ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses how digital innovations help journalists in the act of reporting from or about foreign places. The net result of such changes is a positive one, as more stories and points of view are ultimately possible online. The internet helps with language translation, cultural understanding, and story idea generation. More importantly, however, the internet has allowed editors to cull local talent – including but not limited to expats – to work as travel journalists from abroad. It is not surprising and in fact sometimes preferable that expats become travel correspondents for publications in their home countries, which allows them to mediate cultural differences and manage tourists’ expectations more efficiently. As this chapter discusses, however, their points of view alone do not act as a substitute for sending journalists abroad to cover travel topics, as expats do not typically engage with the same aspects of travel as somebody who parachutes into a destination. This latter group can offer views on the journey, on touristy experiences, and other fresh perspectives that expats might not systematically provide. This chapter opens a discussion about the value of expat travel journalism to understand how more traditional visiting journalists are still ultimately essential to travel journalism.
