The Wrap came across an interesting discussion thread on the travelwriters.com website concerning a subject that has been given a previous airing in these columns: Media fam trips.

One writer was less than pleased to be invited on a media famil with a truckload of travel agents and assorted journalists.

“Would you want to go on a press trip with another 149 travel agents and journalists?” asked welshscribe.

The disgruntled writer added, “In an age when more and more convention and visitor bureaus/tourist boards are moving away from organising large group trips in favour of meeting the needs of individual writers, Czech Tourism has decided in its infinite wisdom that the mega press trip, combining between 100 and 150 travel agents and journalists per trip is the way to go. 

“Frankly,” said welshscribe, “I can't think of anything more ghastly than being herded around with up to 149 others, including travel agents.”

“Why?

1. Travel agents' needs and those of travel writers are rarely, if ever, compatible.

2. All those other people seeing the same things and visiting the same places at the same time? No thanks. There are only so many pubs out there.

3. How many venues outside the main cities are going to be able to cope with hosting that many people at once? Certainly not the little gems that make a story individual and special.

4. The time-wasting while everybody gets to see x, y and z is likely to be considerable, and can you imagine the time wasted waiting for latecomers? There's always one, even when there are only six writers. With 150 of them? Aargh! 

I think I'll give this idea a miss.”

The Wrap, having experienced good, bad and indifferent media famils, certainly can vouch for the last point. There is always one – often the same person – who keeps the others waiting at every juncture.

Transit Café colleague Yeoh Siew Hoon has written about her press trip pet peeves in Shy Thoughts, describing how “on a recent destination fam trip which was aimed at getting business journalists to see how the destination had changed, the itinerary still included the old and familiar sights that the seasoned journalists had seen umpteen times”.

“Remember,” she wrote, “this is the age of customisation. In travel, we keep talking about creating experiences for travellers. Well, if the messengers ain’t experiencing that, then the message will not be got.”

A recent famil experience in Singapore was made so much better for The Wrap because the STB freelance guide was cheerful, knowledgeable and, most importantly, flexible in adjusting the schedule to meet writers’ needs.

In contrast, a never-to-be-forgotten incident on a Malaysia famil saw our guide, a Muslim, being chased around a car park by a man who was intent on doing him considerable harm. The aggressor claimed our guide had insulted him by asking him to remove his shoes at a prayer site.

Perhaps The Wrap’s biggest gripe is that media are fed and fussed over during famils, and name cards are exchanged enthusiastically, yet often there is no follow up on the part of the host.

Having made contact, and taken time and resources to welcome a writer, it seems crazy to let him or her walk away with a free lunch.