An Interview with Christopher Elliott

Christopher Elliott is the kind of writer whose words of advice have taken him all over the publishing map. Elliot, who cut his writing teeth at Dow Jones by writing about the stock market, has written for an impressive number of publications on an impressive number of topics. Whether he’s working on his column for The Washington Post, guest-hosting Fine Living Network’s show “What You Get For The Money: Vacations,” or writing pieces for the likes of CNN, MSNBC, or The New York Times, Elliot is proof that some of the best travel writing doesn’t have to come from travelers. Along with his consumer advocacy work, he is also the co-founder of the Consumer Travel Alliance, a Washington-based advocacy group for travelers. Check out his website here!

How did you “break in to travel writing”? What have been the keys to your success?

I’m not sure if I’ve broken into travel writing yet! But assuming I have, my key to success is persistence. Never stop!

Where do you see your career as a travel writer being three years from now? How will your income mix change and what are you doing to adapt to the changing media landscape?

More “new” media, definitely.

What advice would you give to someone near and dear to you who wanted to become a travel writer—assuming they had zero credits to their name. (Besides “Don’t do it”?)

Become a blogger — and be interesting.

What do you love and what do you hate about your adopted home of Orlando, Florida?

Orlando is the vacation capital of the world. I love the fact that the people here understand tourism and customer service. And I also hate it – because when I leave, I’m reminded of how good Orlando does it.

You’ve jokingly billed yourself as “a travel writer who doesn’t travel,” but do you feel like you need to get out and about now and then to see airports and rental car counters first-hand? Or can you just live vicariously (and feel the pain) of all the people who turn to you for help?

Actually, it’s not a joke. I cover consumer news, not destinations. So there really isn’t much for me to experience – or that I would want to experience. It’s a little bit like asking a reporter who covers crime how often they’ve been to jail, or a sports reporter how many pro sports they’ve played. You don’t have to travel to write about it.

___

Christopher Elliott is a journalist and consumer advocate. His articles, columns and essays offer advice for people who want to become more informed customers. Elliott is National Geographic Traveler’s reader advocate and a nationally syndicated columnist through Tribune Media Services, which distributes his columns to publications from the San Francisco Chronicle to the Chicago Tribune. He’s penned regular travel columns for multiple publications and his essays have appeared on nearly every major U.S. newspaper’s op-ed page.

Interview conducted in January, 2011 by Travel Writing 2.0 author Tim Leffel and edited by Kristin Mock.