Travel occasions
World Tourism Day on 27 September, what it marks in India, and what to write on a day about the people who host travellers rather than the places.
One day: World Tourism Day on 27 September, marking the adoption of the UN Tourism statutes in 1970. A different country hosts it each year, with a theme published in advance.
India has hosted it, and the day is marked here with state tourism campaigns, free or discounted entry at some monuments and Archaeological Survey of India sites, and awards for states and operators. If you are planning to visit something on 27 September, it is worth checking whether entry is free that day.
Writing about travel without writing a brochure
The default post is a photograph of a mountain and a line about wanderlust. It is indistinguishable from every other one.
The version worth sending names people. The driver who took a detour to show you something. The family whose homestay you slept in. The guide at the fort who knew which stories were true and told you anyway.
Tourism is an employment story more than a scenery story: guides, drivers, cooks, boatmen, artisans, and a great many seasonal workers whose year depends on a few good months.
If you are writing to someone who is travelling
Skip the warnings about food and safety unless they asked. Send them one specific thing instead: a place to eat, a question to ask, something you wish you had noticed when you were there.
For someone moving rather than visiting, best wishes messages covers what to write for a move abroad, and miss-you messages for when they have gone.