Travel passion into profession: How I became a travel blogger and a part of the industry of dreams

This is a story – my story. It’s about how I started dreaming of traveling, how I ended up working in the industry of dreams, and why I eventually started writing my blog Reachinghot.com.

As a young girl I loved to spend my summers at our family cabin. I used to spend hours and hours reading old travel magazines by the lake. My family always asked me why I keep on reading the old magazines and my answer always was that I’m fascinated by them.

Railay – one of my favourite places in Thailand!

I loved how I was able to travel far away with the magazines. Every time I learnt something new about the destinations out there. I was able to dive into the deepest oceans and see stunning corals and colorful fish. I could dip my toes into the coral white sands of the Caribbean islands and be amazed by the skyscrapers of New York. I could experience all that from a small wooden porch.

Palm trees and me go well together.

When I was in secondary school I wanted to become a lawyer or an interior designer. Those wishes faded away when I went to high school where I then got the idea of studying psychology since I found it so interesting (and still do). Yet still on those days I would spend my summers reading through travel catalogs about different destinations and hotels, and not to forget all the travel magazines.

It was on my last year of high school when I was quite lost. I didn’t know what I wanted to study after graduation but then everything suddenly cleared out to me. I thought I had been a total weirdo spending my time reading all those travel magazines and catalogs since I never met anyone else who shared a passion for traveling.

Enjoying my time in Thailand!

Tourism Management. Those two words were the turning point when I found out that I could study tourism in the  University of Applied Sciences in Helsinki. In Finland you have to pass the exams to get to study the subject you want. I was lucky to get in on my first try.

I noticed that travel really is my field of passion. I loved to go to the university when I always had classes that I really thought will help me in the future. On one of the first courses I had in the university I was taught that tourism is the industry of dreams. We don’t sell anything concrete, we sell dreams. We create the wanderlust and help people fulfil their dreams. That sounded so perfect for me.

During my university time I worked abroad twice and both times in Thailand. First time I worked in a diving company in a small paradise island near Phuket called Raya Yai. The second time I was in Khanom in a 5 star hotel. Both times I loved it!

My office view in Koh Raya Yai island <3

When I got back to Finland I started working at Helsinki Airport as a check-in and gate agent. Half a year later I was a service guide helping passengers in the terminals to get on their flights. I graduated and I continued working at the airport information and parking service.

Then I created my blog Reachinghot.com. Throughout my work in the travel industry I knew I have a lot of knowledge already to share with my readers. I had had this idea of writing a blog already during my university times but I got tired of writing assignments and blogging seemed too much of an effort.

I wanted to write the blog in English instead of just Finnish to be able to reach a wider audience (there are only 5,5 million of us, hehe). I thought I would also be able to improve my language skills by writing in a foreign language.

The start of the blog wasn’t as sweet as I would have hoped since the crazy shifts I had at the airport gave a bit of a bumpy start for this blog. The first year was more or less keeping the blog alive and throwing in some article time to time.

Walkway to work in Koh Raya Yai, Thailand!

I was able to give more time for this blog after I changed to a new workplace from the airport to the back office of a tour operator. At that moment I felt like two of my dreams were fulfilled. Reading travel catalogs wasn’t such a bad idea after all.

I was finally able to give more time for my blog and be more in touch with my followers. And this is where I can thank every one of you for your support! THANK YOU!

I felt like I found like-minded people through my blog channels and my daily work. I wasn’t the weird girl dreaming on the wooden porch anymore, I found that I’m not the only one.

I found my passion and I turned it into a profession. <3

Having fun in Tallinn Estonia – awesome these fortress walls!

If you want to learn more about me read my article about how a travel blogger can have a fear of flying!