✨ Welcome to our brand-new series, TravMedia's Travel Writer of the Week! ✨
Each week, we'll be shining a spotlight on one of the incredibly talented, passionate, and inspiring Journalists or Editors from our amazing community.
We're kicking things off with the wonderful Uwern Jong — a true force in travel writing and the winner of Luxury Travel Writer of the Year at the TravMedia Awards!
We hope you enjoy - happy reading !!
Where are you based?
London, UK – although it doesn't seem like it sometimes, as I'm frequently on the road, or rather in the air.
What outlets do you write for? Who is your audience? What are your travel specialties?
I'm the Experientialist®-in-Chief of OutThere (just our own way of saying Editor-in-Chief) both in print and online at OutThere.travel. I focus on luxury and experiential travel that's centred in diversity, discovery and discernment. Our global audience is made up of discerning culturally curious and diversity-conscious travellers of all identities, those who – still to this day – feel underrepresented by mainstream travel media. Our content is targeted at high-net-worth individuals and avid travellers seeking authentic immersive and stylish experiences that are driven by purpose: meaningful, respectful of local cultures and welcoming to diverse identities. OutThere positions itself as aspirational yet grounded, offering well-curated storytelling that challenges stereotypes and champions destinations and brands that are inclusive and progressive.
Are you in-house or freelance (or both)?
In house. Literally, as I work from home or wherever I lay my hat.
What are your professional pet peeves?
"Death by press release” – especially blanket ones with no regard for who I am or what the publication covers. And more frequently these days, PRs who follow-up to a press release or an event invitation by WhatsApp or Instagram message. It's not just invasive, but unprofessional, especially if I don't know you personally. And as an Editor, the same goes for freelance writers who pitch what they want to write, without thinking about how it would work for the publication. Also we look for disruptive storytellers and story ideas with exclusivity, not ones that have been pitched and covered a hundred times before; and moreover it has to be engaging, enthralling and/or newsworthy.
In your past professional life you were …
I was in PR and Marketing, agency side… so as Joni Mitchell says, “I look at life from both sides now."
Where would you like to return to?
Destination wise? Gosh that's an impossible question – but there's a soft place in my heart for Thailand. Luckily I get to visit often, but each time I leave, I long to go back. I am also keen to support destinations that are doubling down on their inclusivity – like Malta, Spain and Sweden.
What's on your bucket list?
Right now, places that exude positivity. There is so much doom and gloom happening in the world right now, I want to go places where I can tell uplifting stories that are diverse, inclusive and representative of the many expressions of people who live in it. Also places that measure success by their happiness: like Bhutan and Finland. Plus destinations that firmly place purpose, community and provenance above all, like Belize and New Zealand.
Where do you travel for fun?
All my travel is fun! But off the clock this year, I've got Provincetown, USA, Toulouse and Ibiza booked in. In my own time, I don't just travel for the destination but to spend time reconnecting with loved ones and dear friends that I don't get to see that often because of my work. For me, that's the best reason to travel, over and above the obvious.
Your funniest (or most harrowing) travel story is …
I tend to find myself in all sorts of peculiar situations. Just last month, I travelled on safari in the Chobe in Botswana to an unfenced camp where the ranger knocked on my door one morning to point out a lion just a few metres outside my lodge. I thought I had heard some weird noises on my terrace during the night, and I soon found some huge scratches in the glass of the terrace door. Nothing humbles you more than the thought of a lion trying to get in, to share your bed! Then there was the time I was mistaken for a certain K-Pop celebrity in Mendoza, Argentina. Word quickly spread and I spent the day being asked for hundreds of selfies by locals, getting free coffee, food and even a VIP table at nightclub. I can only imagine their extreme disappointment when they found out that I wasn't him.
What advice would you give your younger professional self?
I would be to learn more languages! I adore cultural exchanges, but for some reason my younger self decided to not engage in the numerous opportunities I had to learn languages like Spanish and Mandarin. Whether through my parents or school, I just never picked it up, even when the chance to do so presented itself over and over again. Imagine if I had managed just those two, I would have the three most spoken languages in hand, allowing me to travel so much more easily and connect with so many more communities across the world, not to mention writing and expressing nuance in different languages. It's one of my greatest regrets.
What nugget would you like to add that we haven't touched on?
A war cry for all in our industry: that authenticity must be the baseline, not the afterthought in travel storytelling. The travel industry too often crafts narratives to sell escapism to the masses, but it forgets that today's travellers – particularly those from underrepresented or marginalised communities – are seeking connection, not perfection. Storytelling must evolve beyond brochure-speak and glossy generalities, into real, diverse voices and inclusive narratives that reflect the complexities of the world, told with integrity and purpose.
How best should people contact you?
You'll find me at https://travmedia.com/Client/MyProfile/32765 (no blanket or irrelevant pitches, please – see above), or follow my adventures on @uwern.
For more about OutThere visit www.OutThere.travel
