Let me ask you something. Does anyone actually read travel blogs anymore?

I’m beginning to suspect that I have been sitting here, week after week, pouring my heart into carefully researched travel advice, dreaming up catchy titles, finding pretty pictures, and writing paragraphs about destinations that I genuinely love for approximately seven people  (three of them might be my mom). Okay, maybe that’s dramatic, but if you’re a travel advisor who writes a blog, you know exactly what I mean.

There is something uniquely humbling about spending two hours writing a thoughtful article about why slow travel matters, or the best time to visit Ireland, or how to choose between a luxury river cruise and a small-ship ocean cruise, and then publishing it into the great void of the internet.

Crickets. No comments. No shares (except Tiki Tom who is utterly THE BEST). No “OMG, I’ve always wanted to go there!” Not even a suspiciously enthusiastic aunt asking when you’re taking bookings. Just…silence.

And yet, I keep writing. Why? Because somewhere along the way, I convinced myself that blogs were important. We’re told that blogging helps with SEO. It builds credibility. It gives potential clients a reason to visit your website. It demonstrates expertise. It helps Google understand what you do. All of that may be true, but none of it changes the emotional experience of hitting “Publish” and hearing absolutely nothing back.

The problem is that travel is supposed to be interactive. That’s what makes this particularly frustrating. I don’t want to just tell you about travel. I want to talk about it. I want someone to say: “Wait. You’ve been to Iceland? Tell me about that.” “I would LOVE to do that Rhine cruise, but I don’t think I could handle the walking. What would you suggest?” “You’re crazy. I would absolutely never take a train across Canada in winter.” That’s engagement. That’s a conversation, and conversations are what make travel fun.

So, here’s my plea. If you’ve ever read one of my blogs, don’t feel like you need to write a five-paragraph review. You don’t have to leave a dissertation in the comments. Just give me a little sign of life. Like it. Share it. Send me a message. Tell me you disagree. Tell me you’ve been there. Tell me where you want to go. Tell me I’m completely wrong about the best month to visit Italy. Tell me anything, because behind every travel blog is a person who spent time researching, writing, editing, second-guessing the headline, choosing a photo, and wondering whether anyone will care.

And yes, that person is me. I love talking about travel. I love helping people plan trips. I love discovering places I haven’t been yet and sharing the places I have. But writing into the void? It’s a little debilitating.

I’m going to keep writing. I’ll keep talking about destinations, travel trends, cruise ships, hidden gems, packing tips, luxury experiences, slow travel, and all the other things that make me want to grab a suitcase and head to the airport. And maybe you’ll talk back, because the best part of travel isn’t reading about it. It’s doing it, and the best part of writing about travel is knowing there’s actually someone on the other side of the screen dreaming about going there, too.

Are you out there? Give me a sign. I promise I’ll take it as a good one.

Image by JESHOOTS-com from Pixabay