Travel and Earn Money How to Get Paid to Travel the World 2025

Who among us doesn’t love the idea of traveling, exploring, and visiting different places around the world? Many of us would say, ‘Me.’ If that’s not the case, then why are you reading these lines?

Traveling around the world is more than just a fantastic idea; it’s a dream for many people who aspire to achieve it or work tirelessly to make it a reality. For some, it’s even a way of life.

But enough with the boring introduction. Did you know that you can actually make money while traveling and exploring the world?

This, simply put, is the topic of our article, where we will present you with various ways to earn money while moving from one city to another or from one country to the next. Stay tuned.

Ways to Make Money from Travel and Tourism Around the World

Content

Here is a collection of methods that allow you to earn and make money through travel activities around the world:

1. Profit from travel by selling photos

When traveling to a new country or region, you’ll likely take photos of the area and of yourself in that location. These photos can serve as keepsakes or can be shared on your social media accounts. But what if you could also use those photos to earn some money? (Of course, we do not mean the pictures in which you appear, unless you choose to use them.)

There’s a method in the online earning world known as making money by selling photos, where you can earn money each time someone downloads one of your photos (or purchases it if you decide to sell its rights).

How Does It Work?

– Start by Capturing Photos:

Take a variety of photos, such as landscapes, animals, buildings, or people engaging in activities.

– Edit If Necessary:

You can enhance your photos by adjusting colors, brightness, or other settings, or you can keep them as they are if you prefer.

– Sign Up on Photo-Selling Platforms:

– Upload and Publish:

Upload the photos you want to sell, write the title, tags, and descriptions, then submit them for review. Once approved, they’ll be published on these platforms.

How Do You Earn?

Every time someone downloads one of your photos, you earn a profit. The earnings range from a few cents to a few dollars per download, depending on the licensing fees set by the platform.

There are two ways to earn:

Earnings Per Download: You earn a set amount each time someone downloads your photo.
Selling Photo Rights: If someone chooses to purchase the rights to your photo (If you choose this offer), they will pay a higher price (often over $100, depending on the platform). However, selling the rights means the photo becomes theirs, and you’ll need to remove it from all other platforms.

A single photo can be downloaded multiple times—20, 100, or even over 1,000 times (No limit). You earn money from each download.

Some platforms where you can sell your photos include Freepik, Adobe Stock, Shutterstock, iStock, and more.

By leveraging this method, you can turn your travel photos into a source of passive income while preserving your memories!

2. Profit from selling short videos

In addition to the above method, you can also earn money by selling short videos.

You’ll need to record videos (of landscapes, animals, human activities, etc.), review them using video editing software to adjust or trim them if necessary, and then they’ll be ready to generate income.

You can upload and sell these videos on the same platforms mentioned earlier for selling photos, as most of them also allow you to monetize videos. You’ll earn a profit each time one of your videos is downloaded.

* Videos can range from a few seconds to several minutes, depending on your preference. For example, you can upload a 6-second clip or a video that’s over a minute long.

* The earnings per video download vary depending on the platform and its pricing system. However, you can expect to earn anywhere from less than a dollar to over $20 for each download.

3. Selling Sound / audio recordings

In addition to videos, you can also monetize audio recordings.

Record sounds (animal sounds, nature sounds, sound effects, etc.) and upload them to the same platforms. Similar to photos and videos, you’ll earn money whenever someone downloads your audio clips.

* Audio recordings can be as short as a few seconds or longer than a minute.

* The same platforms for selling photos and videos are often suitable for selling audio as well.

Maximizing Your Earnings

You can work on all three types of content simultaneously—photos, videos, and audio recordings—and upload them to multiple platforms at the same time.

If you’re wondering, “Who would pay for this content, and what would they use it for?” The answer lies in the massive demand for resources like these. These platforms receive tens of millions of visitors every month, and millions of downloads occur daily. These resources are used in various industries such as marketing, content creation, advertising, and more.

Important Notes

Patience is Key: Don’t expect to make substantial earnings at the beginning. It might take months to earn just a few dollars, and it could take a year or two to start earning a steady income every month.

Focus on Quality and Quantity: To succeed, you’ll need to upload a large number of high-quality resources, whether they’re images, videos, or audio. Pay attention to titles, descriptions, and tags to ensure your content is discoverable.

By consistently creating and uploading quality content, you can gradually build a reliable source of passive income over time.

4. Make money from travel vlogs on YouTube

Perhaps the Most Popular Way to Earn Money While Traveling the World Is by Owning a YouTube Channel.

To get started, you’ll need to create your YouTube channel and give it a great name and profile picture. During your travels, record videos of yourself, your activities, or the experiences you’re trying out. Then, compile and edit these clips using video editing software.

Once your video is ready, upload it to your channel, give it an appropriate title and description (e.g., “My Trip to Kuala Lumpur” or “Street Food in Seoul”), and publish it.

Each time you visit new places, dedicate time to filming your experiences. Compile the footage into a full video, typically less or more than 10 minutes long, and upload it to your channel. By consistently posting new videos, you increase your chances of reaching more people, gaining views, and attracting more subscribers.

Tips for Success

Pay attention to video SEO. You can’t just write random titles and descriptions and expect good rankings. Focus on choosing clear and engaging titles, accurate descriptions, and relevant tags.
Ensure your videos have high-quality visuals, clear sound, and a professional style of addressing your audience. How you speak and engage with viewers is essential.
Consider creating accounts on platforms like Facebook and Instagram to share photos and clips. This can help grow your YouTube audience and increase your social media following simultaneously.

How to Earn Money?

While uploading videos, you’ll need to meet some requirements to start monetizing your channel. As of the time of writing this article, these include:

Achieving 1,000 subscribers
Reaching 4,000 hours of watch time on your videos
Once you meet these conditions, you can join the Google AdSense program, which allows you to earn money from ads displayed on your videos.

When viewers watch your videos, ads will appear, and you’ll earn revenue from these ads. The more views you get, the higher your earnings.

* In the beginning, you’ll need money to cover travel expenses such as flights, accommodations, food, and transportation. You’ll also need equipment for filming and potentially a video editing program.

* Over time, as you post more videos, gain more views, and grow your subscriber base, your earnings will increase gradually. If done right, you can eventually reach a point where your profits exceed your travel expenses and the costs of running your channel.

While Google AdSense ads are the most popular and well-known way to earn money on YouTube, there are other methods too. Since we’re talking about traveling the world, one additional way to monetize is through sponsorships. Companies or organizations may contact you to promote their services or products in your videos, offering you a good payout.

However, it’s essential to choose sponsorships that align with your content. After all, gaining your audience’s trust and maintaining their satisfaction is the most important goal.

5. Travel blog

If you’ve reached this point, you are reading an article on the “incomeprof” blog. Blogs are a type of website where articles (topics) are published periodically, and their content is always updated.

Similarly, you can create your own blog. For example, you can create a blog focused on travel and tourism content, where you publish articles related to travel topics around the world (such as the best places in each region or country, the cheapest destinations, the best travel methods, tips, etc.).

First, there are two main systems (the most popular) for creating blogs and websites. The cheaper option is the Blogger platform, and the more expensive option is the WordPress system. From my perspective, I recommend WordPress because it offers many additional features, and you can customize your blog as you like, unlike Blogger.

You choose the name you’ll use for your blog, including the domain name, which will be the unique link to your blog. Then, you select the hosting service that suits you and create your site on it (you will need to purchase a custom domain such as “.com,” which will be the ending of your blog’s link. You can buy it from a domain platform or from the same hosting service you chose).

After completing all the steps for building your blog, you will start publishing content (articles and posts) on it. You need to focus on the SEO of your articles (choosing the title, keywords, and so on, which will help you achieve a good ranking in search engines).

How will you profit after all of this?

After some time from creating your blog, publishing a good number of articles, and achieving decent traffic (people visiting your articles), you can apply for the Google AdSense program. Once your blog is reviewed and approved, you can start placing ad codes within it. Ads will then begin to appear on your blog posts, and you will earn revenue from the ads being viewed by your blog visitors.

The more articles you publish and the higher your ranking in search engine results, the more visitors you’ll attract, leading to increased revenue from ads.

There are additional ways o monetize your blog:

Offering ad space on your site to companies and individuals (this happens when you successfully attract a large number of visitors and your articles appear in top search results online).
Using your blog for affiliate marketing (without promoting things that might not benefit your visitors).
There are other ways to earn from your blog…

You can also create accounts and pages under your blog’s name on social media platforms, where you can share your photos or content. This will help your blog grow.

Keep in mind: Don’t expect to earn profits in the first week or month. It takes time to achieve good results in blogging.

6. Selling books

Since you’ll be visiting many countries and regions, you can consider creating books that recount your experiences. These could cover your journey, travel planning, management, and discoveries.

There is a platform called Amazon KDP that allows you to earn money by publishing books. You write your book content (which should eventually be in PDF format), ensure it’s free of errors and language issues, and design a suitable cover. Afterward, you upload it to the KDP platform.

Once reviewed and approved, it will be published on Amazon. If Amazon visitors come across your book and purchase it, you will earn a profit margin for each sale.

Buyers can either purchase a digital version (which they will receive instantly) or order a printed copy (which Amazon prints and ships to them). In both cases, you earn a percentage of the sales from your book(s).

Although this is a great way to earn money, it might be challenging to execute if you’re not fond of writing or prefer to spend more time traveling and exploring.

7. Create and sell online courses

You can also create and sell online courses.

Online courses are lessons or tutorials presented in video format. You provide explanations or guidance on a specific subject or topic. Simply put, it is similar to watching tutorials on YouTube, but in this case, users need to pay to access your content.

You can create a travel-related course offering tips, guidance, and strategies to help people plan their trips efficiently and at the lowest cost.

Once you’ve recorded and finalized your course, you can publish it on one of the online course platforms, such as Udemy (which is the most popular in this field). Since the course will be paid, you will earn revenue every time someone enrolls in your course.

Although selling online courses can generate good income, I am not entirely sure whether a travel tips course would be highly successful.

For instance, there is a course on Udemy titled “How to Travel Around the World on a Budget,” which has been purchased by more than 400 people (as of the time this article was written, 408 users to be precise). But does this count as a success?

In my opinion, you could create a course (if your schedule permits) and publish it on Udemy, updating it annually. This would not require much time, just a few days per year. However, would it yield significant profits? Personally (and I may be wrong), I think it’s difficult to generate substantial income using this approach. It might be better to focus on one of the previously mentioned methods.

* Update: There is a course titled “How to Get Paid to Travel the World” that has over 20,000 participants.

* Another course titled “The Ultimate Travelling and Travel Tips” has been purchased by over 1,000 people.

From this, it seems possible to earn good income using this method as well.

8. Other ways

In addition to the seven previously mentioned methods, there are other ways to earn money while traveling the world or to supplement your income.

As mentioned multiple times, utilizing social media platforms can help you reach a larger audience and, consequently, increase your earnings through the methods outlined above.

Additionally, there are platforms that allow you to monetize videos, such as Facebook, which—similar to YouTube—enables you to earn money from ads displayed on your videos. Here, you can post the same videos on both YouTube and Facebook to expand your reach and maximize your earnings.

You can also work on growing your Instagram following. The more followers you have, the higher your chances of receiving advertising offers from companies and individuals. Who knows? You might even reach a level where your page attracts sponsorships, enabling you to earn a significant income.

I know a person who moved to become an English teacher in one of the Asian countries, during his vacation he is making trips inside that country and has also visited some of its neighboring countries. (This is another way you may also like).

Conclusion:

These were the most prominent and effective ways to leverage traveling the world to generate income. However, as with any endeavor, you won’t start earning dollars from day one. It requires consistent and diligent effort that could span weeks or months before you start seeing results. This calls for patience, smart work, and gathering as much information as possible, which will save you time in achieving your goal.

Don’t overlook the element of competition. You won’t be alone in any of the methods you choose from the ones mentioned earlier, which might slow down your progress. That’s why I emphasized the importance of “working smart.” You’ll need to outperform as many competitors as possible to rank higher and earn more.

It’s worth noting that all the methods discussed above can be pursued simultaneously. However, this could slow you down significantly. It’s often better to focus on the two most suitable methods for you. For example, if you choose YouTube, you can also earn money by selling photos, videos, and audio recordings (methods 1, 2, and 3).

Ultimately, the choice of the best method(s) is up to you. We can’t advise you beyond what we’ve already shared. We hope you found this information helpful and wish you success in achieving your dream of traveling and earning money at the same time. Best of luck!

More: 20 Ways to Make Money Online For Beginners.