Skift is launching a new podcast mini-series for the holidays in 2025 called How I Travel Podcast Series. This series features intimate conversations with travel industry insiders and cultural influencers about their travel philosophies, habits, and styles. Each episode includes an in-depth interview with an expert traveler sharing their unique perspective on various aspects of their travel experience. The series will begin with Skift insiders and colleagues and may expand further in the future.
Inspired by the popular “How I Write” podcast by Dave Perell, this new series aims to provide a behind-the-scenes look into the lives and minds of seasoned travelers. The first episode features an extended interview with Colin Nagy, a longtime Skift columnist and senior brand strategist at Instagram. The conversation with Colin delves into his long-term perspective on travel as a lifestyle, its impact on his personal growth, and his approach to destination selection driven by regional fascination and personal connections.
Colin Nagy’s travel philosophy focuses on celebrating beautifully crafted hospitality experiences, exploring business travel while still finding personal joy, and developing love affairs with specific regions. He also shares insights into navigating the business and leisure travel seamlessly, appreciating the cultural diversity offered by destinations like Japan and Dubai, and approaching travel with a journalistic lens of curiosity. Colin highlights the importance of maintaining connections, navigating language barriers with respect, and the value of exploring Africa as a rich travel experience.
Key takeaways from Colin’s travel philosophy include the integral role of travel in his life and worldview, his appreciation for authentic hospitality, and the unique cultural insights gained from destinations like Japan and Dubai. He discusses his approach to airline experiences, airport strategies for efficiency, and the use of services like Priority Pass to enhance the airport experience. Colin also emphasizes the importance of staying connected while traveling, navigating language barriers with humility, and the benefits of exploring a destination anonymously.
The episode is structured into chapters that cover various aspects of Colin’s travel philosophy, including the essence of travel as a lifestyle, celebrating hospitality and unique experiences, merging business and personal travel, cultural insights from Japan, choosing destinations and personal connections, researching new destinations, the role of airlines in the travel experience, navigating airline experiences, airport strategies and efficiency, staying connected while traveling, cultural nuances and language barriers, and reflections on travel and personal growth.Listeners are encouraged to subscribe to the podcast on platforms like Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and RSS to explore more episodes in the How I Travel Podcast Series.
