Who are the most influential travel bloggers? That isn’t an easy question to answer, because it’s not just site visits and mainstream media mentions that matter (in fact, those often matter very little). It’s how the blogger influences travelers and the overall industry. And at the end of the day, that’s a pretty subjective thing.
Who better to make that call than yours truly? Here are the most influential travel bloggers of 2007, as I see it. I’m listing them alphabetically:
Mark Ashley (Upgrade: Travel Better). Mark’s blog is a must-read for business travelers. He has terrific news instincts and a good sense of humor about the biz, which serves him well.
Paul Brady (Jaunted). When it comes to travel blogging, can you be hip and influential at the same time? Many have tried. Paul and his crew of bloggers at Jaunted are one of only a few who have pulled it off.
Arthur Frommer (Frommers). The man who brought us Europe on 5 Dollars a Day is already a travel god. Now he’s a blogging travel god. You go, Mr. Frommer.
Holly Hegeman (PlaneBuzz). Holly writes the airline blog. There is nothing more to say.
Wendy Perrin (Perrin Post). Wendy and her friends over at Conde Nast Traveler deliver a nice mix of consumer travel news and destination reports. Plus, it’s a fun read.
Ben Popken (Consumerist). Granted, it’s not a travel blog, but when it covers the travel industry it does it very well, serving up an intriguing mix of insider news, firsthand reports from customers and solid analysis.
Rick Seaney (Rickseaney.com). Take a few supercomputers crunching fare data, an irreverent attitude and right-on blogging instincts and what do you have? The guy behind Farecompare and the only corporate blogger to make this list.
… and here are 7 rising stars who are on track to make next year’s list (If I’m still around to do one):
Joe Brancatelli, who had a good thing going with his Summer of Our Discontent blog, but which only lasted one season. Give us more, Joe!
Peter Greenberg’s site, which is well on its way to becoming an influential blog as well. A recent redesign and more frequent updates make his site worth bookmarking.
Jeanne Leblanc over at the Hartford Courant, whose Coach Class blog isn’t quite a year old but is already the most influential single-author travel blog written by an MSMer.
The group-written Intelligent Travel blog penned by my colleagues at National Geographic Traveler. This blog has recently been re-imagined and is already a must-read for green travelers.
Bill Marriott’s blog, Marriott on the Move. Now there’s a guy who gets podcasting.
Southwest Airlines’ Nuts About Southwest is well on its way to getting it, although I’m also impressed with Delta Air Lines’ new corporate blog.
