Do you regard yourself as average? I suspect that most readers of this column would regard that pretty much as an insult and answer in the negative. Fair enough; but perhaps you would agree that you are fairly typical of a certain kind of traveller: whether you are a student making your first serious forays abroad, a senior citizen spending your kids’ inheritance going round the world or an armchair traveller relying on desk research or memories of childhood trips to fuel your writing.
There is merit in analysing your own personal characteristics in this respect. Some such are obvious: gender and age for example. Others may be less so. Maybe you have experience of trying to get travel insurance while suffering a serious illness or handicap, have been to a particular place so often the word expert now hardly covers your level of knowledge, are a foody with a wealth of experiments – successful and otherwise – to relate or maybe you have an addiction to spas.