✨ Welcome to our brand-new series, TravMedia's Travel Writer of the Week! ✨

Each week, we'll be shining a spotlight on one of the incredibly talented, passionate, and inspiring Journalists or Editors from our amazing community.

This week, we'd like to shine the spotlight on Yvette Cook - multi-award winning travel journalist who specialises in positive impact tourism. 

We hope you enjoy - happy reading !!

Where are you based?

I'm based in London, but my roots are still firmly in Leicestershire where I grew up. 

What outlets do you write for? Who is your audience? What are your travel specialties?

I'm most passionate telling stories about how we can make a positive impact in choosing how we travel, especially by empowering women. I love getting under the skin of less well-known destinations, all the better if I can jump on a train to get there. 

My first article was only published 18 months ago, yet in that time I have written for the Independent, adventure.com, iPaper, New Zealand Herald and BBC Sky at Night Magazine. 

Are you in-house or freelance (or both)? 

Freelance 

What are your professional pet peeves?

I dream of a world where editors are no longer stretched, so they have the time to respond and give feedback on a pitch within 72 hours, and the resources to pay writers appropriate fees. 

In your past professional life you were …

A civil servant. 

Where would you like to return to?

One visit to Rio de Janeiro was never going to be enough - I'd love to visit new neighbourhoods and understand more about the city's rich food history. Overtourism at Christ the Redeemer was ridiculous (admittedly, I was also part of the problem), so next time I'll visit on a cold, wet day and hopefully gaze up in solitude.  

What's on your bucket list?

Visiting southern Brazil only heightened my thirst for an adventurous roadtrip across South America. It's such a diverse continent, culturally and geographically, there's just so much to get excited about. Otherwise, I'd love to immerse myself in the quieter corners of Japan.  

Where do you travel for fun?

On a sleeper train - there's something very romantic about going to sleep in one place and waking up in another. Being rocked (or jolted) to sleep, opening the blind in the morning with a new scene and then just watching the world go by, often making new friends along the way. Perfect.  

Your funniest (or most harrowing) travel story is …

In October 2017 I was trapped by the Portuguese wildfires and didn't know whether I was going to survive. I felt unprepared in the moment and, one day, I will write about my experience so others know what to do if they're ever caught up in these increasingly frequent events. 

What advice would you give your younger professional self?

Follow your heart as much as your head. 

What nugget would you like to add that we haven't touched on? 

One of the things I love about travel writing is that it's taking me to places that were never on my personal travel radar and connecting me with people and history that is blowing my mind! Being open to new experiences and sharing those through my features, which inspires others to follow in my footsteps, feels like a dream.   

How best should people contact you?

Through my Instagram account @yvette.travels, email yvettecooktravel@gmail.com or connect with me here https://travmedia.com/Client/MyProfile/346124