It is impossible to deny that Hofit Golan has had widespread success. Whether you know her from her work on FashionTV, from watching her strut down the runway at Fashion week, or from her social media presence, this blonde-haired beauty has risen to the top of the jet set lifestyle. With glamorous trips to the Maldives and Croatia, she makes the most out of every experience, sharing the best of each destination with her followers, one country at a time.

Working as a travel influencer, Hofit Golan has a large following on her social media platforms, with eager-eyed viewers just waiting to see where she goes next. As she posts pictures at luxurious five-star hotels, she experiences only the best service at each location, her audience drawing inspiration from her trips when planning their next vacation. Although she spends about eighty per cent of the year abroad, touring new cities and hidden gems in the countryside, Hofit Golan doesn’t feel alone. She found friends with similar interests, traveling together whenever possible, and meeting up at places during their peak season.

But she didn’t always have a career in social media. For over fifteen years, long before the word “influencer” existed, Hofit Golan worked in the entertainment industry, acting as a television presenter for FashionTV. Talking about travel, lifestyle, the red carpet, and fashion, her television shows are similar to the content she now posts on social media, providing necessary background knowledge for her current lifestyle of a travel influencer. Unlike newer influencers, who have had their training in new media production, Hofit Golan’s training came from producing television shows, with a focus on video production rather than photography. Using these skills to her advantage, she had a natural progression from working in television to becoming an influencer because “I just transitioned the platform I already had for 15 years through MTV and FashionTV and other TV networks where I was doing the same thing.”

As the interests of audiences changed, along with the popularization of social media in recent years, a career in social media was the next step for Hofit Golan. The transition from the entertainment industry to social media was a natural one, simply adjusting to where the audience was. Although television and social media are different platforms, they still have the same outcome: producing content. Whether it is television or digital, she realized she is still talking to her audience about a topic. But working as a travel influencer is more than just creating good content and posting pictures on Instagram. It’s about connecting with their audience and having their followers be engaged with them on a day-to-day basis.

On social media, she has more control over her content and narrative. She speaks with her audience directly as an influencer, without the barrier that television had. Before working on social media, Hofit Golan spoke with magazines, hoping that they would tell her story correctly. She says that “I’m always going to look at myself as old school, coming from a platform that was even more difficult to build an audience from because you had middleman who controlled your narrative.” Now, she has the power to share her own experiences directly to her audience.

Despite traveling all over the world, Hofit Golan is unable to call a destination her all-time favorite. Traveling during peak season, she experiences the best from each location since they have their own charm and appeal that changes seasonally. London and New York City are perfect for the fall, where guests can watch the leaves change color while bundled in jackets and scarves, but during the summer, Hofit Golan prefers less populated and less humid places. Instead, she opts for European coastal towns, spending a few days relaxing on beachside spas in each town before setting off to the next. Every place has its own charm and moment of the year that makes it truly special, whether that is Cannes during the film festival or Monaco during the Grand Prix, and that energy is unmatched during the offseason. Finding it impossible to name a place that is perfect all year round, Hofit Golan plans her trips according to what each destination has to offer during that time.

Although most people are familiar with Hofit Golan, most of her work happens behind closed doors. She has health projects studying stem cells, and labs across America researching alternative medicine, such as hemp and CBD. She actively works with the Elton John X Foundation, Unisef, and Red Cross. These passion projects are what define Hofit Golan, showcasing a side to her that isn’t seen on social media. Deeply rooted in her is the desire to help others, and with her platform, she is doing just that to secure a better tomorrow.

While she is an advocate for animals and campaigns against animal testing and cruelty, coronavirus has fuelled her involvement for charity work. During the pandemic, she worked with governments all around the world to secure personal protective equipment for those in need. She’s “always advocated for alternative medicine”, but is inspired now more than ever to campaign for information about alternative medicine. Hofit Golan hopes to help people learn more about their own health by boosting their immune systems in natural ways. With proper education and access to these resources, Golan believes that people can feel confident in their ability to take care of themselves.

Although she was unable to travel due to the pandemic’s lockdown, she spent this time in Beverly Hills, California. With spread out houses, beach access, and healthy food, this proved to be the best place for Hofit Golan to reflect on the freedom that people take for granted. With travel as her livelihood, the lockdown was an experience that shifted her entire world. She left Italy in March, just ten hours before it was under quarantine, then went to France and London, both cities shutting down soon after she arrived. Finally, she made it to the United States right before they went to lockdown as well. Feeling like the virus was chasing her, she felt an unprecedented loss of freedom, much like the rest of the world.

With countries opening up again, Hofit Golan is back to traveling, now spending time in Croatia before she makes her way to the Greek Islands and to Europe. While most people are not traveling right now, Hofit Golan says that getting back out there is a dose of happy normalcy and a sign that the world is recovering. With social distancing guidelines in place, pools are lined with empty chairs, and hotels are at limited capacity. Although this is a strange experience, it is peaceful having towns, spas, and restaurants to herself. And she’s hopeful about the future.

Because of her passion for helping others, Hofit Golan stands apart from other influencers. Her widespread success is more than just her transitioning from a life on television to a career in social media; it is about using her platform to create much-needed change. Dedicated to creating a better tomorrow, her charity work displays a compassionate and authentic side that is unable to be carried through social media. Instead, she campaigns on her own, not craving attention or recognition for the work she does for the world. As someone so devoted to her causes, Hofit Golan is definitely a woman to look up to.