Why bloggers should promote destinations, and why they won’t

A demand for reading about off-beat places?I see more and more travel bloggers engaging in ‘product reviews’ of a destination or an activity. I’ve even done it myself a couple of times. But the demand for these services appears to come from the very end of the tourism food chain: the hotelier, the activity owner or occasionally an airline. Surely tourism officials at a broader level can harness the vast potential of this resource to better sell their message?

There is little doubt that an increasing number of people are using multiple sources to get information before booking their travels. On its own the official site of a hotel or tour company is often viewed with suspicion and cynicism. Its credibility is only confirmed when measured against the reviews of its customers on an independent site. Yet some businesses still think that they can afford to ignore their customers’ views. An increasing number are taking the step of integrating user reviews into their site to enhance the ‘authenticity’ of their site. More will inevitably do this as this new world of social media continues to evolve.

The same applies to the official state tourism organisations. They have a role in attracting interest in their destination by getting their country/region as much publicity as possible. But how do they do this effectively when the readers of their brochures and fancy DVDs are looking at this material with this cynicism? How do they get the internet-savvy potential visitor excited about their destination when the descriptions of pristine lakes, majestic mountains and local hospitality could be lifted from almost any official site? Does anybody actually listen anymore?

Tourism organisations have traditionally used freelance travel writers, sending them on press trips to their destination in return for column inches in the newspapers and magazines. But newspaper audiences are dwindling. A Harris Interactive poll conducted in December 2009 showed that only 43% of Americans read a newspaper regularly, either online or in print. But breaking this down by age reveals a more significant shift: while 64% of the over 55s read a paper regularly, that number drops to 36% of the 35-44 age group and only 23% of the 18 to 34 group.

There will always be a demand for good travel writing, wherever it is found. High quality articles are widely read and are disseminated quicker than ever thanks to social networks. I do think that alongside these there is a growing demand for ‘warts and all’ accounts of destinations, and here’s where bloggers can fulfil a valuable role (and many bloggers are already established travel writers). If a tourism board were to send someone to write live from a destination they would have a chance to satisfy that ‘user review’ demand and reach a very wide audience.

Here’s where I think some bravery is required by the tourism officials: there needs to be no carefully chosen luxury hotels, no pre-selected restaurants, in fact no formal itinerary. The blogger makes his/her own way and experiences the destination in their own manner. A huge risk? Most bloggers have a huge archive where anyone can see their travelling style, tastes and more importantly their behaviour and attitude while travelling; a giant CV in other words. You wouldn’t select someone who writes constantly about partying on the beaches of Thailand to go and visit the hill-tribes of Bhutan any more than you would ask the ardent trekker to check out the nightlife of Ibiza.

A financial arrangement would need to be worked out that allowed the blogger to experience the destination in full, while still making a profit from their writing. I won’t go into that here, as it would be a whole separate discussion. The destination would benefit by attracting the attention of tens of thousands of readers, who will (assuming a good output on the blog) read the blogger’s daily updates from that country along with Twitter and Facebook updates and photo uploads in between. The blogger is likely to find many unexpected places to write about and promote in their posts, and within a good overall experience even a couple of mishaps will make for a more credible all-round story.

If those promoting a destination have faith in its ability to delight visitors and show appropriate diligence in the selection of their chosen blogger, it could provide a very good return on a relatively small investment.

Why it won’t it happen quickly

First of all they have to relinquish a little control and give the blogger a free rein. That is a pre-requisite in social media, and it is one area that many government-run offices will struggle with.

Secondly bloggers need to be more savvy in promoting their effectiveness in spreading a message in the online world. There’s little value in sharing your Alexa ranking, your RSS subscribers or your number of backlinks with someone who isn’t convinced with the value of social media. These stats will be meaningless to many.

A more persuasive metric might be the number of people who act in some way as a result of your posts: comments, retweets, emails, mentions elsewhere, Facebook interactions. These all signify moments where someone has been moved into action by your posts. If for example you can claim to have 500 daily interactions from readers, how powerful is this for a potential audience?

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9 Responses to “Why bloggers should promote destinations, and why they won’t”

  1. Andy,I’m off for a short break to York next week, courtesty of Visit York. The organisation want to promote the city and their free nights deals,so have abviously decided that inviting a travel blogger, over whom they will exercise no editorial contral, is a risk worth taking.

    February 1, 2010 at 12:25 pm Reply
  2. Thanks for that Karen, and I’m glad to hear it. Local organisations appear to be more open to this than national ones. That would make sense politically I guess. Enjoy York (I’m sure you will) and I look forward to reading about it.

    February 1, 2010 at 12:30 pm Reply
  3. Hi Andy – what a powerful blog posting! You should consider developing a separate blog site focused at ‘educating’ folks in the marketing/promo departments of destinations/hotels etc. You could probably make a tidy living providing them with articles, teleclasses, etc. – cause in my experience they sure need it!

    Part of the reason that I started my new Algarve Experiences blog site is that I was tired of reading all the hyper glitzy marketing materials that don’t really tell you the full scoop. I figured if it felt like a hole in my experiences of the Algarve, a place I adore and spend much time in, there must be others who have a similar need. As lovely as all the major tourist spots are, I am one of those people who likes to find my own stuff, to get off-the-beaten-track and see what 90% of the rest of the world misses. I also adore getting to know local folks and finding out how they interact with their world.

    Keep up the good work. And thanks for getting me thinking!

    February 1, 2010 at 2:47 pm Reply
  4. Over at http://www.ephemerratic.com, we do a lot of reviews of places instead of packing lists, product reviews, and posts about travel concepts. Unfortunately readers still are more likely to click a post titled “Top 10 items to have in your daybag” than read a story that gives a glimpse about what it’s actually like to visit a place.

    We’re seeing more people – and advertisers – interested in deeper content development. Posts about places are a lot harder to write than “The world’s 10 best shipwreck dives.” I can write top 10 posts and product reviews without leaving home, but writing a compelling, useful post about a place requires that you have been there.

    Lucky for me that leaving home is the whole point.

    February 1, 2010 at 7:01 pm Reply
  5. @Gwen. Thanks for your comments, and I’ll keep an eye on your Algarve site. it looks nice and clean. Very inviting to read and interesting material. Not sure about the business of teaching destination staff though. I’m sure there are easier ways of making a living :-)

    @Lauren It’s encouraging to read your comments about the increased appetite for deeper content. Anything that compels writers to actually go to the places they write about has to be a good thing. Just like business owners are constantly trying to find the balance between content and SEO on their website, bloggers need to ensure that the race for rankings doesn’t get in the way of writing about the things they want to cover. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

    February 1, 2010 at 8:10 pm Reply
  6. Hi Andy,

    Excellent post! I’m writing a similar post right this minute detailing the exposure generated by my recent sponsored trip to Birmingham. Tourism offices, airlines and tour operators are starting to see the value of inviting travel bloggers but their numbers are still very small. I see it as my mission to educate them via Velvet Connect and Velvet Escape! :-) I sometimes think that the problem lies with the PR agencies that represent them. Most of them still lean heavily on traditional media such as magazines and newspapers. You quite rightly point out that readership numbers for these ‘old world’ media channels are dwindling but somehow, many companies find it hard to make the switch and embrace the endless opportunities provided by ‘new world’ media.

    Very interesting discussion and I’m really happy you wrote about it. I see many possibilities for these tourism offices/companies to collaborate with travel bloggers. Let’s hope they see the ‘light’ soon! :-)

    February 2, 2010 at 12:11 pm Reply
  7. Keith, I’m glad you shared your successful trip to Brum and I look forward to reading the post. You and Karen have found some good UK based tourist offices who are forward thinking enough to embrace the opportunity that exists.
    Like you say, there is a reluctance to let go of the old ways, even when they are clearly becoming less effective. If a blogger is trusted by their peers to provide useful, honest and engaging content, their material can reach a very wide audience very quickly. Keep up the good work and I look forward to seeing where you get to next!

    February 2, 2010 at 1:23 pm Reply
  8. I agree that itinerary-free trips for travel bloggers would be wonderful, but in the meantime, it’s up to us to define our own value and sway/educate the tourism industry via our relationships with PR reps.

    Our greatest advantage to a PR company’s clients is that we’re travel writers with our own, ready-made niche outlets. Unless the place or experience in question is unspeakably dull, as bloggers we can always find an angle that allows us to share it with our readers in a personal, informative way.

    We shouldn’t be afraid to ask for time to ourselves on a press trip, and use that time to go exploring on our own. In my experience, as long as you’re willing to form your own agenda, press trip itineraries can be set aside for a few hours or even days, hotel stays can be extended, and flights can be postponed. I fully agree that the more hands-on information we can gather about a place, the more useful the context for a travel-based business.

    The post-press trip questionnaire is quite possibly our most useful tool of change. You can be an advocate for travel bloggers in general by respectfully reviewing your press trip the same way you would a trip booked on your own dime. For instance, if access to a unique experience or simply more free time would be an ideal addition to the next trip, speak up.

    PR reps are, potentially, our greatest champions in the commercial tourist industry — let’s let them know what we need to do our best work.

    February 2, 2010 at 2:03 pm Reply
  9. Great suggestions Melanie. Yes, I agree that as bloggers we should be working with PR folks. We can after all make each others’ lives so much easier.

    February 2, 2010 at 7:44 pm Reply

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