Donna Hull is not your average travel blogger. Since 2008, she has been documenting her travels with photographer husband, Alan, on her blog, My Itchy Travel Feet. What makes Donna stand out is that she is an older traveler, a Boomer, in fact, and her mission is to “inspire Baby Boomers to get up off the couch and go travel.”
In 2011, Donna was one of five finalists for Best Travel Blog in the 2011 Bloggies. Her blog is syndicated at Arizona Voices Network. She is also a member of Travel Insights 100, an online panel of global travel leaders.
Donna, now professional writer, majored in journalism in college and later wrote for regional and local publications in Arizona. She’s also worked in business communications and marketing. Her interest in travel started after her children had grown and left home.
Donna set up her personal travel blog in 2008 when she and her husband decided to take a long trip together. “I was just looking for a way to communicate with family and friends about all the adventures we were having,” she said. The posts were open for anyone to read, and she started getting some public interest.
Donna, who has written for publications such as Fifty Plus, Affordable Tours, Live Life Travel, Lovin Life After 50, and many more, says that at first, “I wasn't going to share anything really important on the blog, as I needed to save all that information for articles (which were an income source).”
Later, she realized that not posting the full story “cheated the people who came to read [my posts], as there was nothing substantial there”.
As the publishing industry—and her market for travel articles—declined in the early 2000s, Donna decided to focus more on her blog and tell better stories for her online audience. This decision has worked out very well for her.
As her audience grew, Donna quickly discovered that there were few sources of information or inspiration for Boomers on active travel. “What I found on the internet eleven years ago was depressing. Most of the information for older people was about aged care. If you saw anything about senior travel, it took a more sit-on-the-bus-and-look-out-the-window approach.” She said all her older friends were “out there four-wheeling in Jeeps, or taking hiking vacations or snorkeling. Everyone I knew took active trips, but I didn’t see anyone writing about active travel for our age group.” Donna said even now, eight years later, “it’s still underreported just how many active Baby Boomer travelers are out there.”
Donna said she tries to write in a way that is entertaining and inspiring yet also gives readers the information they need to take the same (or a similar) trip themselves.
Her audience is often looking for specific travel information: where to go, when to go, and how to get there, and they rely on Donna to provide these kinds of details. She writes a lot about national park trips within the USA as well as cruises, particularly small luxury boats. As her audience increased, and Donna realized she couldn’t take all the trips herself that people were asking about, she began to hire the occasional guest writer on her blog to cover trips she either is too busy for or lacks interest in taking.
Donna doesn’t take sponsored trips and funds her travel herself. This, she said, allows her to stay impartial and be critical.
When asked about her best advice for older travelers, she said, “Make sure your expectations are realistic” and that the activities you choose match your fitness level. Donna said she suffers from a fear of heights, so she is careful not to choose trips that involve great heights. She said travelers should look for that “sweet spot: challenge yourself but don’t do something so scary that it isn’t fun.”
She’s had a lot of interest from readers for posts about packing and what clothes to bring. When she’s on a trip, Donna takes photos of everything she wears and posts them for her readers so they have help planning their own travel wardrobe. Cruises, for example, often don’t have luggage restrictions and allow plenty of chances for travelers to dress up.
She said that many cruises have increased their active excursions in ports. “The cruise industry is just booming right now,” she said, “Cruising really appeals to Boomers, and I’m glad to see that cruise lines are offering more activities. This way, you don’t just get into a port, have an orientation, and you’re done.” She feels that by increasing the number of activities and trips onshore, cruises are adding a lot of value for their best market: Boomers.
Donna’s blog is found at https://myitchytravelfeet.com. She also has a Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/MyItchyTravelFeet.
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Get Those Boomer Bottoms Off The Sofa And Travel
