How We Connect Our Boutique Vertical Media Company To Larger Global Issues
As the consumer economy moves to “experiences, not things”, Skift has expanded to cover the experience culture, by covering travel+dining+wellness together, which we believe is the best lens to understand then modern consumer.
In travel, we decipher and define the trendlines in travel and we have built our editorial, conferences, research, and hires over the last two years towards it, whether it is the rise of experiential travel, the rise of Asia, the continued resilience of Europe as the world’s largest destination, the changing nature of Chinese travelers, the rise of Overtourism (a word we coined in 2016), the rise of travel anxiety as a result of worldwide events (we coined the term Permanxiety in 2017 to speak to it), and more. Skift has been at the forefront of covering the rise of alternative hospitality (Airbnb and others) from the start of its existence in 2012 and has single-handedly defined the “Airbnb vs cities” regulatory and quality of life issues from the start and continues to lead all of media in its coverage of it.
As part of Skift’s unique, top-to-bottom editorial mission to the hold the industries it covers accountable, we find ourselves at the forefront of helping to set the agenda on global issues — from overtourism to sustainability to politics to security. Travel, restaurants, and wellness have the first window on to world trends, whether they are economic swings or climate change. Skift’s tireless analysis of the impact to our industries starts a larger conversation that often leads to significant change.
Skift has not shied away on reporting on how the Trump Adminstration’s America First policies have adversely impacted inbound travel, and we have done in-depth reporting on the global refugee crisis. We have also investigated and documented how travel industry leaders have responded to these issues, whether it is Delta Air Lines ceasing to participate in the National Rifle Association website, or the Expedia CEO calling out Trump for building walls or creating barriers between people.
We are progressive in our voice in travel, in all senses of that word. In industry media world we exist in, that openly political stance is extremely rare, and we get enough blowback for it. Travel is the most progressive manifestation of human curiosity, and Skift is the voice for progressive values in the sectors we are in, will never change. Ultimately we believe we are on the right side of the promise of travel, and right side of history.
Of course this worldview of ours alienates some people in travel industry, especially in U.S, and we hear from them, mostly in personal attacks on us. But that is the cost of our existence, cost of doing business, and if we lose some people/money along the way, we embrace it.
