PR TEXT - June 3, 2022 - The International Meeting of Travel Influencers which started on the first day of June is spreading across social networks and local news portals.
After exciting and delicious events that honored attractive cultural heritage and local gastronomy, it was time for a conference and roundtable on the "Impact of travel influencers on the tourism industry".
Thus, the creative ideas and marketing tools of the digital divas and multimedia heroes from all over the world were shared at the Amphora hotel with a lecture by the professor of the Faculty of Political Science Zagreb, Domagoj Bebić.
Bebić compared the new media demand with food, which, under the influence of pandemic trends and earlier, put tourism influencers in a very important place. Bebić said that gathering so many influential social networking representatives in one place is an excellent step by the Split-Dalmatia County Tourist Board, otherwise known for its innovation and tourism pioneering and a strong focus on innovations in the world tourism trends and marketing trends.
"What is interesting for me to study is how this media diet is developing and the future of these trends," said the professor.
"Getting closer to global influencers in this way and connecting them with local tourism stakeholders is a truly innovative move that certainly positions us even more on the tourist map of Europe," he concluded, emphasizing that the arrival of influencers in the County directly affects tourism and traffic.
Apart from Professor Bebić, the forces of the tourism profession were also represented by the Head of the Global PR Department of the Croatian National Tourist Board, Lucijana Jerković, who pointed out the quality of cooperation with influencers and bloggers in various markets even during the pandemic. It is believed that the communication with the surrounding countries contributed to the excellent tourist results of Central Dalmatia, even in uncertain pandemic times. Tonči Glavina, State Secretary at the Ministry of Tourism, also commented on the challenging pandemic conditions, emphasizing the need for people to travel and spend some time outside their residence as an integral part of their quality of life.
"Accordingly, we have chosen the path to position ourselves as the first country in Europe to send a message of opening and security," said Glavina.
Joško Stella, director of the Split-Dalmatia County Tourist Board, spoke about the exceptional power of social networks, which today no one can deny.
"The roundtable served as an opportunity to present to influencers our tourism figures, events, projects we are working on, and our results. As a result, we can boast that we have the best results on social networks of all local tourist boards in Croatia," Stella proudly pointed out, adding specific figures. Thus, Central Dalmatia has over 690 thousand followers on Facebook, over 36 million views on YouTube, and over 50,000 followers on Instagram.
"We also mentioned the 'Maritime Routes' project, where we went through all the nautical routes of the county with Google Street View and 52 themed trails, or 327 kilometers, which is unique in Europe. Our last project with Metaverse and NFT is unique, and this generation is interested," said Stella, proud to have organized a destination campaign using the power of influencers, which he plans to engage and implement even more in this unique International Meeting, with carefully thought out and developed marketing strategies.
The ambassadors of this project - the most recognizable local Instagrammer, Ella Dvornik Pearce, and the famous Croatian travel writer and adventurer Goran Jovic, also spoke at the roundtable.
"I don't know how long I have been an influencer, but if you influence someone publicly in any way, you are also a kind of influencer," said Goran.
"We shared the tools and tricks we use in business. The richness of social networks is that about thirty influential people, each different in their way, will share their impressions of our county to their followers."
"I came to promote Dalmatia - with a purger accent!" joked Ella.
"I explained to the audience how I promote a tourist destination. I gave them some advice if they want to hire influencers, look for them, and communicate the desired content of publications," she added.
It should be noted that before the roundtable, other experts in the field were also in attendance - Lucijana Natalija Jerkovic, head of global PR in the Croatian Tourist Board, and director of the Istrian Tourist Board Denis Ivosevic, and the County deputy prefect Stipe Čogelja. Although he modestly admitted that he uses only Facebook, he is well aware that people in Dalmatia should fall in love. This will be helped by influencers, who have succeeded so far with their highly aesthetic posts and fantastic photos of natural or gourmet beauties. Central Dalmatia, without exception, makes us want to walk into the screen. However, he emphasized that there is still room for improvement in cooperation with influencers and that he nurtures the strategy of visiting a different Croatian island every year. Furthermore, at the county level, called "Hidden Dalmatia," he announced raising the potential for tourism in rural Dalmatia, calling it a nicer and better version of French Provence.
The day continued at the magnificent Skywalk and WTA tournament in Makarska. We can't wait to see how photo & travel blogger Diana Loos from Brazil, Karlovac's Marjeta Kessler, and Anne Wizental and her Polish compatriots Agnieszka and Woytek Tyuls, better known as Crolovepl present this content on social networks!
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