Inverness Social Travel Summit

The global social media spotlight was in Inverness last week when nearly 50 of the world's top travel bloggers arrived for a social media conference

The Social Travel Summit, this year sponsored by VisitBritain and held in the UK for the first time, brought together popular travel bloggers and the travel industry to explore trends and insights on online travel marketing.

Bloggers from 17 countries including UAE, Saudi, China, France, Germany, India, the Netherlands and the USA attended the summit, held from 19 - 21 September and organised by travel network iambassador. The bloggers will also have the chance to see the best of ‘destination Britain' and share these travel experiences with their social media followers during pre and post event trips.

VisitBritain/VisitEngland Chief Executive Sally Balcombe said:
"We know the powerful role social media plays in promoting Britain to overseas visitors so we're thrilled to be bringing this summit here for the first time. I look forward to seeing some fantastic content created by the world's top bloggers as they tour the country, sharing their stories online and inspiring more visitors to book a trip to Britain."

VisitScotland Chief Executive Malcolm Roughead said:
"For Inverness to host the first Social Travel Summit to be held in Great Britain is a fantastic achievement for the Highland capital. The digital domain plays a hugely important role in reaching potential and returning visitors and the tourism industry needs to embrace new ways of working to succeed in a competitive global market."

Social media is at the heart of VisitBritain's domestic and international #OMGB ‘Home of Amazing Moments' campaigns which showcase the incredible experiences that can only be had on a trip in Britain. The campaign invites people to share their amazing UK travel experiences using the hashtag #OMGB (Oh My GREAT Britain), which will also be used by the travel bloggers attending the summit.

Figures from last year's Social Travel Summit held in Hamburg show that more than 500 images and blog posts were created during the summit and shared globally, reaching an estimated four million people.

Research by VisitBritain shows the influence social media has in positioning Britain as a destination of choice for international visitors, offering unparalleled opportunities to engage directly with potential visitors in a timely way, with the right messages, demonstrating an understanding of their world and motivations for travel.

Last year set a record for inbound tourism to Britain on visits and spend with 36.1 million visits, 5% up on 2014, and spending up 1% to £22.1 billion.

ENDS

Notes to Editors:
• The Social Travel Summit is sponsored by VisitBritain with substantial support from VisitInvernessLochNess and VisitScotland

• The Social Travel Summit has received funding from the VisitScotland National Conference Bid Fund and the Highland Council Common Good Fund

• For more information about the Social Travel Summit: http://thesocialtravelsummit.com/

• For more information on #OMGB ‘Home of Amazing Moments': https://www.visitbritain.org/great-britain-home-amazing-moments-campaign

For more information, please contact Yasmine Rashed at VisitBritain: Yasmine.rashed@visitbritain.org