Travel Bloggers Unite to launch ads service

Travel Bloggers Unite is to launch a service to place travel companies’ advertisements on the sites of travel bloggers most relevant to the product or destination being sold.

TBU, which organises regular conferences for travel bloggers and the trade as well as running a community website, has already set up a jobs service advertising vacancies on its site following a tie-up with C&M Recruitment.

Now founder Oliver Gradwell plans to set up a service offering to place travel companies’ advertisements on the sites of travel bloggers most relevant to the products they want to advertise, whether it’s tourist boards advertising destinations or tour operators or agents promoting specific deals.

The details of the advertising service will be announced at TBU’s next conference, to be held in Porto on September 7, 8 and 9.

“We would place ads according to the client’s needs. We understand the bloggers and can go to the ones who focus on the destination relevant to the advertisement. I can match the bloggers and the brands,” he added.

Gradwell said many travel companies were missing a trick by not using bloggers to improve the content on their websites.

Agents and operators could use bloggers to help position themselves as experts in destinations, for example. “If anyone in the travel industry is to adopt blogging, it should not be as a direct approach to selling but as a way to grow content. It makes sites more interesting and engaging,” he said.