The superficiality of “Travel Influencers” on Instagram is so unashamedly blatant that it’s almost amusing to look at their highly filtered photos followed by Rumi-isk captions about life and dreams and fluffy things.
I know numerous travel bloggers who genuinely love travel and share the beauty of this world while respecting the culture and tradition of the place. I am not against pretty photos or influencers in gorgeous dresses, but with the whole idea of marketing and associating Travel with photos of food baskets floating in water covered in rose petals or posing in front of air balloons without revealing the fact that they paid for the whole setup. You would understand my frustration if you knew that the photo of Gate of Heaven in Bali (made popular by Instagram) is nothing but a mirror trick. And that is exactly why the whole “fakery” of travel influencers bother me.
Like many travelers, I truly admire the wonders of nature and feel fortunate to have seen a few of them, so imagine my shock and heartbreak when I came across the truth behind Gate of Heaven photo. I felt betrayed by all the “travel influencers” who never revealed that it’s FAKE.
My sister visited Bali this year and shared a video of the queue and the actual scene at the Temple. The waiting period was 2.5 hours. This effect is achieved by placing a glass under the camera.
The photographer (under the umbrella)) 
No water surface in front of the gate.
In case you are interested, here’s the total cost of the picture:
Donation – 26000 IDR
Sarong – 24000 IDR
Tips to the photographer – 5000 IDR
Petrol – 15000 IDR
Scooty Rent – 60000 IDR
Total – 130000 IDR
The result is stunning, no doubt, but it raises serious questions about the ethics of new-age travel influencers.
I have always been impressed by the mesmerizing photos of Cappadocia (Turkey) and have wondered how travel bloggers get the perfect shot with beautiful settings every single time. A unique background of hot air balloons, colorful rugs and a table with delicious looking breakfast. Fearing that it might be another fake shot I dug further to get more information. Fortunately, it’s all real, but the whole setup is done by the hotel staff and isn’t free at all.
Neither is the food for eating. The table is set for Instagrammers to click and capture the moment. And of course, there’s a queue for it too. If the balloons are not visible, only then the rooftop is open for other visitors to take pictures. This is the rooftop of Sultan Cave Suites and it can cost you as much as $180 for one night.
A lot of other hotels also provide these rooftop services for a price. But well, no one reveals them in the caption, do they? Why so pretentious!!! Why pretend that you magically came across this setting, that there wasn’t a huge queue of people watching you pose for pictures while waiting their turn.
Where is the magic of traveling if everything is made-up? I know the picture looks beautiful, but it lost all the charm after I read about the truth behind it.
No one wears heels to a hike. No one eats 50 pancakes for breakfast. I thought I had seen enough, but then read about travel influencers adding clouds to their pictures. Of course, we all brighten up our pictures, play a bit with contrast and saturation to make the picture appealing but adding clouds or removing construction sites is totally misleading. I fail to understand this fabrication of reality.
So, in short, if you are planning to travel – do not trust “Travel Influencers” on Instagram! I prefer to post questions in travel groups on Facebook, where real travelers share real opinions and advice. That was how I was able to see bioluminescent in Tasmania.
Related Posts : The stunning Tasmanian Landscape
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The whole culture of ‘fakery’ & travel influencing started with Instagram. While it is okay to charge for a real and helful advice/service, it is completely dishonest to trick people by photo editing skills/staging a scene.
Thanks for the post.
@zainab I trust TripAdvisor to get a true picture of the place. thank you for reading.
Wow, I was so clueless about all of this!! Never considered that it could all be a set up, even though now that I think of it β of course it is! Sigh.
Kudos to you for bringing this to light.
yes, it surprised me too. Thank you for reading.
I wonder what these folks earn – what’s the price for integrity? It’s one thing to stage a beautiful photo (and the Gate of Heaven photo is lovely, but a travel blogger/influencer ought also to describe, as you do here, what’s involved in terms of time and cost, for tourists who care to get their own). Honesty matters to me as a traveler. I don’t need lies – I need help planning how to spend my time and money. Maybe that photo is worth it to me, but if not, my NOT being there shortens the queue for others. Raise the prices if need be, to make up the difference. Goodness.
At least Oyster.com built a reputation for “undoctored” hotel photos. Granted, they don’t show hotel rooms after a family of four has unpacked and spent the day at the beach, but at least they’re pretty thorough and not retouched. Wouldn’t you rather have reasonable expectations and be utterly delighted if reality is BETTER? (I can say that for the few hotels I checked over there, the photos match my experience.)
This is of great interest to me, as one of the things I’d like to do in a few months is write about travel, starting locally and working my way outward. I wouldn’t mind making a part time career of it, but I’m not about to sell my soul or lie to people just to promote something for money. (I was telling a friend that it would be amazing to find a job that would pay me to travel and try weird foods, like Bourdain and Zimmerman. I draw the line, though, at casu marzu. One must set boundaries.)
It’s sad that these “Influencers” are really just competing to be Internet celebrities, or to get rich marketing experiences and stuff that isn’t real. They’re not writers and they don’t care at all about their audience if they’re misleading them.
It’s good to know about Oyster.com. Will check out the site. Hopefully they cater to Australian travellers as well. I agree that it’s one thing to have a pretty shot taken but not revealing the reality of the place as a travel influencer is misleading. So many people get disappointed when they find ugly construction sites blocking the view of a monument, or the place not as pretty as hyped. Traveling is a privilege not everyone get to enjoy and many save money for years to finally travel. It’s the duty of travel bloggers and influencers to sell truth and not a fancy dream.
Oh I would like a job like that too. Being paid to travel and share the wonders of the word.
Thank you for reading and leaving your insightful comment.