Going Places Turns 1 Today! 🎉

Today is a very special milestone for Going Places: we officially turn one!

When I re-launched this platform last April, I had a vision for a space inside travel media that didn’t just talk about traveling but actually challenged how we see the world. 

I wanted to build a home for decolonial storytelling, a place where we travel through a lens of equity, justice, and humanity and ask hard questions about who gets to tell the story of a place and who benefits from the traveler's presence there.

In the last twelve months, we’ve done exactly that.

In Jordan, we met the Amman-based changemaker and entrepreneur who centers local communities in tourism's "forgotten" locations.

We spotlighted the work of a handpoke tattoo artist tattooing for Palestine, featured a new walking tour digging up forgotten stories of women who built New York, and launched our Community Voices column in Minnesota that reminded us that travel isn't just "over there." It’s how we show up in our own neighborhoods.

Coming up on the platform, we’re learning about Indigenous-led tourism movements with porter advocate Marinel de Jesus, why Black stories are not just for Black travelers with travel journalist Mitti Hicks, and writing through a liberatory framework with queer writer Lindsey Danis. 

We have ambitious goals for Going Places.

But here is the reality:

Independent media requires a community to sustain it. 

We don't have corporate owners or big advertisers who restrict what stories we can pursue.

We have something more powerful: you.

People like you support our work, and they are the reason we can keep going.

But for Going Places to continue into year two and beyond, we need more paid members to join our cause.

That’s why, for the next two weeks, I’m running our first Annual Membership Drive.

🆕 We have a new membership perk this year 🆕

Every Going Places member now gets Quarterly Zoom check-ins with me.

This is where we go behind the scenes, discuss travel and industry trends, and connect inside our community.

Our first call is happening this week, on Fri, Aug 24th, at 12 pm EST! 

PLUS, for the duration of this drive, I’m offering two very special perks:

1. Learn from me: every annual member will get access to our Travel Media Masterclass Video Series. (A $79 value!) Understand how the travel media industry works with sessions that cover working with tourism boards and publications, demystify the entire pitching process, and share real earnings you can expect in this industry. ➡️ Join us as an annual member by Friday, May 1st to get free access to this masterclass.
2. Connect with me: every member who joins us during this membership drive also gets a free 15-min 1:1 call with me. Use it however you like. Join us at any level as a monthly or annual member by Friday, May 1st, and you’ll get a link to schedule your free 15 min call with me.

Help us start year two of Going Places stronger than ever: join us today.

xx,

Yulia

P.S. Our regular newsletter will return on Monday, May 4th. Until then, help us build an independent travel media platform that asks deeper questions: join us today for as little as $6/month.

P.P.S. Peek this week's creator opportunities round-up:

🚀 Cook Islands are seeking creators & storytellers – register interest by Thu, Apr 23

🚀 A $100k documentary fund for projects on the U.S. Muslim experience – apply by Sun, Apr 26

🚀 This magazine pays $1,000 for stories about forests – pitch by Wed, May 28

🚀 A marketing associate for a travel media platform – no deadline

🚀 GetYourGuide is seeking new contributors – no deadline

🚀 £4,000 for female photographers – apply by Mon, May 18

🚀 An outdoor magazine is hiring an editor (remote) – no deadline

🚀🔓BONUS: Travel to Germany with a $7,000 stipend – apply by Fri, Apr 24

🚀🔓BONUS: Outdoor Media Summit is seeking speakers – no deadline

Find all the latest opportunities here.

🔓 Bonus opportunities are unlocked for our free subscribers.