Also known as a FAM (familiarization) or hosted media trip, press trips are trips in which someone receives travel in exchange for creating content and coverage about the trip. Transportation, accommodation, activities and meals are typically covered.

Press trips usually don’t feature well-known top 10 destinations or bucket-list places with heaps of coverage. Instead, the point is to get the word out about up-and-coming destinations, new events, revitalized places or locations that have recently been rebuilt, for example after a natural disaster. In rare cases, it includes a preview of an event or establishment that is not open to the public yet. Sometimes, like with my recent trip to Peru, the story covers an already popular place in a new way. The idea is that the journalists and/or content creators on the trip will share and write about what’s new with the location, hotel, restaurant(s) and/or airline to entice others to visit and increase tourism to the area.

Who goes on press trips?

Credible journalists and content creators are invited on press trips. Once you have at least 25 bylines in travel magazines or a blog with a strong and dedicated readership, you’re likely eligible for a press trip. I’m not sure if there’s a minimum number of followers that you need as an influencer, but I’d guess that anyone with more than 10,000 followers could ask to be hosted on a press trip.

How do you get invited?

Although I work on the media side, not the PR side, I believe that public relations professionals have lists of journalists that they’d like to work with. Most invites have come through the publications I work for. Now that I have multiple bylines in different magazines and work as an editor, I get invites every month directly to my inbox.

Once you’re established and have a platform, you can also reach out directly to hotels, destination marketing organizations (DMOs), tour companies, restaurants and other related companies and ask to be hosted. It’s a good idea to have a media kit, confirmation of assignment and/or an idea of the coverage you’re committed to creating before reaching out.

Media events are great places to meet PR agencies and tourism boards, make connections and ask if they host writers. Once you’ve written for some publications, you can get on the PR list of invitees. Say yes! In Vancouver and Toronto, there are typically monthly (if not weekly) events for media and content creators.

What’s included?

On almost every press trip I’ve gone on, basically everything is included, from flights to meals to endless drinks. I’ve stayed at some gorgeous hotels I would never have been able to afford, eaten hundreds of dollars of incredibly delicious food and drank… well, I don’t even want to count how much the wine, cocktails, beer and coffee has cost. Thousands, probably.

Sometimes, alcohol isn’t included, or there’s a limit. If I want to go shopping, that won’t be included (except in very specific cases, like when we were given a budget to purchase cowboy boots at the Calgary Stampede). It’s generally good etiquette to not order the most expensive things on the menu or go overboard since you know the tourism board, hotel or restaurant is footing the bill, just like you wouldn’t order the pricey Surf ‘nd Turf just because your boyfriend’s dad is buying it.

So… you get to travel for free?

Nothing in this world is free. Press trips are an exchange—typically, an experience for an article. Some trips focus on or include influencers (or content creators), so their output is typically social media content: photographs or videos. Some content creators get paid by the company/destination that is hosting the media trip, whereas I’ve never heard of a journalist being paid directly by the host.

Instead, the implication is that the journalist will get paid for the story by a traditional magazine or newspaper. However, a lot of publications don’t accept stories that are based on press trips. Some publications, like The New York Times Travel department, don’t even accept articles from writers who have been on any press trips within the past three years—regardless if the story they’re pitching involves a press trip or not.

Some claim it’s an ethical dilemma about bias—when you’re offered something for free, the expectation is you’ll cover it in a positive way. In some instances, they aren’t wrong. I’m careful not to accept any invites to a place or activity I don’t think I will like, because I don’t want to be in an awkward predicament. I’m also pretty good at finding the beauty and merit anywhere I go—considering I was born and raised in a place basically no one would call “touristy,” and yet I can find multiple reasons to visit, including the captivating and wild nature; the revitalized downtown; the cozy community vibes—and discovering something new and remarkable about a place is one of my favourite parts of my job.

On the other hand, I think it’s important to consider who it excludes when publications don’t accept stories from press trips. Many incredible writers simply wouldn’t be able to afford to travel to new places and have new experiences without being hosted on press trips.

As the full-time managing editor for Explore Magazine, I’m in a lucky position while on a press trip: I don’t have to pitch my story to various outlets, since I already know I’m writing it for explore, and I’m still getting paid my salary.

For freelance writers, it’s riskier—what if they can’t sell their story? Some writers may end up writing about it for free. Others might not end up writing about it at all, which doesn’t make them any money and doesn’t look good to the PR or communications manager who invited them on the trip. The hosting destination might be upset or disappointed, and that journalist might not get an invite from them again. Also, they might’ve spent a weekend or even a full week focusing on the trip, not writing any other stories or having time to focus on any other work, and therefore not making any money for the duration of the press trip.

As I learned when I was a contract-based freelance writer, press trips are great, but you can’t pay your rent or groceries with them. I’d often come back from a luxurious hotel and dining in lavish restaurants to my cheap, small bedroom in Montreal where I’d scarf down $0.99 Ramen noodles.

On the other hand, I had much more free time as a freelancer to go on press trips. I could say “yes” on a whim to fly to Mexico or Cuba the next week. I’d usually write about the experience for free or under $50, finding a unique angle for different publications whenever possible. Sometimes I’d get the invite through the publication, so I knew who I’d be writing about it for. I rarely made more than $150 for about a week’s worth of work (and travel—let’s be honest, that’s why I did it!). Now, I have to really consider if a press trip is worth my time out of office, or if I’d rather assign it to one of the awesome freelance writers we work with at Explore.

I would never choose to travel the way press trips are organized.

Press trips are, in a word, rushed. To make the most of the journalists’ time, press trips are relentlessly busy, often meticulously scheduled, and include things like hotel tours and activities that other people can’t even replicate (i.e., very unique and cool experiences that I can’t write about, since no one else can book it). Often, we arrive at a place, snap photos and get back on the bus in five minutes. We wake up at 7 a.m. and don’t check into our next hotel until after dinner. It’s exhausting. We spend hours on a bus with people we just met. We rush to take notes, get the content we need, record our interviews and grab business cards for follow-up questions. It’s not exactly fun. It’s not really travelling. It’s a tasting. It’s, well, work.

My favourite trips leave room for spontaneous afternoons, early evenings or solo sunrise walks to the beach before the itinerary kicks off for the day. “Free time” are the two best words on a press trip. While other journalists might tuck into work during those precious hours (or minutes), that’s often when I end up having a conversation, adventure or discovery that adds a new layer of meaning or personal touch to my article. In those brief moments, I’m able to travel how I want to—I can sit with my book in a cozy cafe; soak in the rooftop hot tub; chat with strangers on the trail; or go for a run with the locals.

Unfortunately, while PR managers always have the best intentions with itineraries, they often either overfill the schedule or promise things they can’t deliver. For Explore Magazine, I need an element of adventure to write about—shopping malls and chocolate factories can be great additions, but they are not the focus of my story. Many destinations want to appeal to the diverse journalists on the trip and end up appealing to no one. I often have to fight to make sure I get outside enough to have something to write about for Explore. Luckily, I’ve never been on a press trip that I’ve been unable to write about.

It’s important to take into consideration the hours that are spent after the trip writing, editing, pitching, refining and publishing the story from the trip. It’s not over once you’re back home. Once again, it’s… well, work. I’m typically writing my story on the plane, on weekends or even in evenings. (And I love it. I think I have the best job in the world.)

Types of Press Trips

Group: The most common type of trip, you’ll often be with 4-6 other journalists. Some media trips host over 20 people, and those can be overwhelming. More likely, you’ll be with a handful of journalists on a bus ride (or, in one very special occasion, a private jet) plus the public relations person planning the trip. The bonus of this type of press trip is the connections you’ll make with other journalists and media relations professionals.

Solo: Every once in awhile, I’m lucky enough to go on an individualized FAM. I love these trips, because it’s just me, and therefore personalized: I tell the organizer what I want to do. I ask for one main activity/adventure per day, find unique but outdoorsy accommodations and leave the rest up to them. I rent a car and drive myself.

Plus One: The best press trips are when I get to bring a plus one, and it’s just the two of us. This lends to a genuine, authentic story that’s replicable for our readers (it’s much easier to explain, “my boyfriend and I flew to Quebec City and rented a car” than “I was picked up at the airport and shuttled onto a mini bus with six journalists.”) Usually, my plus one is allowed to join me as my photographer and/or chauffeur. Thankfully, my boyfriend Tavis excels at both of these jobs. We’ve been on a few press trips together now, from Emerald Lake Lodge in British Columbia to Charlevoix, Quebec, and he definitely earns his keep—I put him to work because, well, it’s a work trip. (He’ll be the first to tell you press trips aren’t just “free trips.” He’s also asked me if we can just travel without having to work sometimes.) My favourite was when I got to bring both my mom and Tavis on a press trip to the Sunshine Coast last May!

I hope this demystifies some of the mystique around press trips. It sounds like an odd thing, but I bet almost every influencer you see who seems to be constantly travelling is taking some press trips. I’m lucky to be able to be picky about which trips I accept. Back in 2019, I stopped accepting press trips, COVID happened, and somehow five years passed before I got another FAM invite that really excited me. Since then, I’ve been on press trips to the USA, Peru and throughout Canada. In June 2025, I’ll be taking a press trip to England. There’s no way I could afford to travel this much (and have enough unique activities to write about for Explore) without press trips. Although at times I’ve been disenchanted by the volatility of press trips and exhausted by the amount of work they involve, I will still continue to accept the invitations that are right for me.