Travel Bugs World - Shakeup in the Digital Nomad industry

Travel Bugs World is a travel & lifestyle blog for anyone who wants to be inspired and motivated to travel. Travel Bugs World shares advice and tips gained from visiting 50 countries over the last 20 years. It covers topics which make travel logistics easier and shares advice on destinations, travel tips, resources and real travel stories. The blog also features travel blogger resources. Primarily, it is a blog for travellers and people who want to join a travel community that appreciates travel as a way of life. The purpose of the blog is to show how to live a life of adventure, exploration and passion.

They have a strong presence & large following on social media, particularly Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram. The community is active and engaged.

Travel Bugs World have created and host two weekly Twitter chats, with a combined reach of over 18 million every week. #FlashbackFridayz mission is to showcase destinations with a new theme each week. #ThankfulThursdayEverday is a chat for bloggers and travellers to share their message of gratefulness with new topics/questions weekly.

"Our mission is to help you travel sooner rather than later, and show you how to travel for longer, with the end goal being living a life of travel."

Travel Bugs have travelled since their teens, after road tripping in the USA and Europe. They met in Thailand while both on extended gap years, and with this in common, they formed a bond and continued gallivanting across the world together ever since.

“The longer we stay away for, the better the experience. A one or two week holiday is fun, but we love to immerse ourselves in the country by learning about life there, the culture and the language. That's our goal when we travel, to experience the culture and way of life of the country we are in. We achieve this by travelling there as long as possible and by living in that country”.

Travel Bugs love for travel writing stems from a passion for writing, as well as from reading other travel writing.

“For us, it is an opportunity to share the wonders of the world. Ultimately, travel writing combines our passion for travel and writing”. 

Travel Bugs World was set up as travel and writing is their life. And this combines the passion while allowing them to become financially independent.

“It gives us the freedom to live our life on our own terms. Sharing this information with travellers inspires and motivates us”.

They have spent the last seven months in New Zealand living in the rainforest in a cabin in a private campground on the West Coast. Using the time since the COVID lockdown to develop themselves, take bush walks or go to the beach. 

“When we left our corporate jobs in Australia six years ago, we pledged never to return to that way of life again. Even when we are not travelling, we embrace a life which is filled with adventure, self-development and exploration”. 

The team are pleased to spend seven months in New Zealand and not move further than 40km from home. 

“We think a hiatus has been long overdue. The world and tourism have been hurling forward full throttle. Too many people have been stomping over sacred and historical sites. Small villages have lost their way of life, and many countries are losing their culture, identity and becoming more westernised”.

The fact that they work in the industry of selling travel means Travel Bugs have had to adapt. And that's ok. It's time travel bloggers change and stop pushing people to travel so fast and furious without respect for the places they are visiting.

There's a niggle at the back of their brains when it comes to a changing industry. It is thinking about how people will want to forget and carry on with the way it was.

“We have written a post on our blog about blogging, travel and the road ahead after surveying 45 travel bloggers at our monthly #TravelBlogTips chat. The consensus is that times will be uncertain throughout this year and 2021. In this time, people will be travelling locally and in their own countries. People will take shorter flights and likely take more road trips. City vacations would give way to rural destinations, beach, park & mountain holidays so that people find it easier to socially distance.

Some companies would go out of business, bringing less competition and higher prices. Health restrictions will stop others from travelling. Some people will not have money to travel at all since losing their jobs since the pandemic began”.

Many of the bloggers from their survey think now is a time when sustainable travel can come to the forefront.

“However, as we are already seeing with borders reopening and overly packed beaches, those that can afford a holiday, are travelling with a vengeance!

And right now in New Zealand, we are seeing many New Zealanders travelling all over the country. They realise that the future is uncertain, so they need to tick off their 'bucket list'”. 

Travel Bugs believe there is a shakeup in the Digital Nomad industry at the moment, especially for travel bloggers as people are not travelling. But many are diversifying in what they write and finding ways to adapt.

“Eventually, we think there will be more growth in the industry as more people realise that they can do their jobs while based at home or anywhere else in the world. We think there will be more people finding ways to become independent and travelling for longer, and hopefully more sustainably”.  

Travel Bugs find it cheaper to travel to Asia to live while working and holidaying there for 3 to 4 months than living in expensive western countries such as Australia and New Zealand. “We, therefore, spend 3 to 4 months every year in Asia and have done so for the last six years”.

Their advice for aspiring digital nomads is to take a few months off work and go on a trip where you relocate to another country. From your base, travel locally and slowly. Test it out and see if it is something for you.

“If you are not ready to start anything new on this trip, you can start by doing online courses to increase your skills. Whatever happens, it will change your life and give you ideas, inspiration and epiphanies about the future direction in your life.

There are many ways to become a digital nomad. One of those is starting a blog. Another is freelancing work. But its also possible you can make an arrangement with your current employer, if it is possible to work remotely.

We have been living a life where we spend 30 % of our life in Asia, 20% in Australia and 30% in New Zealand for the last six years.  We travel with the seasons and pick a few new countries to visit each year. By not moving around too much, it is not very expensive”.

They travel every year to Thailand and always try to visit Koh Phangan as much as they can. “We fell in love with Koh Phangan since our first visit in the late 90s. We love the nature on the island, the way of life, the culture, the temple, the people and the history we have there.

To read more about why we love Koh Phangan, read our post -

8 reasons to go to Thailand's Koh Phangan Island now!

When we can safely travel again, we will come back to Thailand for another three or four months. Till then we will be road-tripping in Australia and New Zealand, hopefully in a camper van”.