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Author name: Gen White

Cover of how-to book on travel and tourism copywriting, Boldly Go. Cover features book title and illustration of a ferry.
Insights

How Boldly Go Was Born (and Why I Wrote It For You)

How Boldly Go Was Born (and Why I Wrote It For You) You know how it feels when you come across yet another travel website, full of stock photos, vague promises and copy as beige as the carpet in my dentist’s waiting room, don’t you?  Me too. And – after years of reading this stuff , as a copywriter, an armchair traveller, and a woman who knows the difference between words that sell and words that send people to sleep – I’d had enough. Quite frankly, it was enough to bring out the vigilante in me. The Stories Are There – So Why the Snooze-Factor? I kept thinking of all the untold stories, the quirky details, the voices with real charm and character… hidden behind a haze of clichés. “Nestled in the heart of…”? Yawn. I knew the problem wasn’t a lack of passion or personality – far from it. The tour guides, DMCs, and tourism business owners I work with are some of the most inspiring people I know. But when it came to writing about what they offer? They were stuck. Too much conflicting advice. Not enough help. When you’re running a travel business, time is tight. Money might be even tighter. And while you know you need better copy – for your website, emails, social posts – the advice out there is overwhelming, contradictory or just plain confusing. One client said they felt like they were constantly being “nagged and hounded by shouty online posts.” Another spoke of constant overwhelm and “the dreaded blank page syndrome”. (Yup, relatable.) So I decided to do something about it. I booked a flight. I packed a my laptop. And I got to work. Writing a book as a working mum felt like a luxury I didn’t have time for. So I made time. I took myself off to Marmaris for a couple of weeks, leaving my heroic husband in charge of our four-year-old, shopping and meal-planning. Just before I left, he told me that if I didn’t return with both his travel adaptor (I do have a habit of losing things) and the first draft of the book, I wasn’t to bother coming home at all. With this warning ringing in my ear, I boarded my flight. And there, from the balcony of my aptly named Sunrise Hotel, I did the thing.     6am swims. Sunrise writing. Poolside plotting. Midnight editing. Repeat. I had many a blether with the local waiters who couldn’t quite believe I was choosing to work on holiday. Then, reality bit. I came home to Shetland, swapped the sunlounger for a fireside seat, and kept writing. And what came out of all that? Boldly Go: Confident Copywriting for Travel, Tourism and Hospitality.   The copywriting guide I wish my clients had years ago. Boldly Go is part how-to guide, part workbook. It’s slim, practical and designed for travel and tourism pros who want to write their own copy — without losing the will to live. It’s built on my years of experience as a copywriter, teacher and business advisor. And it’s carefully structured to help you build clarity, confidence and customer connection at every step. This is not the kind of book you buy, skim, and let gather dust. Most chapters use storytelling to draw you in (very meta, since we cover storytelling too), and each one comes with a task you can apply directly to your business. Even better? You can send me your completed task for expert feedback. It’s a book you can work with, not just read. You’ll learn: How to define your brand voice and attract the right guests How to tell your origin story (without cringing) What makes a great About page Why tone of voice matters more than you think How to make your SEO strategy work for you And most importantly, you’ll write as you read. Each chapter includes tasks to help you apply what you’re learning to your own business. Take a peek at what’s inside.  Want feedback on your writing too? Bigger & Bolder is for you.     One of the reasons I wrote this book was to help tourism professionals on tighter budgets get access to expert support. But I know that sometimes, even with a guide in hand, you want to make doubly sure you’re on the right track. So I created Bigger & Bolder: a bundle that includes the book plus personalised feedback from me on your copywriting. Website pages, email sequences, social posts – whatever you’re working on. You send it. I read it. You get constructive, confidence-boosting comments and suggestions. It’s like a confidence boost chased with a serious shot of strategy. Ready to stop stirring the word soup? If you’re fed up with your travel copy sounding like everyone else’s – or worse, like it was written by an AI bot with a head cold – then Boldly Go is here to help. Choose your adventure: Buy the book Get the bundle Or book 1-1 coaching for deeper support And if you haven’t already, join Club Campion – my no-fluff mailing list for travel pros who want to write better, book more, and stay in the loop. Copywriting is mostly thinking. But with the right tools, the right structure and a little encouragement?You’ll be surprised how much you’ve got to say.   Section Title How Boldly Go Was Born (and Why I Wrote It For You) ByGen White May 5, 2025 Insights How Boldly Go Was Born (and Why I Wrote It For You) You know how it feels when you come across yet another travel website, full of stock photos, vague promises and copy as beige as the carpet in my… Read More Lookers into Bookers: The tourism marketing blueprint ByGenevieve White February 18, 2025 Insights Lookers into Bookers by Chris Torres – A Tourism Marketing Must-Read Back in December, I was lucky enough to welcome Chris Torres as a guest on my LinkedIn Live series, where we

Blogging, Copywriting

How can AI help to boost your travel and tourism blog?

My work involves spending a lot of time browsing travel and tourism blogs (yes, I have permanent wanderlust!). And often I’ll come across a blog that looks enticing at first glance only to find that its content is 100% AI-produced. What a missed opportunity! Why? Well, AI-written content is just incredibly dull to read. Surely one of the great pleasures of reading is the feeling that you are hearing the voice of a fellow-human in your head? Whether it be sassy, confident, quirky, authoritative, tentative, or warm – every writer has their own unique voice. And that’s something you just don’t get with AI. Of course, brand voice is a concept we’re all familiar with. But my feeling is that it’s particularly important in tourism marketing. This is because the success of any travel experience depends, to a great extent, on the connection you have with the tour professionals leading it. If that connection is strong, you get an experience you’ll always remember. If it’s not – well, your experience might end up being memorable for all the wrong reasons. How can your customers make an informed decision to choose you when you’re asking them to wade through screeds of bland robotese? AI or human-produced copy? Now, I know what you’re thinking. I’m a copywriter who writings for a living! So of course, I’m going to be twitchy about the robots taking over. And maybe I should be. A 2023 survey by Nativo revealed that 53% of adults were unable to distinguish between real content and artificially generated content. On the face of it, this statistic does sound worrying. I’m skeptical though. Okay, perhaps the people involved in the survey were unable to identify the robot-produced content. But were they asked which content they preferred? Had they been asked this question, I’m prepared to bet that they’d opt for the human-produced version. We know that AI is improving all the time. But it will never have a human heart. It will never have access to a lifetime of experience. Neither will it possess the quirks that make you you and me me. In short, AI alone is not (and may never be) enough to write you blog posts that will connect with and convert customers. So, if you think you can populate your blog with AI-written content, think again. My AI blog-writing experiment Here’a a little AI experiment I tried recently. I looked up a fairly recent blog post I wrote for Promote Shetland. The topic was ‘creative pursuits you can do in Shetland over winter’. Here are two opening paragraphs. One is written by me, one is fully AI generated. Can you guess which is which? — One Welcome to our blog post on creative things to do in Shetland over winter! As the days grow shorter and the air turns crisp, Shetland transforms into a winter wonderland filled with opportunities for artistic expression and exploration. From cozying up in a traditional crofthouse with a hot cup of tea to immersing yourself in the vibrant arts and crafts scene, there is no shortage of creative activities to enjoy during the colder months in this picturesque island archipelago. Join us as we delve into some of the most inspiring and unique ways to unleash your creativity in Shetland this winter. Two Chillier temperatures and shorter days are often associated with hibernation. Not so in Shetland, where winter activities are a far cry from bingeing on box sets and getting into full goblin mode. Instead, the colder months are a cosy, sociable time, where locals fill the hours of darkness with creative pursuits from crafting to creative writing. — Which do you think is mine? And why? Check out the clunky opening sentence in paragraph one. Note also the cliches such as ‘winter wonderland’ and ‘unleash your creativity’. Paragraph one packs in numerous paraphrases of my prompt text, e.g.: ‘creative pursuits’ and ‘artistic expression’ and, in my opinion, the effect is a little OTT. Is it all bad? No. I like the ‘hot cup of tea’ bit (although I’d argue that tea-drinking in itself is not a creative activity!) but overall it’s like wading through verbal blancmange. The second paragraph, in contrast, sounds more natural. The ‘bingeing on box sets’ and ‘full goblin mode’ sound like they were written by a human (albeit a fairly lazy one). It’s less wordy too. AI can help you – with some caveats Having said all of this, AI can help you write great posts for your travel and tourism blog – it can save you time too! – but you need to know what you’re doing. And you will still need to engage your own brain. Here are some key things to bear in mind. In my work as an editor, I’ve often been sent AI texts and instructed to ‘humanise’ them (very 1984, I know). Not a job I relish doing, as quite frankly, it takes a lot longer to humanise a robotic text than it does to write one myself from scratch. So if you choose to humanise an AI text you’ve generated, be aware it’s a time-consuming process with a lot of rewriting. How I use AI to blog AI can be helpful, but over-reliance on it will get you nowhere fast. Used strategically though, it can be a great time-saver. — Well, here ends the final instalment of my blogging mini-series. I hope you’ve found it useful, and that you’re now ready to blog with confidence. One thing that writing this mini-series has brought home to me is that there is so much to think about when it comes to blogging! If you’re still feeling bamboozled by it all, and would like a little hand-holding to get your blog underway, get in touch. In a one-hour Copy Boost session, I’ll answer your blogging questions, help you devise your blogging strategy and send you on your way raring to go! Check out my services page to find out more.

Genevieve White writing some ideas for her blog about travel and tourism copywriting.
Copywriting, Visibility

Why blog for your tourism business?

Is blogging for you? (Spoiler alert – it probably is!) Imagine you’re researching a family holiday in Budapest, Hungary and you want to take a tour of the city. You narrow your search down to two tour companies. Both are similar in terms of the experiences they offer, their pricing, and the quality of their websites. But there is one significant difference. The first tour company you come across has a static website with tour descriptions, itineraries and reviews. The second has these things too, but in addition publishes regular blog posts sharing hidden parts of Budapest, the best places to find Hungarian gulyás, top souvenir suggestions etc. Reading these blog posts, you get a strong sense of the tour company’s personality, values and the kind of experience you can expect. Now, which of the two tour operators are you going to choose? Assuming the blog content is of high quality, I’d bet good money on you opting for the second tour company. You see, blogging really can make the difference between winning, or losing, a sale. If you’re not already blogging for your tourism business, then I’d strongly suggest you start! If you’re not convinced, these statistics might change your mind. Still on the fence? Well, here’s something else to add to the mix. If you want your tourism business to be more visible (and who doesn’t want to be seen?) blogging is great for SEO. We all know that Google loves fresh content. And each time you publish a blog post there are lots of little tweaks you can make to push your content higher up these rankings (I’ll go into this in a later post so stay tuned.) And, last but not least, blogging can be a lot of fun! Blog posts can be a great place to share stories from your tours, show your personality and hone your writing skills. Getting started on your blog Okay, let’s say I’ve convinced about the value of blogging. But where to start? It’s probably a good idea to start thinking about your goals. Next week, I’ll post about where to find blogging inspiration and I’ll discuss the importance of planning ahead. In the meantime, think about the questions above. Once you’ve worked through them, you’ll be one step nearer to smashing your blogging goals. If you need additional help in getting started, you might benefit from a 1-1 coaching session with me. Find out more about how I can help you.

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