In this presentation Matt Gibson (President of the Professional Travel Bloggers Association) and Dileep Mudadeniya (VP of Marketing for Cinnamon Hotels, Sri Lanka) discuss how emerging destinations benefit from working with travel bloggers and the results of the TBC Asia conference and blogger trip.

1. HOW EMERGING DESTINATIONS
BENEFIT FROM WORKING WITH BLOGGERS
Dileep Mudadeniya, CEO Cinnamon Hotels and Resorts Matt Gibson, President, PTBADileep Mudadeniya, VP Cinnamon Hotels and Resorts Matt Gibson, President, PTBA

2. Asian Tourist Arrivals From Europe
Country Sri Lanka India Thailand China Malaysia Mauritous Japan
UK 153,875 838,860 907,877 624,955 445,789 115,326 220,060
Germany 105,432 239,106 715,240 649,298 158,453 62,231 140,254
France 82,874 246,101 635,073 533,538 169,973 243,665 178,570
Italy 22,520 91,589 219,875 251,162 55,210 29,557 80,531
Spain 9,864 66,463 116,983 132,378 35,389 8,633 60,542
Netherland 23,165 67,747 211,524 188,562 97,988 4,796 39,866
Switzerland 18,965 45,773 201,271 80,557 30,556 29,285 33,150
Russia 49,876 269,832 1,606,430 2,186,281 61,845 13,289 64,077
Belgium 11,532 37,441 99,729 68,404 21,309 11,465 18,934

3. Asia Pacific Inbound Tourism By Region

4. What is an Unknown Place ?
Eiffel Tower Taj Mahal
Places that can’t be missed

5. What is an Unknown Place ?
There are still places under the radar
• Pangong Tso Lake Between India
and Tibet
• Pigeon Island National Park
Trincomalee, Sri Lanka
• Rangiroa, a ring-shaped atoll in
French Polynesia
• Huacachina, a literal oasis in the
Peruvian desert

6. Jaffna Fort, Sri Lanka
" Kandarodai Viharaya / kadurugoda Viharaya " in Jaffna, Sri Lanka
Passikudah beach, Sri Lanka
Unknown Places in Sri Lanka ?
The Land of the Singing Fish, Batticaloa, Sri LankaThe Doric at Arippu, Mannar Sri Lanka

7. ISSUES FACED BY EMERGING DESTINATIONS
1. LACK OF DIGITAL ASSETS ONLINE
2. LIMITED ONLINE VISIBILITY
3. NO OR LIMITED REFERRALS AND
ENDORSEMENTS
4. LACK OF FUNDS/RESOURCES FOR
BIG ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS

8. The TBC Asia Concept
A unique event for travel bloggers,
industry professionals, new media content
creators
The first-ever conference for travel
bloggers in Asia
One of the largest group blog trips in the
world

9. HOW WORKING WITH BLOGGERS HELPS
• Fast
• Cost effective
• Guaranteed
1. LACK OF DIGITAL ASSETS ONLINE

10. HOW WORKING WITH BLOGGERS HELPS
• Build brand recognition
• Increase destination accessability
• Improve SEO with backlinks, brand mentions, buzz
• Generate online word-of-mouth
2. LIMITED ONLINE VISIBILTIY

11. HOW WORKING WITH BLOGGERS HELPS
• Builds a large volume of travel endorsements
• Builds a large body of accessible travel knowledge
• Provides influencers with the tools to inform followers
3. NO OR LIMITED REFERRALS AND ENDORSEMENTS

12. HOW WORKING WITH BLOGGERS HELPS
• Proven to have excellent value per dollar spent
• Relatively easy to execute
• Support is available
4. LACK OF FUNDS/RESOURCES FOR BIG ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS

13. The Case of TBC Asia

14. Digital content generated to Promote the “ Unknown Places”
https://www.off-the-path.com/en/must-visit-places-in-sri-lanka/
https://www.bemytravelmuse.com/trincomalee-arugam-bay-sri-lanka-east-
coast/
http://theblondeabroad.com/2016/07/11/guide-southern-sri-
lanka/
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/rupert-parker/planet-appetite-the-far-
n_b_5957290.html
https://bandi42.wordpress.com/2014/03/10/six-fun-things-to-do-in-
jaffna/

15. CASE STUDY: #TBCASIA - SRI LANKA, 2016
57 BLOGGERS
5 DAYS
4 TRIP ITINERARIES

16. CASE STUDY: #TBCASIA - SRI LANKA, 2016
>4,900 tweets
>56.5 million impressions
on Twitter & Instagram
>7.5 million+ reach

17. CASE STUDY: #TBCASIA - SRI LANKA, 2016
>65
Blog posts
Videos
Articles

18. CASE STUDY: #TBCASIA - SRI LANKA, 2016
Increased media attention
Marketing collateral
Private industry-blogger
partnerships

23. KEY TAKE-AWAYS
1. BLOGGERS ARE PROFESSIONALS,
THEIR WORK ISN’T FREE
2. FINDING THE RIGHT BLOGGER
FOR YOU CAMPAIGN IS A LOT OF
WORK
3. ALL CONTENT IS NOT GOOD
CONTENT
3. CREATING EXCITEMENT FOR YOUR
PROJECT ADDS A LOT OF VALUE
4. USE MEASUARABLE KPIs
5. LONG-TERM RELATIONSHIPS HAVE
THE BEST ROI
6. THE PRIVATE SECTOR CAN TAKE
THE LEAD

24. Tourism in Sri Lanka in 2013
1.5 million total arrivals

25. Google Searches for Sri Lanka Travel
•1.5 million total arrivals
2015
2016 2017

26. Tourism in Sri Lanka in 2013
2013 - 1.2 million total arrivals
2014 - 1.5 million
2015 - 1.8 million
2016 - 2.2 million
2017 - 2.5 million arrivals projected

27. Questions