From Finance To Travel Blogging Journey

Tell us a little bit yourself? Your educational qualifications and your work? 

My name is Jes and I am from Aamchi Mumbai. I completed CA & CS and I work in the finance sector. Travel blogging is a hobby that I have been pursuing since 2018.

Why did you get into travel blogging? 

I have been travelling since childhood however I started travelling internationally only 7 years back. Since then I haven’t looked back and I travel to a new country/ place every year. Travel can be an expensive affair if you do not plan it well. I have always planned my trips on a budget e.g. Thailand trip with friends for 7 days in Rs 55000 Turkey trip with hubby in Rs 1.5 lakh for 9 days covering 4 locations within Turkey.

My friends and family started insisting that I pen down all these details and that led to the advent of the website www.touristtotravellers.com

How do you create a niche when there are already so many travel bloggers out there?

I completely agree with you on this and I was quite hesitant to write initially. However the more I researched, I noticed that most blogs will give you details on what to cover in a place but will not provide information on how to reach that place, modes of transport etc. I started writing my whole itinerary in detail explaining which places to visit, how to reach point A to point B and the cost of travel. So all one needs to do is pick up the itinerary and book their tickets.

What checklist do you follow while shortlisting the country for travel?

I have a 3 step process that I follow for any travel plans.

I start by checking the months when I can get leaves considering I have a full-time job. Once the leave dates are decided, I check Skyscanner to check which countries have cheap flights during the dates. If a country I wanted to visit falls in the budget then I go ahead and book the tickets.

The second step is to book a hotel. I mainly use booking.com here. I chose the hotel based on its proximity to the beach/ city centre/ railway station.

In the last step, I refer to tripadvisor forums to figure out how to reach the place, recommendations of local places to visit, Restaurants/ shopping areas.

Tip: Make sure to print/save PDF copies of all the bookings to make your life easier. This comes in handy especially when you plan a trip over 2 weeks.

Tell us a bit about the countries you have visited so far? Any dream destinations?

I have been to over 10 countries so far and some of these include Turkey, Singapore, South Africa etc. My favourite thus far has been Turkey hands down. It’s a rich heritage of culture, good food and history. It’s called the gateway to Europe as a part of it falls in the Asian continent and a part falls in the European continent. Being a vegetarian I didn’t face any difficulty finding good delicious food in Turkey as they too use spices like us Indians. Also, it is a shoppers paradise. Shop till you drop should be your mantra when you visit Turkey. 

My dream destination is Morocco. I have been dreaming of going there for a while now and hopefully post this pandemic settles, I should be able to plan it.

What are your future goals for your website?

I want to continue writing good content and continue interacting with more people around the world. Little did I know that by just writing a little, I would end up meeting some of the most amazing people all over the world whom I can now proudly call friends.

What are your favourite hobbies apart from writing?

I love swimming, table tennis, cycling and reading books.

Mention one unique thing about your website?

Apart from sharing my travel itineraries I also write about hotel reviews/ staycations. During this pandemic, we have observed that people do not prefer stepping out far from their homes. Hence staycations are very much in vogue. I have written about many properties that I have been to in Mumbai and Pune which will provide a very detailed insight to your readers. Moreover, if your readers mention my blog name then some of these properties will also offer them some discount. 

Thanks again and please feel free to add anything you want to inform our readers

I hope your readers can go through my website and make use of travel experiences and adventure activities. Please feel free to reach out to me should you need any assistance in travel planning. Thank you for taking the time and conducting this interview. Happy Travels!

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