Who do you trust for travel destination advice?

Tweet

There is a lot of advice written by travel writers, holidaymakers, companies, bloggers. Sometimes I have to ask myself who do I trust when looking for advice on a specific destination. Wikipedia is a great resource it is editable by anyone, and I probably trust that information maybe more than I should. Who do you trust for travel destination advice?Travel companies write what fluffy content that promotes the best of the destination, which is always good to read, but it is very one-sided. I’d like to think that not all freelance travel writers were un-ethical and wouldn’t take free travel gifts in return for a nice review of the accommodation or tourist attraction. Bloggers have their heart in the right place, hell, I’m one, but sometimes we get it wrong, but what I like about blogs, is that people can leave comments, and tell you if the information you have provided is incorrect – the blogger can then amend the content, or add a correction note on the post. You can’t do that with printed travel guides or brochures. I have to say that I trust travellers the most, especially those who have recently visited the destination, and answer your questions on travel forums, and social networking sites. Most people are happy to answer your questions. I was surprised when visiting a number of travel forums recently, just how helpful travellers can be. Mintel recently produced a survey which highlighted face-to-face recommendation is the most popular way of choosing a holiday destination, despite the growth of the internet. Out of the 1,400 people, 34% said that they had researched their trip by speaking to people about where they planned to visit. Interestingly, visiting a local travel agency came second on the list, with 25% of people seeking advice when choosing a destination. I’m not convinced surveys are the best way to gather public opinion, so, who do you trust?