For a decade, the travel influencer ruled our feeds — barefoot by infinity pools, sipping flat whites in Bali, “discovering” hidden gems already tagged a thousand times. But in 2025, the fantasy is cracking. Travelers are tuning out. Destinations are pushing back. And the word authentic has become a punchline.
Once, “authentic” was travel’s holy grail — a word stretched thin across every market tour, every “local experience,” every carefully lit street food photo. But audiences have grown up. They can smell a setup, sense a soft ad, and scroll past perfection. The truth is messier: trust is the new luxury. Travelers want unfiltered moments, not staged ones — sweat, delays, awkwardness, and all.
The most compelling storytellers today aren’t chasing brand deals or follower counts. They’re the ones traveling slowly, often anonymously — documenting the world’s beauty without turning it into a prop. Micro and nano creators (with fewer than 100K followers) now drive deeper engagement than the mega names once did. They don’t perform travel; they live it.
And then there is the space we inhabit.
Trusted Voices, Timeless Stories
At Going Global, we don’t chase trends — we build trust. Long before algorithms decided what wanderlust should look like, we were out in the world, telling grounded, human stories about people and place. We travel with curiosity, not vanity; with a crew, not a selfie stick. We listen more than we pose. In a time when content moves faster than experience, we still believe travel deserves patience — the kind that lets a story unfold, a culture speak, and a place reveal itself on its own terms.
So excuse us if we take a victory lap at the end of the ‘tyranny of influencers.’
Alas, Influencers still shape travel decisions. A TravelBoom survey found nearly a third of travelers book stays based on influencer recommendations. Expedia reports the rise of “set-jetting,” where fans visit film locations spotted on TikTok or Instagram. But this influence can be destructive. The same viral content that fuels bookings can flood fragile destinations, forcing locals to choose between their peace and someone else’s engagement metrics.
Travel brands have taken note. The era of drone-shot glamour is waning; the rise of raw, guest-generated footage is here (well almost). The most powerful visuals now come from travelers themselves — shaky, heartfelt, believable. It’s cheaper, yes, but more importantly, it’s real.
The Reckoning
Around the world, tourist boards are tightening policies. Japan has cracked down on influencer misconduct; Iceland pleads for respect over reach. The backlash isn’t against travel, but against performance — the version of it that mistakes exposure for connection.
The influencer economy isn’t dead — it’s evolving. The future belongs to voices that can be candid, not curated; curious, not calculating. The next wave of influence will be quieter, slower, and far more human.
Because in the end, travelers don’t want “authentic”, thew word is bereft of meaning anymore. They want honest. And that’s the one thing no filter can fake.
Kisses and peace out.
