You are viewing an old revision of this post, from 13 June, 2012 @ 22:21. See below for differences between this version and the current revision.
Spain has become well known for its innovation in the travel and social space over the past years (eg. #incostabrava and Valencia’s #blogtripF1) and continues to promote the country through social channels and digital influencers. For example Spain will be hosting TBEX Europe 2012, which will be taking place at the Girona Auditorium and Conference Centre, in the Costa Brava region on 21-22 Sept 2012. TBEX is of course, the largest Travel blogger conference in the world.
The #catalunyaexperience blog trip was organised by Miquel Alabern (Promotion Director) and his team at Catalunya Tourism (@catexperience), Amaia Calvo-Fernández Rodríguez, Ester Bernal Angulo and Elena Roig Rodríguez with the help of blogtrip organiser, Arantxa Ros @ArantxaR. Once again they pulled out all the stops to show us the best that the Region of Catalunya has to offer.
The bloggers were…
- Iain Mallory @malloryontravel
- Adam Groffman @travelsofadam on behalf of @Traveldudes
- JD Andrews @earthXplorer
- Julie Schwietert Collazo @callazoprojects
- Jack Montgomery @buzztrips
- Akila and Patrick McConnell @theroadforks
- Dave Bousill & Deb Corbeil @theplanetd
- Me for Travelllll.com
What was Catalunya trying to promote and why did they use bloggers for that?
Well, it’s not the first time. Arantxa Ros says Catalunya Tourism was one of the first destinations in the world to organise a press trip for bloggers only, back in Dec 2009.
At the time, blogs and social networks were not that popular and hadn’t been used to promote a destination. It was very unusual, they say, and extraordinary difficult to understand, measure or value. Now, as there has been a social media revolution, Catalonia is developing its marketing and communications strategy in which bloggers will continue to have a place.
The main purpose [for this trip] was to promote Catalonia through social media networks and digital media from a personal perspective and through storytelling. Nowadays, travellers look for personal reviews and experiences on the Internet, searching for information in blogs, and where experiences have also been shared in social networks. Personal views have more and more credibility.
Catalunya Tourism’s Online Promotion Director, Amaia Calvo-Fernández, agrees:
Today, social networks play an important role as new channels of communication, marketing, promotion and marketing. In the case of tourism, traveling communities and blogs have great impact and represent a key source of information where bloggers become, in many cases, opinion and influential opinion leaders among their thousands of followers.
How were the bloggers chosen?
To do that, says Amaia, the tourist board brought in a “professional bloghunter” (Arantxa).
The 9 participants are considered some of the most important bloggers in the travel industry and tourism and have a presence on different platforms such as blogs, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, StumbleUpon, Pinterest, Youtube and Flickr. Between them the 9 bloggers are connected to over 260,000 followers on Twitter, and have almost two million page views on their blogs. In addition, some of them are contributors to media such LonelyPlanet, Expedia, National Geographic and Condé Nast.
What did the bloggers experience?
The trip had many highlights and I really enjoyed the variety. There was something for everybody.
The trip kicked off in style, with a private box for the F1 Gran Premi Circuit de Catalunya and it finished with a private dinner and museum tour of Camp Nou – the FC Barcelona Stadium.
We enjoyed everything from wining and dining at the 12th Century Castell d’Encús wine farm, at Mas Trucafort where the chef preparing Calçots – Catalan style, and under the stars at Parc Astronòmic del Montsec Observatory before some planet and star gazing… to getting down and dirty in the rice plantations at Terres de l’Ebre.
To sum it up in video form…
We had a fantastic time and I would like to thank the Tourist Board of Catalunya for inviting us along to discover the region. The hospitality and kindness of the people of Catalunya was truly overwhelming and it was great to be able to enjoy it with such a great bunch of people that were on this trip, both bloggers and friends from the Catalunya Tourist Board.
Will there be more blog trips to Catalunya?
Most certainly says Amaia:
The #catalunyaexperience blogtrip was part of the promotional strategy planned for 2012. This includes, hopefully, another blog trip in autumn and this month, a trip with Instagramers, which we are very excited about because we will be able to reach and impress over 300,000 followers with photos of Catalonia.
Post Revisions:
- 8 August, 2012 @ 6:36 [Current Revision] by Lezaan Roos
- 15 June, 2012 @ 16:25 by John O'Nolan
- 15 June, 2012 @ 14:27 by Lezaan Roos
- 13 June, 2012 @ 23:10 by John O'Nolan
- 13 June, 2012 @ 22:21 by Lezaan Roos
- 13 June, 2012 @ 22:21 by Alastair McKenzie
- 13 June, 2012 @ 20:29 by Alastair McKenzie
- 13 June, 2012 @ 20:28 by Alastair McKenzie
- 13 June, 2012 @ 20:28 by Alastair McKenzie
Changes:
| 13 June, 2012 @ 22:21 | Current Revision | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Content | |||
| [kicker]In May, the Spanish region of Catalunya invited nine bloggers on the #catalunyaexperience blog trip to explore and write about some of the events and experiences to be enjoyed there.[/kicker] | [kicker]In May, the Spanish region of Catalunya invited nine bloggers on the #catalunyaexperience blog trip to explore and write about some of the events and experiences to be enjoyed there.[/kicker] | ||
| [dropcap]S[/dropcap]pain has become well known for its innovation in the travel and social space over the past years (eg. #incostabrava and Valencia’s #blogtripF1) and continues to promote the country through social channels and digital influencers. For example Spain will be hosting TBEX Europe 2012, which will be taking place at the Girona Auditorium and Conference Centre, in the Costa Brava region on 21-22 Sept 2012. TBEX is of course, the largest Travel blogger conference in the world. | [dropcap]S[/dropcap]pain has become well known for its innovation in the travel and social space over the past years (eg. #incostabrava and Valencia’s #blogtripF1) and continues to promote the country through social channels and digital influencers. For example Spain will be hosting TBEX Europe 2012, which will be taking place at the Girona Auditorium and Conference Centre, in the Costa Brava region on 21-22 Sept 2012. TBEX is of course, the largest Travel blogger conference in the world. | ||
| <img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-7643" title="Lazy lunch at 12th Century wine farm Castell d’Encús " src="http://travelllll.com/ wp-content/uploads/2012/06/ 1-Cat_vinyard.jpg" alt="travel bloggers at wine farm Castell d’Encús, Catalunya, Spain" width="645" height="428" /> | <img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-7643" title="Lazy lunch at 12th Century wine farm Castell d’Encús " src="http://travelllll.com/ wp-content/uploads/2012/06/ 1-Cat_vinyard.jpg" alt="travel bloggers at wine farm Castell d’Encús, Catalunya, Spain" width="645" height="428" /> | ||
| The #catalunyaexperience blog trip was organised by Miquel Alabern (Promotion Director) and his team at Catalunya Tourism (@catexperience), Amaia Calvo-Fernández Rodríguez, Ester Bernal Angulo and Elena Roig Rodríguez with the help of blogtrip organiser, Arantxa Ros @ArantxaR. Once again they pulled out all the stops to show us the best that the Region of Catalunya has to offer. | The #catalunyaexperience blog trip was organised by Miquel Alabern (Promotion Director) and his team at Catalunya Tourism (@catexperience), Amaia Calvo-Fernández Rodríguez, Ester Bernal Angulo and Elena Roig Rodríguez with the help of blogtrip organiser, Arantxa Ros @ArantxaR. Once again they pulled out all the stops to show us the best that the Region of Catalunya has to offer. | ||
| The bloggers were... | The bloggers were... | ||
| <ul> | <ul> | ||
| <li>Iain Mallory @malloryontravel</li> | <li>Iain Mallory @malloryontravel</li> | ||
| <li>Adam Groffman @travelsofadam on behalf of @Traveldudes</li> | <li>Adam Groffman @travelsofadam on behalf of @Traveldudes</li> | ||
| <li>JD Andrews @earthXplorer</li> | <li>JD Andrews @earthXplorer</li> | ||
| - | <li>Julie Schwietert Collazo @ | + | <li>Julie Schwietert Collazo @collazoprojects</li> |
| <li>Jack Montgomery @buzztrips</li> | <li>Jack Montgomery @buzztrips</li> | ||
| - | <li>Akila | + | <li>Akila McConnell @theroadforks</li> |
| <li>Dave Bousill & Deb Corbeil @theplanetd</li> | <li>Dave Bousill & Deb Corbeil @theplanetd</li> | ||
| <li>Me for Travelllll.com</li> | <li>Me for Travelllll.com</li> | ||
| </ul> | </ul> | ||
| <h2><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-7644" title="A visit to FC Barcelona. JD Bolt ;) posing for Jack Montgomery" src="http://travelllll.com/ wp-content/uploads/2012/06/ 1-Cat_FCBarca.jpg" alt="Bloggers at FC Barcelona football stadium " width="645" height="428" /></h2> | <h2><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-7644" title="A visit to FC Barcelona. JD Bolt ;) posing for Jack Montgomery" src="http://travelllll.com/ wp-content/uploads/2012/06/ 1-Cat_FCBarca.jpg" alt="Bloggers at FC Barcelona football stadium " width="645" height="428" /></h2> | ||
| <h2>What was Catalunya trying to promote and why did they use bloggers for that?</h2> | <h2>What was Catalunya trying to promote and why did they use bloggers for that?</h2> | ||
| Well, it's not the first time. Arantxa Ros says Catalunya Tourism was one of the first destinations in the world to organise a press trip for bloggers only, back in Dec 2009. | Well, it's not the first time. Arantxa Ros says Catalunya Tourism was one of the first destinations in the world to organise a press trip for bloggers only, back in Dec 2009. | ||
| <blockquote>At the time, blogs and social networks were not that popular and hadn't been used to promote a destination. It was very unusual, they say, and extraordinary difficult to understand, measure or value. Now, as there has been a social media revolution, Catalonia is developing its marketing and communications strategy in which bloggers will continue to have a place. | <blockquote>At the time, blogs and social networks were not that popular and hadn't been used to promote a destination. It was very unusual, they say, and extraordinary difficult to understand, measure or value. Now, as there has been a social media revolution, Catalonia is developing its marketing and communications strategy in which bloggers will continue to have a place. | ||
| The main purpose [for this trip] was to promote Catalonia through social media networks and digital media from a personal perspective and through storytelling. Nowadays, travellers look for personal reviews and experiences on the Internet, searching for information in blogs, and where experiences have also been shared in social networks. Personal views have more and more credibility.< /blockquote> | The main purpose [for this trip] was to promote Catalonia through social media networks and digital media from a personal perspective and through storytelling. Nowadays, travellers look for personal reviews and experiences on the Internet, searching for information in blogs, and where experiences have also been shared in social networks. Personal views have more and more credibility.< /blockquote> | ||
| Catalunya Tourism's Online Promotion Director, Amaia Calvo-Fernández, agrees: | Catalunya Tourism's Online Promotion Director, Amaia Calvo-Fernández, agrees: | ||
| <blockquote>Today, social networks play an important role as new channels of communication, marketing, promotion and marketing. In the case of tourism, traveling communities and blogs have great impact and represent a key source of information where bloggers become, in many cases, opinion and influential opinion leaders among their thousands of followers.</blockquote> | <blockquote>Today, social networks play an important role as new channels of communication, marketing, promotion and marketing. In the case of tourism, traveling communities and blogs have great impact and represent a key source of information where bloggers become, in many cases, opinion and influential opinion leaders among their thousands of followers.</blockquote> | ||
| <h2>How were the bloggers chosen?</h2> | <h2>How were the bloggers chosen?</h2> | ||
| + | [gmap zoom="5"]Catalunya, Spain[/gmap] | ||
| To do that, says Amaia, the tourist board brought in a "professional bloghunter" (Arantxa). | To do that, says Amaia, the tourist board brought in a "professional bloghunter" (Arantxa). | ||
| <blockquote>The 9 participants are considered some of the most important bloggers in the travel industry and tourism and have a presence on different platforms such as blogs, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, StumbleUpon, Pinterest, Youtube and Flickr. Between them the 9 bloggers are connected to over 260,000 followers on Twitter, and have almost two million page views on their blogs. In addition, some of them are contributors to media such LonelyPlanet, Expedia, National Geographic and Condé Nast.</blockquote> | <blockquote>The 9 participants are considered some of the most important bloggers in the travel industry and tourism and have a presence on different platforms such as blogs, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, StumbleUpon, Pinterest, Youtube and Flickr. Between them the 9 bloggers are connected to over 260,000 followers on Twitter, and have almost two million page views on their blogs. In addition, some of them are contributors to media such LonelyPlanet, Expedia, National Geographic and Condé Nast.</blockquote> | ||
| <h2><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-7647" title="Stands filling up for the F1 Grand Prix, and a chance for me to play with my GoPro!" src="http://travelllll.com/ wp-content/uploads/2012/06/ 1-Cat_F1.jpg" alt="In the stand at F1 Gran Premi Circuit de Catalunya " width="645" height="484" /></h2> | <h2><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-7647" title="Stands filling up for the F1 Grand Prix, and a chance for me to play with my GoPro!" src="http://travelllll.com/ wp-content/uploads/2012/06/ 1-Cat_F1.jpg" alt="In the stand at F1 Gran Premi Circuit de Catalunya " width="645" height="484" /></h2> | ||
| <h2>What did the bloggers experience?</h2> | <h2>What did the bloggers experience?</h2> | ||
| The trip had many highlights and I really enjoyed the variety. There was something for everybody. | The trip had many highlights and I really enjoyed the variety. There was something for everybody. | ||
| The trip kicked off in style, with a private box for the <a href="http:// www.circuitcat.com">F1 Gran Premi Circuit de Catalunya</a> and it finished with a private dinner and museum tour of <em>Camp Nou</em> - the <a href="http:// www.fcbarcelona.com/">FC Barcelona</a> Stadium. | The trip kicked off in style, with a private box for the <a href="http:// www.circuitcat.com">F1 Gran Premi Circuit de Catalunya</a> and it finished with a private dinner and museum tour of <em>Camp Nou</em> - the <a href="http:// www.fcbarcelona.com/">FC Barcelona</a> Stadium. | ||
| We enjoyed everything from wining and dining at the 12th Century <a href="http:// encuscat.weebly.com/"> Castell d’Encús</a> wine farm, at <a href="http:// www.mastrucafort.com/">Mas Trucafort</a> where the chef preparing Calçots - Catalan style, and under the stars at <a href="http:// www.parcastronomic.cat">Parc Astronòmic del Montsec</a> Observatory before some planet and star gazing... to getting down and dirty in the rice plantations at <a href="http:// www.deltapolet.com">Terres de l’Ebre</a>. | We enjoyed everything from wining and dining at the 12th Century <a href="http:// encuscat.weebly.com/"> Castell d’Encús</a> wine farm, at <a href="http:// www.mastrucafort.com/">Mas Trucafort</a> where the chef preparing Calçots - Catalan style, and under the stars at <a href="http:// www.parcastronomic.cat">Parc Astronòmic del Montsec</a> Observatory before some planet and star gazing... to getting down and dirty in the rice plantations at <a href="http:// www.deltapolet.com">Terres de l’Ebre</a>. | ||
| To sum it up in video form... | To sum it up in video form... | ||
| [vimeo]http:/ /vimeo.com/43008959[/vimeo] | [vimeo]http:/ /vimeo.com/43008959[/vimeo] | ||
| We had a fantastic time and I would like to thank the Tourist Board of Catalunya for inviting us along to discover the region. The hospitality and kindness of the people of Catalunya was truly overwhelming and it was great to be able to enjoy it with such a great bunch of people that were on this trip, both bloggers and friends from the Catalunya Tourist Board. | We had a fantastic time and I would like to thank the Tourist Board of Catalunya for inviting us along to discover the region. The hospitality and kindness of the people of Catalunya was truly overwhelming and it was great to be able to enjoy it with such a great bunch of people that were on this trip, both bloggers and friends from the Catalunya Tourist Board. | ||
| <h2>Will there be more blog trips to Catalunya?</h2> | <h2>Will there be more blog trips to Catalunya?</h2> | ||
| Most certainly says Amaia: | Most certainly says Amaia: | ||
| <blockquote>The #catalunyaexperience blogtrip was part of the promotional strategy planned for 2012. This includes, hopefully, another blog trip in autumn and this month, a trip with Instagramers, which we are very excited about because we will be able to reach and impress over 300,000 followers with photos of Catalonia.</blockquote> | <blockquote>The #catalunyaexperience blogtrip was part of the promotional strategy planned for 2012. This includes, hopefully, another blog trip in autumn and this month, a trip with Instagramers, which we are very excited about because we will be able to reach and impress over 300,000 followers with photos of Catalonia.</blockquote> | ||
Note: Spaces may be added to comparison text to allow better line wrapping.
TBEX is in the Costa Brava region? Oh wow, my motivation to get there just jumped waaaayyy up! Loved the video (and your fab red hat!)
Hi Julie
Thank you for the comment, I’m glad you like my hat!
Yes, TBEX will be held in Costa Brava in September, full details here: http://travelllll.com/2012/04/24/tbex-comes-to-spain-in-sept/
Hope to see you there.
WOW, great video! We did have a lot of fun, thanks for bringing back the memories of Catalunya!
“Live the Adventure”
~jd :-)
Thanks JD, it is our pleasure :)
I couldn’t agree more. Great fun with a lovely bunch of people.
Enjoy TBEX US!
Benvinguts! Great! That’s where I come from. Catalonia is much more than just Barcelona ;)
Hello there, thanks for the comment.
I agree with you, there’s so much more to Catalunya. Barcelona is a lovely city and I have been there several times, but I really enjoyed discovering places like Torroja del Priorat and Espot. Also, hiking in the Pyrenees was one of my personal highlights.
What is your favourite part of Catalunya?
Hard to say! I love la Costa Brava, from Blanes to Cadaques. My favourite ‘city’ is Girona. I also love the Parc Natural d’Aigües Tortes i Estany de Sant Maruici near Espot, as well as la Vall de Núria :) Anywhere in the Pyrenees is great!
Right now tough I’ve been living in Thailand for 2 years. What I miss the most is the wine and cheese (here is so overpriced!)
A totally brilliant trip; super location with fantastic people and food that’s worth getting fat for. Made even better by being with an ultra fun group of bloggers/Catalunya Turismo. Anyone visiting the area has got to try those Delta del Ebro oysters.
BTW – how come the segway v tourist train game of chicken didn’t make the final cut?
Couldn’t have said it better myself Jack…”worth getting fat for” and I did my best ;)
The oysters were fantastic, that and our visit to “Muscleres”, the Mussels Route, Sant Carles de la Ràpita were def. two of my foodie highlights.
I’d suspect that the segway vs. tourist train footage was slightly wobbly! I think the picture you’ve posted summed it up pretty well though, the slight panic yet focused moment on the degway.
Hope you’re well and looking forward to catching up at TBEX EU!
Really pleased with how the video turned out! This trip really opened my eyes to the fact that there’s much more to Catalunya than Barcelona. Can’t wait to go back!
Couldn’t agree more Adam. Just posted the photos yesterday too!