Best Travel Influencers to Follow in 2026

The top travel influencers in 2026 include creators like Murad Osmann, known for his iconic "Follow Me" series, Jack Morris and Lauren Bullen who built one of Instagram's most-followed travel couples, Chris Burkard for adventure and surf photography, Nas Daily for short-form documentary storytelling, and Drew Binsky who has visited every country on earth. These creators collectively reach hundreds of millions of followers across Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok, making travel one of the most competitive and commercially active niches in influencer marketing. Whether you run a hotel group, a tourism board, or an outdoor gear label, partnering with the right travel creator can drive real bookings and brand awareness at scale.

The Top Travel Influencers in 2026

Below is a curated list of well-known travel content creators worth following and partnering with this year. Each has a distinct style, audience, and brand fit.

1. Murad Osmann

Platform: Instagram. Murad is the Russian photographer behind the globally recognized "Follow Me To" series, where his partner leads him by the hand into stunning destinations. His aesthetic is cinematic and aspirational, with a loyal audience that skews toward luxury travel and couples. Ideal for high-end hotels, airlines, and destination tourism boards.

2. Jack Morris (@doyoutravel)

Platform: Instagram, YouTube. Jack is one of the original Instagram travel photographers. His feed is defined by bright, tropical imagery across Southeast Asia and the Pacific. He partners frequently with resorts and island destinations. Strong fit for beach properties and lifestyle apparel brands.

3. Lauren Bullen (@gypsea_lust)

Platform: Instagram. Lauren is Jack Morris's partner and a major creator in her own right. Her content leans into fashion, wellness, and dreamy villa shoots. She connects well with boutique hotel brands, swimwear, and beauty products targeting millennial women.

4. Chris Burkard

Platform: Instagram, YouTube. Chris is a professional adventure and surf photographer with a massive following built on remote, rugged landscapes. Think Iceland, Patagonia, and the Arctic. His audience is outdoor-focused and gear-savvy. Perfect for outdoor equipment, cold-weather apparel, and adventure tourism operators.

5. Nas Daily (Nuseir Yassin)

Platform: YouTube, Facebook, TikTok. Nas Daily built his brand on one-minute daily videos from countries across the world. He now runs a creator education platform but still produces high-reach travel and culture content. His storytelling style performs exceptionally well for destination campaigns and cultural tourism.

6. Drew Binsky

Platform: YouTube, TikTok, Instagram. Drew has visited every country and documents local culture, food, and daily life in each one. His content is educational and accessible, attracting a broad demographic. Great for airlines, travel insurance brands, and visa or passport services.

7. Kara and Nate

Platform: YouTube. Kara and Nate are a Nashville-based couple who quit their jobs to travel full-time and document everything. Their YouTube channel is detailed, long-form, and genuinely helpful, covering travel logistics, budgets, and honest destination reviews. Strong for travel gear, booking platforms, and credit card rewards programs.

8. Chloe Lukas (@chloe_luka)

Platform: TikTok, Instagram. Chloe is one of the breakout travel creators of the past two years, known for fast-cut solo travel content aimed at young women traveling alone. Her content style is raw and relatable, not polished. Perfect for budget airlines, hostel chains, and solo travel safety products.

9. Sam Kolder

Platform: YouTube, Instagram. Sam is known as much for his editing style as his destinations. His cinematic travel videos have set visual trends across the creator economy. Brands that want high-production video campaigns targeting Gen Z and young millennials should put Sam on the shortlist.

10. Louis Cole (FunForLouis)

Platform: YouTube, Instagram. Louis has been vlogging his travels since the early days of YouTube. His style is upbeat and adventurous, and he has a dedicated community that has followed him for over a decade. Good fit for adventure brands, travel apps, and experiences targeting 25-35 year olds.

11. Sorelle Amore

Platform: YouTube, Instagram. Sorelle combines solo travel with self-development content and pioneered the "advanced selfie" photography style. She attracts a highly engaged female audience interested in travel, photography, and lifestyle. Great for camera gear brands, solo travel products, and female-led tourism campaigns.

12. Bryce Loski (@halftheworld_away)

Platform: TikTok, Instagram. Bryce creates budget-focused backpacker content with a heavy emphasis on Southeast Asia and South America. His audience is students and young professionals planning their first big trips. Strong for hostel brands, budget gear, and travel SIM card providers.

13. Gabby Beckford (@packslight)

Platform: Instagram, TikTok, blog. Gabby is a Black solo female traveler who covers destinations across Africa, Europe, and Asia. She brings a perspective that is underrepresented in travel media and has a deeply loyal community. Tourism boards aiming for inclusive campaigns will find strong ROI here.

14. Mark Wiens

Platform: YouTube, Instagram. Mark is technically a food creator but travel is inseparable from his content. He eats his way through destinations across Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America. If your destination or hotel has a strong F and B story, Mark is one of the most effective creators to activate.

15. Hey Nadine

Platform: YouTube. Nadine is a Canadian solo travel creator who has visited 70+ countries and focuses on practical, honest travel content. Her audience trusts her recommendations on accommodation, routes, and gear. Great for travel insurance, booking platforms, and mid-range hotel groups.

Luxury vs Budget vs Adventure: Picking the Right Travel Niche

Not all travel influencers reach the same buyer. The niche determines the audience, and the audience determines whether your campaign converts.

• Luxury travel: Murad Osmann, Jack Morris, Lauren Bullen. Audiences expect 5-star properties, private villas, and premium airlines. CPM is high but purchase intent matches it.
• Budget and backpacker travel: Bryce Loski, Kara and Nate, Chloe Lukas. Audiences are younger and more price-sensitive but extremely engaged. Works well for gear, travel apps, and mid-tier accommodation.
• Adventure and outdoor: Chris Burkard, Louis Cole, Sam Kolder. Audiences skew male, 22-38, and are gear-obsessed. High conversion for outdoor equipment, cold weather apparel, and adventure tour operators.
• Cultural and educational: Nas Daily, Drew Binsky, Mark Wiens. Broad demographic, strong for destination campaigns where the goal is brand awareness over direct booking.
• Solo female travel: Sorelle Amore, Gabby Beckford, Hey Nadine. Highly loyal communities with strong purchase intent for safety products, packing solutions, and female-forward travel brands.

How to Find the Right Travel Influencer for Your Brand

The biggest mistake brands make is searching by follower count. Reach is a vanity metric. What matters is audience overlap, engagement quality, and content fit. Here is a practical process for finding travel creators that actually convert for your campaign.

1. Define your audience first. A hotel brand targeting honeymooners needs completely different creators than an adventure gear company targeting solo backpackers. Lock the audience profile before searching for creators.
2. Search by niche, not just category. Use a purpose-built tool to filter by sub-niche like luxury travel, van life, solo female travel, or digital nomad. The travel creators directory on Elev8or lets you filter by content style and audience type.
3. Check engagement rate, not just follower count. A creator with 80k followers and a 6% engagement rate will outperform a 2M follower account with 0.3%. Look at real comment quality, not just likes.
4. Verify audience authenticity. Use a fake follower checker before committing budget. Travel is one of the most purchased-follower niches on Instagram.
5. Review past brand partnerships. Check whether the creator has worked with competitors. Exclusivity matters for some campaigns. Also check whether their sponsored content looks native or forced.
6. Match platform to campaign goal. Instagram for awareness and aesthetic. YouTube for conversion and SEO longevity. TikTok for rapid reach and younger demographics.

The fastest way to do this at scale is to use an influencer finder tool that filters across all these dimensions at once instead of manually hunting through Instagram profiles.

What Does It Cost to Work with Travel Influencers?

Rates vary significantly by tier, platform, and content format. These are qualitative ranges based on market norms, not guaranteed quotes, as every creator negotiates differently.

• Nano creators (1k-10k followers): Often work for free stays or product exchange, especially for accommodation brands. Some charge a small fee for editing time. Great for testing.
• Micro creators (10k-100k followers): Typically charge a few hundred to a few thousand per deliverable depending on platform and engagement. High ROI tier for most travel brands.
• Mid-tier creators (100k-500k followers): Rates climb into the thousands per post. Video deliverables cost more than statics. Multi-deliverable packages are common.
• Macro and mega creators (500k+): Rates can run into tens of thousands per campaign, especially for YouTube integrations. Often require agency negotiation.
• Travel-specific considerations: Many travel creators also require travel and accommodation to be covered on top of the creative fee. Budget for logistics, not just the creator fee.

Outreach Tips That Actually Get Replies

Most brand outreach emails to travel creators get ignored because they are generic. Here is what works.

1. Reference a specific piece of content they made and explain why it fits your brand. One sentence of genuine specificity outperforms three paragraphs of corporate speak.
2. Lead with the value to them. A free stay at a property they would actually want to visit, an experience that fits their upcoming travel plans, or a fee that reflects their real rates.
3. Keep the initial message short. Three to four sentences max. The goal is to get a reply, not close the deal in the first email.
4. Follow up once after 5 to 7 days if no reply. A single follow-up is professional. More than one becomes spam.
5. Use a platform that centralizes communication and contracts. Managing creator outreach over personal email becomes chaotic at scale. A tool with built-in campaign management saves hours per campaign.

If you want to skip the cold outreach entirely, browse verified travel creators on Elev8or who have already opted into brand partnerships. The response rate is significantly higher when a creator has signaled intent.

Vetting Checklist Before You Sign a Creator

• Engagement rate above 2% for accounts over 100k, above 4% for accounts under 50k
• Comment quality: real questions and reactions, not emoji spam or generic phrases
• Follower authenticity score above 85% on a fake follower audit
• Past sponsored content that reads native, not forced
• Audience location match: if you are a UK hotel group, a creator with 80% US audience is a poor fit
• Content frequency: at least 2 to 3 posts per week indicates an active, algorithm-favored account
• No past brand safety issues: a quick search of their name plus controversy takes 30 seconds and can save major headaches