8 Travel Influencer Business Success Stories [2023]
Travel influencers create content about travel, tourism, and culture and share their experiences via social media or personal blogs.
If you love exploring new places and are interested in earning a side income, consider becoming a travel influencer. Your role will be to document places you have visited and feature unique formations, cultures, and landscapes.
Share your content via social media channels and include relevant hashtags. Travel influencers earn income through partnerships with travel and tour companies and advertisement revenue based on their niche.
Here are some real life success stories of starting a travel influencer business:
1. Planit ($600/year)
William Jeremijenko (from Brisbane QLD, Australia) started Planit almost 3 years ago.
Hi there! I'm Billy, a 20-year-old maths student from Brisbane, Australia. I've previously worked in genomics, anomaly detection, automated triangulation, and mapping using computer vision, and cutting-edge recommendation systems. My career so far has spanned two countries and taken me to places such as San-Francisco (in the USA), and Silicon Beach (in Australia). My most recent experience was in a company called Atmos, where I left following a raise of $4 million at a $25 million valuation, led by Khosla ventures. I applied my experiences at Atmos to build PlanIt. You can read more about me here.
This page shows a sorted and aesthetic list of locations you can visit in Queensland
2. ANTHONYKDO INC ($120K/year)
Anthony (from ) started ANTHONYKDO INC almost 6 years ago.
Hi! My name is Anthony Do, creator of ANTHONYKDO INC. I run my own business in the creative industry as a filmmaker, photographer, and creative director. I am a nomadic Canadian that was born in Edmonton, Alberta.
Today, I have over two dozen loyal clients that are scattered across six different countries. That number continues to grow as I touch new places on the map. My monthly revenue fluctuates and is volatile, but I have been able to keep it somewhere between $7000-15000/month for a few years.
Learn more about starting a travel influencer business:
Where to start?
-> How much does it cost to start a travel influencer business?
-> Pros and cons of a travel influencer business
Need inspiration?
-> Examples of established travel influencer business
Other resources
-> Travel influencer business tips
4. CuddlyNest ($2.8M/year)
Ritesh Raj (from Orlando, Florida, EE. UU.) started CuddlyNest over 6 years ago.
I’m Ritesh Raj, the co-founder, and COO of CuddlyNest, an accommodation booking platform for travelers. I have a travel tech background of over 13 years—so I’ve been at it since 2009!
That means focusing on all kinds of travelers, who are looking for all kinds of property types, with all kinds of budgets. Our inventory currently includes over four million properties of all types in 80k+ cities!
5. PubClub.com ($24K/year)
Kevin Wilkerson (from San Diego) started PubClub.com over 22 years ago.
I am Kevin Wilkerson and I publish the lifestyle website PubClub.com. This is primarily a content site with information on travel, nightlife, food and drink, festivals, and sports around the world. I like to say it’s a site for those who like to have a drink in their hand. That is what makes it unique.
The site generates approximately $2,000 a month from advertising and we receive approx. 25k users/month to our website.
6. Blue Sky Luxury Travels ($5M/year)
Shanna Dickerson founded Blue Sky Luxury Travels in St. John, US Virgin Islands.
Blue Sky Luxury Travels is a boutique ultra-luxury travel agency that has offered its services worldwide since 2010.
People can book luxury villas, private islands, and yacht charters, as well as plan tailored and unique itineraries for their loved ones with this agency.
Over the years, this travel agency has become a multi-million dollar company.
Their network of luxury villas, private islands, and yacht charters has weekly rates ranging from $10,000 to more than $1 million.

Read the full article on 30a.com ➜
8. Packs Light ($170K/year)
Blogger Gabby Beckford made $170,000 in one year after taking her side hustle full-time — but she's hit plenty of bumps in the road. Here's the advice she says would've helped her have a smoother path to business success.
Gabby Beckford (from Arlington, Virginia, USA) started Packs Light over 3 years ago.
Packs Lights is a solo female travel & lifestyle blog founded by Gabby Beckford in 2020. It features travel tips, study abroad resources, travel grants and scholarship tips for all ages, and photography from around the world.
The blog offers nearly every type of resource for young travelers. The website uses movies and tales to motivate visitors to backpack around their favorite destinations. It also provides travel budgeting ideas, confidence boosters, and travel tricks. The site’s main attractions include travel patterns, ideas, photographs, news, and more.
Gabby is a TEDx speaker, Opportunity Expert, and Gen Z Travel Expert at Packs Light. She dropped her engineering profession at the age of 24 to focus on her adventure blogging. She has explored over 45 countries as a full-time digital nomad since 2021. It turns out to be the finest decision she’s ever made.
While in college, she received a $75,000 scholarship. It enabled her to complete her Mathematics degree debt-free in Dubai, UAE.
Gabby’s passion for travel began early, and she started blogging after her final year in high school. Her first income blogging was from an Amazon affiliate link.
Gabby’s Milestones and Awards
- Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel.
- Emerging Voice Award.
- Wanderful’s Bessie Awards.
- Trailblazer Award.
- Traverse’s 12-Month Achievement Award.
- Finalist for Newsweek’s Future of Travel awards.
She has already been featured in publications such as Good Morning America, CNNTravel, National Geographic, Travel+Leisure, Lonely Planet, ShondaLand, and others for her expertise.
In 2020, she became the co-founder of the Black Travel Alliance and a member of the American Influencer Council in 2022.
Her assistance helped many young travelers by arranging free excursions to Azerbaijan, Egypt, Italy, Costa Rica, and other locations.
Last year, her sponsors of social media posts and blog pieces earned her more than $170,000 in gross cash.

Hey! 👋 I'm Pat Walls, the founder of Starter Story.
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