skift piece. It kicks off by talking about a blogger named [Ana Silva O’Reilly](. I’m not familiar with the blogger, but it sounds like she used to take comps. In the era of Covid19, she feels it is an inappropriate time to be hitting properties on their last legs for a free stay. More power to you—I agree that now is an appalling time to be panhandling to properties. Photo with complete stranger #43,875,984. Photo: Her boyfriend. --------------------------------------------------------------- O’Reilly goes on to say: “When travel does reopen and it is safe for us to travel again, I am encouraging bloggers and influencers—who have benefited from many press trips, freebies and support in the past—to help out the industry by booking their own hotel stay, holiday, city tour,”.” Amen. So far so good right? Then everything goes pear–shaped. Quoting the vice president of an “influencer marketing agency”, we get: “Pre-Covid, it was sometimes difficult for hotels to offer comped stays because they could sell those rooms to paying guests. We’re in an interesting time when hotels are not selling all rooms and their restaurants and onsite amenities also are seeing fewer people. Now, hotels can turn this negative into a positive by offering comped stays to local and drive market influencers and bloggers to get some positive press out about them quickly.” I know I’ve struggled to see upsides thanks to the pandemic, but an over–supply of comped rooms hadn’t crossed my mind. Hotels, restaurants and others are going bust willy nilly so shall we grab some free swag? Some people, I tell ya. The things that get smuggled… Photo: Stuart McDonald. --------------------------------------------------------------- It is true, hotels, at least those that have not closed, are often offering cracking discounted rates. I’ve taken advantage of a few myself. But there is a calculus that discounted rooms are helping them weather these stormy seas. Taking advantage of the plight hotels find themselves in, to grab yourself a free room just feels wrong. If there is one industry I’d happy see sink below the same waves so many are weathering, it is the influencer marketing industry. Good travels Stuart --------------------------------------------------------------- Premium members only: Book a round the world with [roundtheworldflights.com]( (must travel from the UK via Asia, Australia, New Zealand AND the Americas) and get £30pp off your trip. Offer valid for departures to December 2021. Log in to the Member Centre on Travelfish now for your coupon code and [start designing your own round the world trip]( --------------------------------------------------------------- A dozen things worth reading Students cross rivers, hike through mud to get to school The efforts [some kids make to get to school]( and how Covid19 is complicating their education. Rescue operations underway in Loei after flash floods and heavy rain [Flood season in Thailand]( is kicking off again. How eco-tourism saved this stunning Cambodian valley If you’re a fan of Chi Phat, [this story will be right up your alley](. Cambodian city destroying wetlands with 1 million at risk of flooding "Development is great for the rich people. [But we are not rich. It's not great for us](." False virus cures pushed by those who should know better $ [It would be funny if it wasn’t so sad](. Thailand tiger sightings hailed as conservation win “Thailand has boosted its conservation efforts over the last decade and [is now believed to be home to up to 200 tigers](.” Indigenous guardians of Indonesian forest gain rights over their land “Indonesia has made ambitious commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation—the biggest driver of emissions in the country. However, it remains one of the most deforested countries in the world, [and has the highest rate of deforestation in Asia](. ” Lao villagers displaced by dams in Luang Prabang still wait “Despite official promises, [no land for a permanent settlement has been allocated yet](, and villagers who formerly farmed and raised cattle now walk back each day to unflooded areas near their old homes 10 km away to garden and plant crops.” Onboard China’s belt and road express: Does Laos stand to benefit? $ “With the train fast approaching the platform, [the tangible benefits of the project remain unclear](, more so for those in Vientiane than Beijing. ” An archaeologist races against time “The walls there survived because the museum and the watchtower has been declared as cultural heritage sites. However, even the well-preserved walls are [under threat from land subsidence](.” Bali is not only about tourism “In my opinion, [we need to solve the Covid-19 problem first](, so that we can feel secure. In the meantime, we can explore the other potential sectors.” One of the commissioned Travelfish features will be covering some of this ground as well. An introduction to Burmese cuisine My [stomach is rumbling](. [Help us hold our breath!]( --------------------------------------------------------------- What to read A reading list from Jeremy Tiang “Although severely underrepresented on the world literary stage, Singapore and Malaysia have a great deal of literary riches to offer, [as this list of books shows](.” --------------------------------------------------------------- Photo of the week Our favourite electrics shop burnt down last night here in Bali. Well done to the fire brigade for saving the surrounds. Photo: Stuart McDonald. --------------------------------------------------------------- Thank you! Thanks from reading the Travelfish newsletter. Please feel free to forward it to all and sundry and your feedback, as always, is much appreciated. Travel light! Stuart & the Travelfish team If you liked this post from [Travelfish weekly newsletter](, why not share it? [Share]( © 2020 Stuart McDonald [Unsubscribe]( Bali, Indonesia [Publish on Substack](