Bloggers’ Summit attracts increased interest at ITB Berlin

Now in its second year, the Bloggers Summit Workshops being organized in the context of the PhoCusWright@ITB conference (a highly successful part of the ITB Convention for the past three years) looks

Now in its second year, the Bloggers Summit Workshops being organized in the context of the PhoCusWright@ITB conference (a highly successful part of the ITB Convention for the past three years) looks like it is becoming one of the most popular events of the upcoming ITB Berlin show – and not just for technology-focused delegates.

“The reasons for this are all too evident,” said Dr. Martin Buck, director of the Competence Center Travel & Logistics at Messe Berlin. “Travel, tourism, and hospitality are being dramatically impacted by social media. And there is a never-ending list of options related to this that each travel industry marketer needs to understand and leverage – including blogs, user-generated content, YouTube, Facebook, Google Connect, Twitter, and more.”

The Bloggers Summit Workshops, which will take place on the afternoon of Wednesday, March 11 from 14:30, in Hall 7.3, Europa Room, will include a panel of social media experts who will present and debate their top social media trends for 2009. Audience participation is expected to add insight and controversy to the discussion. The first workshop on ‘The Top Social Media Trends for Travel & Tourism’ will conclude with the panel choosing the top three social media trends, which companies need to prioritize in their 2009 sales and marketing plans.

The second session of the afternoon, entitled ‘From Theory to Reality, Putting the Trends to Work for Your Organization,’ will again feature a panel of experts who will discuss and debate each of the top three social media trends for travel, tourism, and hospitality sales and marketing professionals selected in the previous workshop and will highlight ways of implementing them into one’s own organization.

“Knowing what the trends will be for the next year is one thing, but putting them into practice is a totally different matter,” said Bruce Rosard, vice president, sales and marketing for PhoCusWright, discussing the event with ITB’s media team. “Everyone in the audience will have the opportunity of learning from the experts on the panel as they challenge them to show delegates how to achieve successful results.”

The PhoCusWright Bloggers Summit Workshops will be presented by Tips from the T-List, with publisher Stephen Joyce – who is also CEO of Sentias Software – moderating the sessions. Among the other prominent tourism technology experts making up the two panels will be Kevin May – editor, Travolution’s Blog, www.travolution.co.uk/blog; Klaus Hildebrand – FVW editor in chief, www.fvw.de/blog; Darren Cronian – editor, www.Travel-Rants.com; and Martin Schobert – CIO, Austrian National Tourist Office, www.blog.austria.info.

More details about the PhoCusWright@ITB events are available online at www.itb-convention.com/phocuswright where advance bookings can also be made. The participation fee for the whole PhoCusWright@ITB conference is EUR 350, which covers all the sessions, snacks, lunch, and a cocktail reception following the event.

ITB Berlin and ITB Berlin Convention

ITB Berlin 2009 will be taking place from Wednesday, March 11 to Sunday, March 15 and will be open to trade visitors from Wednesday to Friday. Parallel with the trade fair, the ITB Berlin Convention will be taking place from Wednesday, March 11 to Saturday, March 14, 2009. For full program details, click on www.itb-convention.com.

Fachhochschule Worms and the US-based market research company PhoCusWright Inc are partners of the ITB Berlin Convention. Turkey is co-hosting this year’s ITB Berlin Convention. Other sponsors of the ITB Berlin Convention include Top Alliance, responsible for VIP service; hospitalityInside.com, as media partner of the ITB Hospitality Day; and Flug Revue as media partner of the ITB Aviation Day. The Planeterra Foundation is premium sponsor of the ITB Corporate Social Responsibility Day, and Gebeco is the premium sponsor of the ITB Tourism and Culture Day. TÜV Rheinand Group is basic sponsor of the session “Practical Aspects of CSR.” The following are partners collaborating with the ITB Business Travel Days: Air Berlin PLC & Co. Luftverkehrs KG, Verband Deutsches Reisemanagement e.V. (VDR), Vereinigung Deutscher Veranstaltungsorganisatoren e.V., HSMA Deutschland e.V., Deutsche Bahn AG, geschaeftsreise1.de, hotel.de, Kerstin Schaefer e.K. – Mobility Services and Intergerma. Air Berlin is the premium sponsor of the ITB Business Travel Days 2009.

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Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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