Travel planning website NileGuide is using a new commissioned-based payment system that it hopes will attract beleaguered journalists and writers from destinations around the world.

The programme works by paying each writer a flat fee (undisclosed) but then rewarding them further with additional payments depending on traffic.

NileGuide has so far recruited around 100 writers – including journalists, concierges, freelancer travel writers – to its content creation  programme.

Chief executive Josh Steinitz says the company is earmarking around 20% of its revenues to go to the local writers.

NileGuide’s approach to paying writers may not be unique but it comes amid a growing tide of disillusionment from a string of travel writers over the fate of their craft as newspapers turn to user and celebrity generated content or simply scale back paying for unique and professionally written travel content.

It also follows this magnus opus – The Internet is Ruining Travel Journalism – from Tnooz Node Jeremy Head in September 2009.

NileGuide is hoping its writers will “live and breathe life” into the destination guide work they produce for the site in the same way as they feel about the cities they live in.

Steinitz says writers which embrace the programme by pushing the content into other areas of the web will naturally benefit from increased traffic.

“The key point of course is that we’re paying them real money each week, plus bonuses based on the traffic they generate from creating great content and marketing their destination through blogs and social media.”

So while the NileGuide model is obviously not a return to the happy days of trips and regular commissions with the Old Media model, it is creating what it hopes is enough of an incentive to attract decent writers to its site who in turn will spread the NileGuide message around the web.

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