What are the travel bloggers actually doing during the pandemic?

They entertain their followers with breathtaking photos and valuable travel tips. Travel bloggers are currently more likely to be unemployed. We talked to them about their new everyday life.

We all long for vacation, travel and a break outside of our own four walls. In the past, the travel bloggers' Instagram accounts kept us far away. Since the outbreak of the pandemic we have had to do without it for the most part: While they used to make a pilgrimage from Thailand to New York and provided tens of thousands of followers with photos from all over the world, many travel bloggers are "only" traveling in Austria.

Some of them then dare to get on a plane and jet through the world despite the pandemic. Most of the time there is criticism: The word "Travelshaming" means the mini-shitstorms and negative comments that land in the comment columns of those who went on vacation while the rest of the world is stuck in lockdown. We took a closer look at the whole thing and asked three bloggers how they deal with the travel restrictions.

Julia @chicchoolee: "I haven't been traveling since the pandemic"

Has your Instagram account changed? Or were you out and about despite the pandemic?

Julia:I haven't been traveling since the beginning of the Corona crisis - not even in summer. It just felt wrong to me and that's why I didn't take any assignments. Nothing concrete is planned for this year. Many trips have been postponed to 2021, but my cooperation partners and I are waiting until March to decide together what can be implemented. My content has definitely changed since the pandemic, but there was also an upheaval before that: I set up an account (@ house.no22) to document the construction of our house. That was very well received and today I use this channel every day - a house like this is never finished. On my regular Instagram page, however, I post old travel memories at least twice a week, show unpublished pictures and also give tips for a vacation in my home country.

Keyword "Travelshaming": What do you think of bloggers who are currently traveling around the world?

Julia: In my opinion, it depends a lot on where you are going and what the trip looks like. I didn't think it was good that many flew to Dubai just because the Corona measures had not existed there for a long time and you could move around "freely", so to speak. It is generally difficult to fly, but if the holiday destination pays attention to the measures, I think that's okay. It is difficult to answer this question in general terms. It will be seen how the entire travel industry will change with vaccination.

Carmen @carmenhuter: "I moved back to Austria from New Zealand"

Have you been traveling since the pandemic broke out?

Carmen: At the beginning of the pandemic, I moved back home from New Zealand. Every single job was postponed and ultimately canceled. Last year I focused a lot more on regional customers and managed to continue doing my job anyway. It was tough, but it was also something I was going to do one way or another as the many trips had affected my health and I wanted to be more environmentally friendly. My lifestyle has been turned upside down. It took me a while to learn to love this change. Of course, I miss traveling and my friends abroad very much, but the whole thing also brought a lot of good things with it.

Have you been away since then?

Carmen: Yes, I was in Iceland and Greece in the summer. But I also had the honor of flying to the Maldives for an assignment. There are now many hikes and climbing tours back home as soon as summer arrives.

Has your content changed?

Carmen: Of course, I post less international travel content and am therefore no longer as active on my channel. That's completely okay with me too, since Instagram is just one mainstay of my company. My current content is very much focused on regional areas. However, in the years before that I had already addressed other topics such as politics or mindfulness.

Marion @Ladyvenom: "I was in Kenya two weeks ago!"

You are a travel photographer: How are you doing with the assignments?

Marion: Many orders were postponed and travel plans changed. In the summer of last year I focused more on trips to Austria and did a lot of research and testing. I also had a lot of special travel experiences "at home" and the feedback was extremely positive! Austrian tourism has been at a standstill since November and I had to think about how to continue. Fortunately, the travel blog is not my only mainstay: I also run a social media agency with my team that cushions a lot that has otherwise been lost since the pandemic.

Have you been out lately

Marion: Yes, I was actually two weeks ago on my first trip since the beginning of 2020 - relatively spontaneously in Kenya. Of course, taking all precautionary measures into account - I even went into voluntary self-isolation before the trip in order to keep the risk as minimal as possible. The great thing about safari trips: You basically have very little contact with other people and are instead surrounded by a lot of nature. I consider this type of trip to be the safest, and it is also very useful locally.

What do you think of the currently ubiquitous Travelshaming?

Marion: I can only say that I am not very happy with the way people are currently communicating online. Too much is judged and painted in black and white. There are black sheep everywhere - in Austria and when traveling. But also responsible action - you don't put that at the limit. What is being ignored is that in many countries people who have lost their tourism jobs do not have state safety nets. Here livelihoods are threatened and in Africa, for example, the preservation of nature reserves, wildlife protection and everything that goes with it.