HOW EMERGING DESTINATIONS BENEFIT FROM WORKING WITH BLOGGERS

Dileep Mudadeniya, CEO Cinnamon Hotels and Resorts Matt Gibson, President, PTBA Dileep Mudadeniya, CEO Cinnamon Hotels and Resorts Matt Gibson, President, PTBA

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

Asia Pacific Inbound Tourism By Region

What is an Unknown Place ?

Eiffel Tower Taj Mahal

Places that can’t be missed

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

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 Lanka The Doric at Arippu, Mannar Sri Lanka

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

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

HOW WORKING WITH BLOGGERS HELPS

• Fast

• Cost effective

• Guaranteed

1. LACK OF DIGITAL ASSETS ONLINE

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

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

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

The Case of TBC Asia

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/

CASE STUDY: #TBCASIA - SRI LANKA, 2016

57 BLOGGERS

5 DAYS

4 TRIP ITINERARIES

CASE STUDY: #TBCASIA - SRI LANKA, 2016

>4,900 tweets

>56.5 million impressions

on Twitter & Instagram

>7.5 million+ reach

CASE STUDY: #TBCASIA - SRI LANKA, 2016

>65 Blog posts

Videos

Articles

CASE STUDY: #TBCASIA - SRI LANKA, 2016

Increased media attention

Marketing collateral

Private industry-blogger

partnerships

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

Tourism in Sri Lanka in 2013

1.5 million total arrivals

Google Searches for Sri Lanka Travel

•1.5 million total arrivals

2015 2016 2017

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

Questions