The 600 bloggers taking part in the TBEX Costa Brava – Catalonia world travel blogging conference will generate over 400 million impressions in digital media outlets
Six hundred travel bloggers from 39 countries will be attending the TBEX Costa Brava – Catalonia to be held in Lloret de Mar from 30 April to 2 May.
The Catalan Tourism Agency of the Government of Catalonia, the Costa Brava Girona Tourist Board of Girona Provincial Council, together with New Media Expo (the US-based organiser of the TBEX), are promoting the European instalment of the world travel blogging conference: TBEX Costa Brava – Catalonia.
The conference itself, the schedule of complementary activities and the forecast number of impressions in digital media outlets were presented in Girona at midday today by Ramon Ramos, Director General of the Costa Brava Girona Tourist Board, Xavier Espasa, Director of the Catalan Tourism Agency, Jordi Orobitg, Councillor for Tourism of Lloret de Mar Town Council, and Rick Calvert, CEO of New Media Expo and TBEX.
The conference, which will welcome 600 travel bloggers from 39 countries, will be held in Lloret de Mar from 30 April to 2 May. This is the second time for it to be held on the Costa Brava and in Spain. In 2012, the Costa Brava Girona Tourist Board, with the collaboration of the public and private tourism sector of the Girona area, organised the first TBEX EU Costa Brava conference in the city of Girona, which was attended by 300 bloggers and generated an impact in social networks of 147 million impressions, reaching 28 million people in 63 countries.
This year’s conference also enjoys the support of the tourist boards of the Costa Daurada, Terres de l’Ebre and Lleida, Barcelona Provincial Council, the Visit Barcelona organisation, the county councils and local councils of the Girona area, and 722 private companies of the Catalan tourism sector.
For the three days, some of the world’s most influential travel writers, bloggers and creators of content on social networks will gather at the Evenia Olympic Resort in Lloret de Mar to take part in the TBEX programme of specialised talks and to exchange experiences. They will also enjoy a programme of complementary activities aimed at showcasing the destination.
A total of 412 conference delegates will go on a series of day trips scheduled for the day before the conference (nine day trips to Barcelona or in the Lloret de Mar area) and the day after (16 day trips to various towns in the Girona area). The day trips in the counties of Girona have been organised by the tourism departments of the county councils and local councils of the area.
Three photo walks have also been organised (two in Lloret de Mar and one in Girona) in order to showcase the two destinations on the main social networks dedicated to visual content, such as Instagram or Pinterest.
Leading on from the conference, 22 blog trips covering several Catalan destinations have been scheduled for between 4 and 10 May. The 176 invited bloggers will travel in groups of between eight and 12 people.
The aim of these fam trips is for international bloggers to get to know Catalonia a little bit better in order to promote it on their respective blogs, thus becoming powerful influencers and ambassadors for the destination among their thousands of followers.
The bloggers who stay in the Girona area can try all sorts of activities, such as sailing in the waters of Empordà, cycle touring and hiking in the Girona Pyrenees, finding out about the seafaring traditions of Girona towns or visiting family tourism destinations on the Costa Brava, among others.
Those who travel to Lleida can visit the Montseny Astronomical Observatory, go hiking through the Mont-Rebei gorge, admire the Romanesque architecture of the Vall de Boí area or go rafting on the Noguera Pallaresa river, among other activities.
Meanwhile, the bloggers who make their way to Barcelona can visit some of the city’s most important museums (MNAC, MACBA, Museu del Disseny, etc.), stroll around the Gothic quarter, check out the Camp Nou stadium or go on a cycling tour of the city. They can also travel outside the city and enjoy some of the many activities on offer in the surrounding area, such as visiting Montserrat, going on a 4 x 4 trail among vineyards, enjoying the thrill of speed at the Circuit de Barcelona – Catalunya or shopping at La Roca Village.
Finally, the bloggers who travel to Tarragona can explore the city’s Roman heritage, admire the modernism of Reus, climb aboard the rides of Port Aventura or taste the wines of the Priorat area. They can also swim with tuna fish, go sailing in the Delta de l’Ebre area, visit a spirit distillery or travel along Vies Verdes (Green Ways), among other options.
Meanwhile, the Catalan tourist accommodation sector is offering over 3,300 bed places across Catalonia free of charge to bloggers who wish to extend their stay, in order for them to continue exploring the destination at their own pace.
The tourism promotion bodies of the area, jointly responsible for organising the TBEX Costa Brava – Catalonia promotional and communication event, forecast that it will generate 400 million impressions in digital media outlets, according to the monitoring plan and tools for measuring its return and impact.
“The TBEX is one of the most important initiatives ever organised by the Tourist Board in terms of the global impact it will generate,” explained Ramon Ramos, Director General of the Tourist Board, during the presentation. “So far, 78 million impressions have already been generated in social networks before the conference has even started,” he added.
Xavier Espasa, Director of the Catalan Tourism Agency, pointed out, “This is one of the year’s most important events for Catalonia and it’s been made possible by the commitment and coordination of the country’s public and private sectors.”
“For Lloret de Mar to be the nerve centre of the TBEX is hugely important because it will help us create great multimedia content in digital media outlets,” stated Jordi Orobitg, Councillor for Tourism of Lloret de Mar Town Council.
Last of all, Rick Calvert, CEO of the New Media Expo company, explained, “TBEX is the future of travel media because it’s constantly transmitting interesting and credible content for users.” Calvert praised the collaboration and willingness of the area’s tourism bodies and the private sector, which have made it possible to hold this conference in the same destination for a second time, something which has never occurred before.
