WTM London 2015 Announces Blogging Sessions Line-up

World Travel Market (WTM) London 2015, a leading global event for the travel industry, has announced its most comprehensive blogging programme to date, with sessions spread over three days and almost twice the number of bloggers at its Blogger Speed Networking event.

• The first step into the world of blogging at WTM London 2015 is on Tuesday, November 3, in a session entitled: How Content Strategy Can Help You Tell Credible Stories Outside Your Niche/ Industry Vertical, which uses real-life case studies from brands including session sponsor Hertz to give insight and top tips. The speakers are Heather Healy, digital strategist and Marketing Communications Director at multi-channel marketing communications company Stickyeyes and Penny Alexander, who blogs at multi-award-winning lifestyle blog A Residence, which has opened lots of exciting doors, including appearing with her family in promotional films for Carnival Cruise Line.

When and where: Tuesday, November 3, in South Gallery 23-26; from 10:30-11:30.

• Next, experts take a glimpse into the future of marketing and communications in a session called: Six New Trends That Will Change the World, sponsored by Toposophy. Sharing their insight are Ian Cumming, founder and CEO of Travel Massive, the world’s fastest-growing community and open network of travel industry innovators, change makers and content creators and Sarah-Betty Andrews, a blogger, digital consultant and founder of Business Betty, a network for female entrepreneurs. Peter Jordan, a consultant specialist in helping destinations and multinational corporations understand and react to the emerging trends in global tourism that are led by Millennials, makes up the trio.

When and where: Tuesday, November 3, in South Gallery 23-26; from 12:00-13:00.

• Blogging sessions continue on Wednesday, November 4, when a panel attempts to answer the question: Can Global Brands Truly Make Local Content? Speakers Kash Bhattacharya, founder of BudgetTraveller; Allison Busacca, Editor, BBC.com/travel and Tika Larasati, Influencer Marketing Manager at Skyscanner, which is sponsoring the session, will explore how brands can work and have worked with bloggers to deliver a hyper-local content strategy on a global scale.

When and where: Wednesday, November 4 in South Gallery 23-26; from 10:30-11:30.

• The thorny subject of money is discussed in Wednesday’s second blogging session Show Me the Money! sponsored by Traverse Connect. The debate will centre on the findings of an anonymous survey into blogger incomes undertaken by Traverse Events. Whether the panel of bloggers –  Monica Stott, travel blogger at The Travel Hack; Michael Turtle, blogger at Time Travel Turtle; Jennifer Howze, journalist and co-founder of the BritMums blog, and Julie Falconer, who blogs as A Lady in London – agree with the findings, or disclose just how lucrative blogging is for them, will be revealed during the session.Also on the panel is travel PR guru Julie Giraud of Four bgb, who has devised and run many successful social media and blogger campaigns for clients such as KLM, Discover Ferries, the Catalan Tourist Board and MSC Cruises.

When and where: Wednesday, November 4 in South Gallery 23-26, from 14:00-15:00.

• November 5 gets off with a bang when WTM’s Bloggers’ Speed Networking session returns, bigger and better, after a successful introduction in 2014, in association with Wonder. It’s a chance for exhibitors and their PR representatives to meet 100 of the world’s leading bloggers to discuss ways to increase media exposure.

When and where: Thursday, November 5 in Hall Entrance S10, from 10:00-11:30.

• After that, it’s over to the Travel Tech Theatre for a two-part workshop on How to Collaborate with Travel Bloggers to Create a Compelling Marketing Campaign, sponsored by Frosmo.

When and where: Wednesday, November 5, at the Travel Tech Theatre TT390, from 12:30-14:00.

“WTM London has been running standing-room only blogging programme since 2011 and every year it gets bigger and more popular as the number of bloggers attending the event grows”, World Travel Market London, Senior Director, Simon Press said.

GTP is an official media partner of WTM London 2015.