Arabella Bowen

Arabella Bowen is a writer, editor, and creative strategist specializing in travel, art, and culture. Originally from Canada and based in New York, she writes about the cultural forces and institutions that shape how we experience places.

Experience
Bowen began her career as a journalist covering everything from politics to arts and culture for daily and alt-weekly Canadian newspapers. Her travel career took off after a three-month solo trip through southeast Asia - with a guidebook as her primary compass - inspired her to start writing travel guides when she came home. She went on to become Editor in Chief of Fodor’s Travel and Digital Content Director at AFAR, before co-founding SoloTrvlr, a travel platform designed to empower solo travelers to explore independently through trusted, local insight.

When she’s not writing guidebooks, she covers art, culture, and lifestyle trends, always tracking global art openings and cultural shifts worth traveling for. She also runs a consultancy advising cultural and media organizations on audience development, platform strategy, and multichannel storytelling.

Selected publications

Books: Co-author of Fodor’s New York City (multiple editions) and Rough Guides to Montreal & Quebec City (multiple editions), Canada, Caribbean, and Boston.

In addition to Preferred Hotels & Resorts, Arabella has also written for AFAR, Christie’s, Montreal Gazette, Indagare, New York Times, Popular Mechanics, Digital Party, and more. 

Education

Arabella holds a BA in English Literature from the University of Toronto and an MA in Media Arts from Concordia University in Montreal. She also holds a Level 2 Wine Certification from WSET and serves on the board of the Association of Art Museum Curators (AAMC).

Awards
Recipient of a Bessie Award for SoloTrvlr (Best Travel Website) and multiple Webby and Lowell Thomas awards for Fodor’s website, apps, and books.