Quality instead of quantity

The context: What travellers really need

The Bavarian Centre for Tourism (BZT) conducted a representative study with 2,035 people in 2025, which shows that travel decisions are a complex process in which financial opportunities, security aspects and personal preferences are intertwined.

The key findings

• 47% cite cost as the main factor
• 27% put safety at the top of the list
• 25% pay attention to accessibility
• 23% rely on their own good experiences

Why destinations are avoided:

• 48% because of high costs
• 46% because of lack of security
• 30% because of overcrowding/overtourism

Prof. Dr Alfred Bauer, Director of the BZT: “We see that in a time of economic uncertainty, cost issues are becoming increasingly important, while individual expectations of safety and relaxation are also shaping the overall picture.”

The consequence for tourism marketing:

Travellers need reliable information in order to make informed decisions:

• Is the destination safe?
• What specific experiences have others had?
• What is the price-performance ratio really like?
• Is the place overcrowded or are there authentic experiences?

Quality journalism answers these questions. Influencer marketing can supplement – it does not replace independent research.

Complete study results: https: //bzt.bayern/umfrage-reiseentscheidung/

Metrics for quality journalistic media

Engagement metrics

Pages per visit

• Average for news portals: 1.5-2.5 pages
• Quality media (example Q3 2025 Tellerrand stories): 6.4 pages
• Significance: Readers actually delve into the topics, follow internal links to related articles

Dwell time

• Average for news portals: 45-65 seconds
• Quality media (example Q3 2025 Tellerrand stories): 220 seconds (3:40 minutes)
• Significance: Intensive engagement with content, no superficial scanning

Page depth distribution In quality media, each article offers thematically appropriate links. The high page depth shows: Interest is stimulated, not satisfied or terminated.

Traffic quality

Organic search traffic

• Average for content media: 30-50%
• Quality media (example Q3 2025 Tellerrand stories): 72%
• Significance: People actively search for specific topics and find the medium as a relevant answer

Social media traffic

• Many media: 40-60% (often volatile, jeopardised by algorithm changes)
• Quality media (example Q3 2025 Tellerrand stories): 14%
• Significance: No dependence on capricious social media algorithms, sustainable findability

Search engine positioning

Google Search Console data

• Actual rankings for hundreds of relevant search terms
• Impressions in Google search results
• Click-through rate from search results

Google Maps integration

• Over 100 points of interest (example Q3 2025 Tellerrand stories) link to articles or photos
• Determined by Google, not requested by the user
• Quality signal: Google trusts this content as a geographically relevant source

Multi-source analysis instead of individual figures

Google’s own measurement data also has blind spots: tracking pixels only capture certain regions, CDNs deliver cached content, adblockers block tracking, RSS feeds are not counted.

The reality: Reputable media combine multiple data sources (server logs, analytics, tracking services) and make well-founded assumptions about actual usage. The media data of Tellerrand-Stories is regularly updated according to this methodology.

For media decision-makers: Instead of asking for raw data from individual tools, check the willingness to communicate transparently about the methodology. This openness is more important than any individual figure.

Multiplier effects

Photo agency reach Professional quality media often work with photo agencies. Example (Q3 2025) Tellerrand-Stories/Alamy:

• 30,000+ professionally keyworded photographs
• Total print run: 78.8 million
• 88,000 monthly views of the photos
• Network of 675 partner agencies in 173 countries (Reuters, dpa, Mauritius)

Significance: A destination is not only presented in a quality medium. The images are licensed by other editorial offices worldwide and used in their premium publications – with correct metadata and location information. Free multiplication of your visibility.

Long-term content value (evergreen principle)

ISSN archiving

• German National Library archives quality media (e.g. Tellerrand-Stories: ISSN 2750-4069)
• Permanent scientific citation capability
• In contrast to social media posts that disappear after 48 hours

Multilingualism

• Some quality media offer multilingual content (e.g. Tellerrand-Stories: German, English, French, Spanish)
• Each article multiplies its reach
• International findability without additional effort

Journalistic quality criteria

Content Authenticity Initiative Quality media are committed to international standards against disinformation (e.g. Tellerrand-Stories is a member of the Content Authenticity Initiative). All content is based on our own on-site research.

Press code conformity Reputable media demonstrate their commitment to journalistic standards (e.g. logo of the German Press Council).

Transparency

• Clearly recognisable authorship
• No AI-generated texts or stock photos
• Translations professionally edited

Comparison: quantity vs. quality

SimilarWeb: The volume problem

What SimilarWeb measures

• Estimated monthly visits (extrapolations from panel data)
• Traffic sources and geographic distribution
• Bounce rate and average time on site

Strengths of the tool

• Useful for competitive comparison of mass media offerings
• Works well with very high traffic volumes (millions of visits)
• Quick overview without access to internal data

Critical weaknesses for journalistic quality media

1. Estimates instead of facts SimilarWeb works with panel data from a few thousand users, which is then extrapolated to the total population. For smaller, specialised media, this leads to massive distortions. The figures are explicitly labelled as “estimates” – not exact measurements.
2. Minimum traffic threshold Websites below a certain traffic threshold are marked with “Not enough data” or their figures are dramatically underestimated. Quality media with targeted, qualified audiences often fall below this threshold.
3. CDN and caching remain invisible Modern content delivery networks and cached pages are not captured. In the case of Tellerrand stories with content in four languages and professional caching, this means that A large proportion of actual usage is not measured.
4. Adblocker bias Readers of quality media use adblockers more frequently than average (studies show: 40-60% among educational target groups). Panel tracking tools cannot capture these users.
5. Mass instead of class SimilarWeb cannot distinguish between 10,000 qualified readers who read an average of 6 articles and 10,000 random clicks that are gone after 5 seconds.

Why Tellerrand-Stories performs worse here

The medium deliberately does not pursue a clickbait strategy. Instead of viral traffic peaks through social media, Tellerrand-Stories focusses on sustainable, organic search traffic. This means: continuous, qualified readers over years instead of short-term mass clicks.

Domain Authority (Moz): The backlink problem

What Domain Authority measures

• Link profile (number and quality of incoming links)
• Estimation of ranking potential on a scale of 1-100
• Based on over 40 factors, mainly backlinks

Strengths of the tool

• Useful for technical SEO
• Shows backlink strength in comparison
• Established metric in the SEO industry

Critical weaknesses

1. Not a Google ranking factor Domain Authority is a proprietary Moz metric. Google itself does not use it for rankings. It is an indirect indicator, not the actual measured value.
2. Link quantity over link quality A tabloid medium with thousands of social media shares can have a higher DA than a specialised medium with few, but high-quality references from scientific sources.
3. New and specialised domains at a disadvantage The logarithmic scale makes it extremely difficult to move up from low values (below 30). Mass media with decades of history have structural advantages.
4. Gaming-prone link farms and automated backlink strategies can artificially increase DA without journalistic quality behind it.
5. Does not measure journalistic excellence A well-linked medium is not automatically a credible medium. Virality and sensationalism generate links – factual accuracy often does not.

What’s more important for edge-of-the-seat stories

Instead of masses of backlinks, what counts is the positioning in search engines for relevant specialist terms. Over 100 points of interest on Google Maps link directly to articles or photos – a quality signal that Google actually honours, but is not reflected in the DA.

Case study: Why SimilarWeb rankings are misleading

Scenario A: Boulevard travel portal

• SimilarWeb: 5 million visits/month ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Dwell time: 32 seconds
• Pages/visit: 1.2
• Traffic source: 65% Facebook (through paid ads)
• Content: Listicles such as “10 Instagram hotspots in Iceland”
• Lifespan: Article no longer relevant after one week

Benefit for tourism destination: Short-term traffic peak, superficial mention, quickly forgotten.

Scenario B: Quality medium (example: Tellerrand stories Q3 2025)

• SimilarWeb: “Not enough data” or greatly underestimated ⭐
• Dwell time: 220 seconds
• Pages/visit: 6.4
• Traffic source: 72% Google search
• Content:
  • Search query: Underestimated fish carp – detailed report on 1,000-year-old pond farming, Cistercian monks, modern challenges with otters, connection to culinary delights and nature conservation
  • Search query: Packhorses Caucasus – trekking tour through Tusheti with cultural and historical backgrounds, defence towers, Georgian wine culture
• Lifespan: Articles are found continuously for years with search queries such as “carp farming Upper Palatinate”, “Tushetia trekking”, “traditional pond farming Bavaria”, “hiking Georgia Caucasus”

Benefits for tourism destination: Sustainable positioning with cultural depth, long-term visibility among qualified travellers who want to engage intensively with the destination. A Google search for “carp farming Upper Palatinate” or “Tusheti trekking” brings up the quality medium alongside official tourism sites and specialised tour operators – a signal of quality.

Link to the BZT study: It is precisely this kind of well-founded information that is needed by the 27% of travellers who prioritise safety and the 23% who rely on previous positive experiences. Quality journalism answers the question: “Is this destination really what I’m looking for?”

Media decision-makers often overlook what is relevant

Media decision-makers see: “Scenario A has 40x more traffic than scenario B”

The reality: Scenario B generates more qualified prospective destination customers over five years and multiplies visibility through picture agency licences in international publications.

Why the homepage no longer matters – and deep links are everything

Many media decision-makers still judge media based on their homepages: How attractive is the start page? How many clicks does it generate? This way of thinking stems from the print era, when the front page determined sales success. In the digital age, it is outdated.

The three levels of digital presence

The homepage – a shop window without walk-in customers

Today, the homepage is primarily a branding element and navigation hub for regular readers. For quality media with strong organic search traffic, it often accounts for only 5-15% of all page views.

Why? Because people no longer ‘go to the newspaper,’ but use search engines to look for specific information – and land directly on the relevant article page.

Example Tellerrand-Stories (Q3 2025):

• Homepage visits: ~12% of all page views
• Article pages: ~88% of all page views
• 72% of traffic comes directly to article pages via search engines

Consequence: An ‘unattractive’ homepage is not a quality defect – it is simply irrelevant in content-driven media.

Deep links – the real currency

Deep links are direct links to specific article pages, not to the home page. They represent the actual reach of a quality medium. Why deep links are more important than homepage traffic:

• Search engines rank articles, not homepages: if someone Googles ‘carp farming Upper Palatinate’, they will land directly on the relevant article – not on the home page.
• Sustainability: A well-researched article will be found and linked to for years to come.
• Qualified traffic: Anyone who searches specifically for a topic and lands on the relevant article has a genuine interest.
• Multiplikator-Effekte: Andere Medien, Blogger, Forscher verlinken auf spezifische Artikel, nicht auf Homepages

Evergreen advantage:
An article published in 2019 about traditional pond farming can still be found in 2025 – and continues to generate qualified traffic. The homepage from 2019? Long outdated and irrelevant.

What media decision-makers should ask:

• How many of your articles rank for relevant search terms?
• How long do articles remain discoverable and relevant?
• What is the proportion of organic search traffic on article pages?

Social media posts – the 48-hour bubble

Social media posts are the most fleeting form of digital presence. Algorithms favour topicality – after 48 hours, the average post is practically invisible.

The reality of social media

Example:
An Instagram post about a destination may reach 10,000 people in two days – then it’s history. A researched article about the same destination will be found by 50,000 people over five years – consistently, via organic search, by people with genuine interest.

The fallacy of ‘viral reach’:
A viral social media post with 1 million views is impressive – but how many of those views lead to genuine engagement with the destination? And how many people still remember it 48 hours later?

Sustainability perspective: What really works in the long term

Homepage optimisation:
Investment in design and user guidance – Value: branding, regular reader navigation
Sustainability: Medium (needs to be replaced regularly)

Deep link optimisation (SEO, evergreen content):
Investment in thorough research, SEO, multilingualism
Sustainability: Very high (years to decades of added value)

Social media campaigns:
Investment in posts, stories, reels
Sustainability: Very low (48 hours visibility)

Recommendations for media decision-makers

Comparable media should be evaluated according to

Engagement metrics rather than volume

• Ask for average dwell time
• Ask about pages per visit
• Ask about return visitor rate

Traffic quality instead of traffic quantity

• How high is the proportion of organic search traffic?
• How specifically are people searching for the content?
• Are specific technical terms found or only generic terms?

Multiplier effects

• Is the content licensed by other media?
• Is there professional image utilisation (agencies)?
• Are the articles cited as a source?

Long-term content value

• How long do articles remain online and findable?
• Is there archiving (ISSN, libraries)?
• Evergreen content vs. daily news?

Target group quality

• Does the medium reach the desired target group (e.g. post-material leading milieu)?
• What is the level of education of the readers?
• Are they impulse buyers or conscious travellers?

Journalistic quality criteria

• Factual accuracy and transparency
• Own research vs. PR takeover
• Press code conformity
• Content authenticity

Summary: The paradigm shift

Old way of thinking (mass media era)

“The more people visit a page, the more valuable it is for our destination.”

New reality (quality media in the digital age)

“The longer people engage with our destination, the more often our content is recognised as a reliable source and the more sustainable our visibility is, the more valuable the medium is.”

Influencers or journalists: a fundamental difference

The problem with fake followers in influencer marketing

Media decision-makers are contacted by influencers who usually advertise with high follower numbers. But studies show: The reality behind these numbers is often problematic.

Purchased followers and fake engagement are the industry standard

Studies show an alarming picture: according to research, around 55% of influencers on Instagram were involved in fraudulent activities in 2020. Methods include bought followers, bots, engagement groups and artificially inflated interaction rates. A WDR experiment in 2018 demonstrated this impressively: with just 200 euros, a reporter was able to become a “fake influencer” and generate 23,100 followers and 15 cooperation commitments worth 2,900 euros within a month.

Recognisable features of fake followers

• Sudden leaps in followers instead of organic growth
• Extremely low engagement rate (under 1%) or unnaturally high rate (over 10%)
• Superficial comments: “Great!”, “Cool!”, or just emojis
• Followers from geographically irrelevant regions
• Follower-following ratio close to 1:1 (bought through “follow-for-follow”)
• Many followers without their own posts or with questionable profiles

Study situation on fake engagement

HypeAuditor study 2020:
According to HypeAuditor’s analysis, around 55% of Instagram influencers were involved in some form of fraudulent activity in 2020 – from bought followers to engagement pods to story view purchases. (Source: Campaign UK, November 2021)

Statista figures 2023:
According to Statista/HypeAuditor, the average fraud rate for Instagram influencers in 2023 was 49.19%. For mega-influencers (over 1 million followers), the rate was even higher: 58.5% were involved in fraudulent activities. (Source: Statista, March 2024)

WDR experiment 2018:
A reporter became a fake influencer with just 200 euros: 23,100 followers bought, 15 cooperation promises worth 2,900 euros within a month. The experiment showed how easily brands can be deceived.(Video documentary, WDR interview)

The legal dimension in Germany

Important: Not every purchased follower count is automatically a criminal offence. The legal assessment depends on the individual case.

When can fraud (Section 263 StGB) be committed?

According to German legal experts, the purchase of fake followers can, under certain circumstances, constitute the offence of fraud if

1. The influencer, by deceiving about the actual reach (pretending to have false follower numbers)
2. causes a company to make a mistake
3. the company makes a financial decision based on this error (e.g. advertising contract)
4. and this results in a financial loss
5. the influencer acts with the intention of enrichment

How media decision-makers recognise serious influencer collaborations

Not all influencer collaborations are problematic. There are definitely reputable creators with authentic communities. Media decision-makers should check the following criteria:

1. use technical checking tools

Recommended tools with fraud detection:

• HypeAuditor – analyses follower quality, engagement authenticity, detects bots
• Modash – audience insights, fake follower detection
• InfluencerDB – detailed audience analysis
• KData365 – API-based insights on follower quality

These tools can analyse up to 80+ data points and detect suspicious patterns.

2. manual review

• Check engagement rate: Authentic accounts have 2-3% engagement. Strongly deviating values are suspicious
• Read comments: Are they specific and content-related or just generic?
• Follower origin: Does the geographical distribution match the target group?
• Content quality: Consistent style and posting frequency speak in favour of authenticity

3. contractual clauses for transparency

Serious collaborations should include

• Labelling obligation: Clear advertising labelling (surreptitious advertising is illegal)
• Authenticity guarantee: Confirmation that followers have grown organically
• Performance guarantees: Payment based on actual results (conversions, traffic) instead of a flat fee
• Audit right: right to check follower quality by third-party providers

4. favour micro- and nano-influencers

Studies show: Smaller creators (5,000-50,000 followers) often have more authentic communities and higher engagement rates than mega-influencers. They are less likely to be involved in fraudulent activities.

Journalists as a reliable alternative

In contrast to influencers, professional journalists are subject to strict ethical and legal obligations:

Press Code Obligations(Clause 15):

• Journalists may not accept invitations or gifts whose value exceeds what is professionally necessary
• Research and reporting must not be influenced by gratuities
• When reporting on press trips, the funding must be made clear
• Information must be provided regardless of whether an invitation has been accepted

Transparency obligation: In contrast to influencer cooperations, journalistic reporting is clearly regulated that financed research must be made transparent. Reputable quality media label accordingly when research has been supported.

No contractual consideration

A critical point that is often misunderstood: Press trips are journalistic research tools, not barter deals. Journalists are not owed positive reports, image rights or guaranteed coverage. The German Council for Public Relations clarifies: “Invitations to press trips must be in a comprehensible relationship to the reason for the information. They must not be linked to an explicit expectation of a positive report and certainly not be linked to benefits of any kind.”

The economic reality of travel journalism

The paradox of the industry

The tourism sector is an economic factor worth billions. Tour operators, PR agencies and hotels earn good money from marketing destinations. At the same time, professional travel journalists are struggling to make ends meet.

The fee situation (as of 2024):

• Average hourly rate for freelance journalists: 22.73 euros gross (Freischreiber-Honorarreport)
• Daily rates often between 250-400 euros, from which taxes (approx. 30%), health insurance and work materials are deducted
• Many media pay line fees of only 0.80-1.20 euros (local daily newspapers)
• Practically every second travel article in German media is written on the basis of a press trip because editorial offices do not provide their own research budgets

Why press trips are not “monetary benefits”:

Press trips are comparable to press conferences: No one would accuse a business journalist of receiving a “pecuniary benefit” because they receive free drinks at an annual press conference. Likewise, press trips are necessary tools for researching on location. Without this opportunity, in-depth travel journalism would be practically impossible, as:

1. Most media organisations are not prepared to finance research
2. Freelance journalists are unable to finance their own research trips due to low fees
3. Destinations have a legitimate interest in independent, professional reporting

The Association of German Travel Journalists (VDRJ) puts it clearly: “As a professional association, the VDRJ would like it not to be the rule that the industry whose offers are reported on is also the financier of the necessary information trips. But unfortunately we have to accept that media companies do not want to provide budgets for the work of travel journalists on location.”

What media decision-makers must not demand

• Guarantee positive reporting
• Pre-checking or approval of articles
• Transfer of image rights without additional remuneration
• Obligation to publish
• Rights of use for PR purposes without a separate agreement

These demands contradict the Press Code and jeopardise journalistic independence.

Permissible expectations:

• Professional working methods and adherence to deadlines
• Fair, factual reporting (not: positive)
• Transparent labelling of financed research
• Timely information in the event of non-publication

The value of professional travel journalism

What society loses when journalism is replaced by influencers

1. Loss of credibility: fake followers, bought likes and paid praise undermine trust in information
2. Loss of critical categorisation: journalists can name problematic developments (overtourism, greenwashing, social grievances) – influencers are often contractually prevented from doing so
3. No sustainable research: influencer content is optimised for quick clicks, journalistic content works for years as evergreen content
4. No professional standards: press code, fact checks, sources – none of this exists with influencers
5. Loss of information for the public: if no one reports independently on destinations, travellers no longer have a reliable source of information

Summary: Why journalists are the better choice

Appeal to media decision-makers

The BZT study clearly shows that travel decisions are based on multi-layered information needs – safety, costs, authenticity, previous experiences. This information must be credible in order to be effective.

Professional travel journalism is under enormous economic pressure. While the tourism industry turns over billions, the journalists who report on this industry are working at subsistence level. At the same time, they are compared to influencers who lure people in with bought followers and guaranteed positive reports.

Your decision in favour of professional journalism means

• You support reliable sources of information instead of fake engagement
• You get long-term visibility instead of short-lived clicks
• You invest in credibility instead of manipulation
• You enable critical quality journalism that benefits your destination more than whitewashing

Quality media such as Tellerrand-Stories stand for precisely these professional standards: transparent working methods, journalistic independence, sustainable visibility and measurable quality instead of empty follower numbers.

Evaluate media according to the right criteria

Not all influencers are dubious – there are authentic creators with real communities. But: media decision-makers must actively check quality (tools, audits, performance contracts).

Journalists offer structural advantages: Press code obligation, no dependence on client ratings, long-term content relevance, professional image utilisation.

Travel decisions according to the BZT study: The 46% of travellers who avoid destinations due to “lack of safety” need reliable information. This can be provided by professional journalists who carry out critical research – influencers with a contractual positivity obligation cannot do this structurally.

Your benefits in three sentences

Tellerrand-Stories guarantees sustainable visibility among a highly qualified target group that is actively looking for in-depth information. Our reporting works for years – in four languages and with professional image utilisation that makes your destination known far beyond our platform. Instead of short-lived clicks, we offer lasting reference quality that convinces search engines, AI systems and travellers alike.

Note on transparency: This guide was created by the team at Tellerrand-Stories, a quality journalistic medium. We have a vested interest in highlighting the differences between influencer marketing and journalism. However, the facts and studies presented here are independently verifiable and are backed up with sources. The illustrations were created by Gemini AI and are therefore not copyrighted.