When A Luxury Travel Blog posted their “10 most followed travel-related Twitter accounts” back on May 29, I immediately began following everyone on the list. Sure, the motivation was partially for my own travel-loving reasons, but I also thought it would be a fun read to monitor those lucky 10 for a few months to see how they fare. (See how I cleverly made this work-related?)

Travel Insights 100 recently reported that the top three topics to tweet about are blog posts, travel industry news and travel information. So how have the top 10 travel tweeters performed over the past four months? Check out what my “research” has uncovered:

1) JetBlue Airways @JetBlue

• Followers increased 126% since May to 1,317,865.
• Surprisingly, the number of tweets is low (a little over 1,300) in comparison to the number of followers, but they are great at staying current, offering tweet-worthy announcements and providing a stellar level of customer service to their followers.

2) Gary Arndt @EverywhereTrip

• Followers increased 41% since May to 89,277.
• Now this guys tweets! Over 12,700 to date! He’s a travel blogger and photographer who has written and tweeted from over 60 countries. Lucky guy! He posts a daily travel photo and a little bit of learning with each – kind of makes you feel like you’re traveling around the world with him.

3) Kathika Travel Blog @kathika 

• Followers increased 19% since May to 55,998.
• Also a travel blogger, Kathika posts a travel photo of the day taken by various travelers as well as daily travel news and stories. Her tweets are a great way to keep current on the travel beat.

4) Southwest Airlines @SouthwestAir

• Followers increased 125% since May to 741,200.
• The LUV airline continues to give us every reason to LUV them! Not surprising that a recent @mashable blog reported nearly 90% of Southwest Airlines tweets have a positive sentiment. I say: “Grab your bags. It’s on.”

5) BrilliantTrips Blog @BrilliantTips

• Followers increased 57% since May to 29,429.
• If you’re looking for smart travel tips – like the Top 10 Things to Do in the Rocky Mountains – check them out. Founded by veterans of the student travel industry, they offer up great travel tips and advice for cool places all over the world. 

6) Virgin America @VirginAmerica

• Followers increased 94% since May to 34,535.
• The Richard Branson crew is on a mission to “make flying good again” and showing it with their timely flight update tweets and customer response times, not to mention fun contests and encouragement of in-flight tweets. Yeah – that’s right – in-flight internet access, thank you @VirginAmerica!

7) Luxury Travel Blog @luxury_travel

• Followers increased 131% since May to 38,412.
• I have these guys to thank for this blog! They blog and tweet about anything and everything to do with luxury travel and tourism. (I especially like their tweets about paying less for luxury!)

8) Sylvia – Travel Deals @getatraveldeal

• Followers increased 37% since May to 20,322.
• If Sylvia is not traveling, she’s planning her next trip and she’s always happy to help with yours. You’ll experience “feast o’plenty of travel deals” from Sylvia’s tweets. Planning a vaca soon? Send @getatraveldeal a tweet!

9) Travel, Food, Culture @WeBlogtheWorld

• Followers increased 446% since May to 60,879!!!
• Tell me you don’t break out singing “We Are the World” when you read their Twitter name?? It’s humanly impossible to resist! So once you get that tune out of your head, check this blog out. Their goal is to improve communication between cultures, and it’s done in a very cool “global storytelling” kind of way.

10) LA Times Travel @LATimesTravel

•  Followers increased 59% since May to 16,595.
• One of my personal faves to watch for travel deals – for both Cali and Vegas. They also keep up with timely airline news updates and travel tips.

So who are you following for travel news and deals? Are these industry leaders on your list? Is there anyone else who should be? Chime in below.