Travel writing informed by strategy
After writing and editing travel features for more than two decades, I know how to tell your story in a way that inspires intending travellers while making sure your brand messaging is front and centre.
Scroll down to see how I structure stories to inform and engage an audience, from travel features for mass-market magazines and newspapers to key messaging pieces for the likes of Tourism Australia and Destination NSW.
Nightlife guide series for Destination NSW
Destination NSW engaged me to produce a series of Sydney neighbourhood nightlife guides to support the New South Wales Government’s Greater Sydney 24-hour economy strategy. I identified, interviewed and wrote profiles of prominent Sydney hospitality figures to showcase the city’s vibrant nightlife.
Luxury travel features for Tourism Australia
Drawing on my years writing about luxury travel for Vogue Australia, I curated Australia.com features on the very best tourism experiences the country has to offer.
The Vogue years
I have plenty of glossy stories of fabulous places I could show you from my 16 years on Vogue Australia. But instead I’ll present the features of which I’m most proud, such as working with state tourism organisations to promote travel to bushfire-affected areas and highlighting sustainable travel and eco-tourism.
Australian bushfire recovery campaign
I worked with Destination NSW, Visit Victoria, South Australian Tourism Commission and local businesses to produce a round-up of the best places to stay, eat and drink in regions affected by devastating bushfires.
“Thanks so much, Mark — it’s beautifully done. Great images and story. Thanks for putting this together!”
– Brent Hill, then executive director of marketing, South Australian Tourism Commission
Sustainable travel in New Zealand
Working with Tourism New Zealand and Air New Zealand, I explored how the country is leading the way in sustainable travel. I then repurposed the print feature as a photo gallery for Vogue.com.au.
“Thank you so much for sharing this story. You did a beautiful job. I shared it with several colleagues from sustainability and tourism here at Air New Zealand — you really did provide a ray of sunshine to many!”
– Hannah Searle, communications manager, Air New Zealand
Funding regeneration through tourism
Activist actress Emma Watson guest-edited an edition of Vogue Australia and declared the issue was to focus on sustainability. For the travel section in this special issue I proposed a feature on Arkaba, in the Flinders Ranges of South Australia. A former sheep station, Arkaba has been reinvented as an eco-tourism venture to fund efforts to regenerate land that had suffered more than a century of environmental damage.
Storytelling across platforms
One highlight of my time at Vogue was travelling to Bhutan with Aman Resorts. I produced this travel feature for the print magazine, featuring my original photography.
“What an incredible feature both written and visually. You captured the heart of Bhutan in the most magnificent way. The team at Amankora and at global HQ are thrilled. We cannot thank you enough.”
– Alice Moore, director, Élysée Collective
Online
I also created a 'Postcards from Bhutan' photo gallery for Vogue.com.au with a dozen of my original images showcasing how Aman’s lodges responded to their surroundings.
Social
My image from the opening spread of the Vogue print feature was posted on Vogue Living's Instagram, garnering more than 4,500 likes and 40-plus comments.
Travel feature for Princess Cruises’s Journey magazine
Drawing on my experience of living in Japan for five years, I researched and wrote about the most interesting travel experiences guests could have on day trips from ports on Princess Cruises’s Japanese itineraries.
Organic wineries story for New Zealand Herald
While working with Tourism New Zealand to highlight the country’s sustainable travel initiatives, I pitched this story about touring organic wineries in Central Otago to the NZ Herald newspaper – many Kiwis weren't aware that around a quarter of all the vineyards in this South Island wine region are organic or biodynamic, compared to a national average of 5 per cent.