How to find travel influencers on Instagram

Travel on YouTube is mostly research: itineraries and packing videos watched before a trip. Instagram sits either side of that: the post that puts a place on someone's list, and the Stories from the trip itself.

• Places are searchable. Every location tag has a place page showing posts tagged there (Instagram's help). A hotel can see who has already posted from it, paying guests included.
• Stories happen during the stay. They go out while the creator is there, with a link sticker to book, and disappear after 24 hours unless saved to a Highlight (how long Stories stay visible). Ask for a Highlight named after your place.
• Posts are kept for later. A carousel of where to eat or stay is the kind of post people save for a trip months away. Saves show only in the creator's insights, so the public numbers miss them.

Local guides

One city or region, from someone who lives there: openings, day trips, where to eat. Fits restaurants, attractions, local hotels and tourism boards.

Hotel and stay reviewers

Room-tour Reels and "worth it?" verdicts on hotels, cabins and holiday lets. Fits hotels, short-stay operators and booking platforms.

Travel photographers

A photo-led grid. Fits tourism boards and hotels that want images, and camera and outdoor gear. Using their photos on your own channels needs a licence.

Short breaks

City breaks, train trips and getaways within reach of home. Fits rail, short stays and luggage, for followers who can act on a post this month.

Packing and travel style

Carry-on contents, travel outfits and airport routines. Fits luggage, clothing, toiletries and adapters, and overlaps with fashion creators.

Repost and feature accounts

Large accounts reposting other people's photos with a credit. Followers come for the scenery, not a person, and the photos belong to the photographers. Treat them as media to buy space on, not as creators.

• where to stay in [city]
• weekend in [region]
• hidden gems in [city]
• day trips from [city]
• boutique hotel [region]
• cabin getaway
• hotels worth the money
• best time to visit [place]
• [city] food guide
• train travel Europe
• honeymoon ideas
• what's in my carry-on

Search in your guests' language too: a hotel that wants German visitors should also search in German. Then open your own place page and those of places nearby.

The paid partnership label can name up to two brands, such as a tourism board and a hotel, and the brands tagged get the post's insights (Instagram's help). Putting a creator's photos on your website or in your ads is usage rights, agreed separately.

A free night, a discounted rate or a place on a press trip counts as payment. The FTC tells creators to disclose the relationship if they "got anything of value to mention a product" (Disclosures 101). The UK's CMA counts gifts and discounts as payment and lists "#PRTrip" and "PR Stay" among labels to avoid (guidance for creators). Use "Ad" with the paid partnership label, on every Story frame: the disclosure rules explain each format. Agree in writing:

• What's included: nights, meals, transfers and activities, and whether a fee comes on top.
• What's expected: how many Stories, Reels and posts, and when each goes live. A stay with no obligation to post still needs labelling if the creator does post.
• Honest coverage: the FTC says a creator paid to talk about a product they thought was terrible can't call it terrific. Agree that problems come to you first, and that they go in the post if guests need to know.
• Photos that match the place: a creator's photo becomes your advertising when you pay for it or repost it, and UK ads must not materially mislead (CAP Code section 3). No swapped skies or removed buildings for somewhere people will book.
• Press trips: each creator labels their own posts. Travelling in a group doesn't make the coverage editorial.

Travel Reels can reach far beyond a creator's followers, so a large following may come from one viral place, watched anywhere. Start with (likes + comments) ÷ followers as a median of recent posts, then check:

• Where followers live. Nothing on the profile shows it. Ask for the insights screen with followers' top locations (About Instagram insights): a hotel in Edinburgh wanting UK weekenders needs UK followers, wherever the creator travels.
• Saves and shares, from insights, for posts like the one you'd commission.
• Reels views per follower. Median Reels views divided by followers; the median stops a few viral Reels hiding the rest.
• Whose photos they are. Feature accounts can show strong numbers on work that isn't theirs.

Nakodo reads your website and writes a brief you can edit, with your markets, a follower range and 3 to 6 groups of search keywords: a country inn in the Lake District gets searches about walking weekends there, not "travel". Off-topic words set aside accounts whose recent captions are mostly about something else, so a family hotel might add "nightlife".

On Instagram it reads public professional accounts through Meta's Business Discovery API, including the latest 12 posts. Instagram doesn't share country or language, so those count as neutral rather than guessed; on TikTok, region and language do count. Nakodo emails the best fits with a published email, or only the ones you pick, and introduces those who say yes. It doesn't arrange stays or write agreements. See how it works.