As an Expat traveler myself I can relate. Never want to go into YouTubbing myself, there's only one or 2 channels I occasionally watch and that's more about the people doing them, than the content.

But you're right, in the end people on the internet are looking to either be entertained, informed or find a solution to a problem...that's it.

You keep and build your audience by who you are as a person providing value. Because, even though people are looking for the above, they also crave human connection.

So once you've proven your worth, given them what they were seeking, then they will want to know about the person behind it all. This is a gap AI will never be able to fill....

I've also seen channels repeat the same old style, amateur phone video filming skills rack up over a million followers..go figure...

Then again, when I'm looking for videos on an obscure location, the amateur with 5 videos, who took it while living there or have traveled there are now my preferred source...

When I see overly cheesy clickbatey thumbnails, over use of drone footage and useless glamor shots, I click away quickly.... I prefer vintage YouTube videos by amateurs over these cheesy full time YouTubers any day in regards to travel. Unfortunately, uncovering gems among them is even harder...