Why This India Travel Blog Will Never Cover Anything But India

I’ve noticed a trend lately in travel blogs. Country specific sites lull you in with the idea that they are all things France, or everything you want to know about Italy, only to find articles about the writer’s recent trip to China, or San Francisco, or Iceland. This discovery came off the heels of scouring the internet for exciting new travel blogs. Nothing provides more inspiration than to see where other travel blog writers are exploring. Newly bookmarked sites fast become reliable favorites, a go-to destination to find information on the latest unknown must-see spot or do-not-disturb sign for a spot once considered hot.

One such site I stumbled upon was India Backpack Motorbike. It follows the adventures of Venkat Ganesh, a 28 year old Mumbai native who quit his job to travel India. I love his easy style of writing and even more his terrific colorful photos. Best of all…Venkat’s travel blog only covers India. He says so right in his title.

So why are travel blogs these days getting sidetracked into other destinations? Are faithful readers willing to go on the same journey as the author if they’ve been fed a strict diet of only one country, namely India?

For example, one recent site that promoted itself as an India travel blog featured posts from a recent trip to Nepal. Another was highlighting a recent trip to Sri Lanka. Both are countries which India tourists do jump over the border to explore and hold some distant similarities to Indian culture. Still others were way off in Japan and beyond. I expect that of Round-The-World (RTW) travel blogs, not country focused sites.

Have the authors run out of content? If so, why not throw in the towel and start afresh rather than re-branding?

I grew up in a generation that placed heavy emphasis on brand loyalty. Because Madge soaked her hands in Palmolive for years, so did my grandmother. That intense connection felt by my grandmother was passed on to me at a young age. Years later when traveling in a remote town of India I needed powder laundry detergent for a bucket wash. Packets of Rin hanging from the store shelf were my only option. So which brand did I search out in the next town? You guessed it.

Do you share the same connection to websites? Do you expect your favorite travel blog to stay subject focused or do you read them for reasons beyond the destinations? Am I setting myself up for failure by promising this India travel blog will never cover anything but India?

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