Top 15 Rising Travel Influencers to Watch in 2025
A new generation of creators reshaping the travel world
These creators are building loyal communities, pioneering new formats, and capturing destinations in bold, creative ways. Whether it’s raw adventure, hyper-local storytelling, or tech-powered travel — these are the names to know this year.
1.
TiffPenguin – @tiffpenguin
A visual storyteller from South Africa, Tiff combines moody edits, ocean shots, and minimal aesthetics. Her passion for diving and marine life shines through every post. She’s a favorite among eco-conscious brands and underwater gear companies, making waves on both Instagram and Pinterest.
2.
Exploring With Josh – @exploringwithjosh
With a cult YouTube following, Josh explores abandoned places, hidden locations, and eerie historical sites. He brings a documentary-style lens to urban exploration, blending thrill with education. His content is gripping, unexpected, and always leaves you curious for more.
3.
Sorelle Amore – @sorelleamore
Sorelle built her brand around the “Advanced Selfie,” but has evolved into a conscious creator advocating slow, intentional travel. Her photography is raw yet curated, and her lifestyle advice blends entrepreneurship, minimalism, and sustainability. She’s also a co-founder of a creative retreat in Iceland.
4.
Max Zaharenkov – @maxzaharenkov
Max is a high-impact luxury travel creator with over 4M followers, known for immersive reels, drone cinematography, and high-level brand collaborations. He’s not just a content creator—he’s a filmmaker and entrepreneur building SaaS tools, climate-tech, and media assets across the travel space. His ability to blend strategy with visual storytelling sets him apart in the top tier of 2025.
5.
Haylsa & Kyle Hunter – @haylsa & @kyle_hunter
This Australian duo creates visually perfect content that feels like a living travel magazine. Known for their signature pastel tones and island-focused escapism, their content is clean, dreamy, and brand-safe. They collaborate with tourism boards, hotels, and lifestyle brands across Southeast Asia and the Pacific.
6.
Johnny Ward – @onestep4ward
Johnny turned a blog into a travel empire. He’s visited every country, completed extreme challenges like rowing across the Atlantic, and shares brutally honest updates about entrepreneurship, freedom, and adventure. His story inspires many to break free from the 9-to-5.
7.
Chelsea Kauai – @chelseakauai
Chelsea is a thoughtful creator who blends nature, introspection, and physical movement into her content. A former freediver and eco-travel ambassador, her captions read like journal entries and her visuals connect deeply with wellness-driven audiences.
8.
Mitch and Élodie – @the_mustards
This Swedish couple merges design, lifestyle, and global travel with a quirky twist. Their slow-paced, aesthetic-driven adventures focus on quality over quantity. Their YouTube channel also shares minimalism, ethical fashion, and life philosophy.
9.
Luke Stackpoole – @withluke
A master of natural lighting and moody tones, Luke is one of the most in-demand landscape photographers on Instagram. His ability to turn even a grey day into a cinematic masterpiece has made him a favorite among brands like DJI, Adobe, and The North Face.
10.
Carmen Huter – @carmenhuter
A self-described adventurer with a gentle soul, Carmen shares powerful storytelling rooted in nature, kindness, and conservation. Her captions focus on reflection, gratitude, and protecting the planet while traveling consciously.
11.
Jorden Tually – @jordentually
Jorden brings fun and humor into travel content without losing quality. His reels often go viral for their comedy value, and he specializes in making travel look exciting, chaotic, and real — a great example of entertainment-first travel storytelling.
12.
Jenifer Tuffen – @izkiz
Jenifer’s feed is sunshine in a scroll. Based in Turkey, she creates cheerful, highly aesthetic content that appeals to travel lovers, lifestyle brands, and tourism boards. With dreamy hues and postcard-perfect scenes, her content is pure escapism.
13.
Tom Jauncey (Beautiful Destinations) – @tomjauncey
Co-founder of Beautiful Destinations, Tom combines strategy and visuals like few others. While he shares behind-the-scenes looks at his work, he also builds major campaigns with governments, tourism boards, and airlines. His feed is insight meets inspiration.
14.
Nastasia Yakoub – @dametraveler
Founder of one of the biggest female travel communities online, Nastasia focuses on empowering women through solo travel, community stories, and elegant visuals. Her curated style and inclusive voice have built a loyal global audience.
15.
Jacob Riglin – @jacob
A pioneer in cinematic travel content, Jacob is the guy behind many high-end resort campaigns you’ve seen. He now blends motivational content, brand building, and advanced filmmaking across his platforms. His posts often feel like movie trailers for real life.
