The city of Graz, Austria, has hosted the first ever Propel Conference, aimed at helping travel bloggers take their business to the next level.
The conference, for intermediate-level bloggers, saw expert speakers sharing many years of experience and success, providing attendees with:
- the tools to create quality content, and
- strategies to realise the value of their work.
Propel Conference was sponsored by Graz Tourism, and held at the Grand Hotel Wiesler, in Graz, and saw 20 hand-selected bloggers receive in-depth guidance in how to succeed and flourish in the blogging world.
It was opened by the Mayor of Graz, Mr Siegfried Nagl; and has been described by one attendee, Kathryn Burrington, as “an absolute game changer.”
The Propel Conference was organised by Sarah and Terry Lee of digital agency, Captivate, and Su Höller of Graz Tourism.
Captivate and Propel Conference founder, Terry Lee said: “We are thrilled with the success of the conference. We have known for some time that there is a need to professionalise the blogging industry and now, with Propel, that platform exists.
“This can only benefit the travel industry, as bloggers’ levels of quality rise, their professionalism increases and, as a result, tourist boards and travel brands see greater returns when working with these reliable bloggers.”
“It was also a pleasure to hold sessions for members of Graz’s local travel industry, helping to educate them on how to work with, and maximise the benefits from bloggers and digital platforms.”
Susanne Höller, head of marketing at Graz Tourism, said: “It was amazing to host the first Propel Conference together with the talented Captivate team here in Graz. The conference days were packed with professional information and tips and the evenings were happy gatherings of 30 bloggers and speakers in various locations around Graz.
“I am sure it will make an impact on Graz with so many stories being shared on social networks already. And for us as a destination marketing organisation (DMO), we are proud to be at the forefront of digital/influencer marketing within Austria.”
Following the conference, which was held from May, 25–27, the bloggers enjoyed post trips around Graz and the wider Styria region.
The event was hailed a great success by a host of happy delegates:
“Congratulations on a fabulous conference, my head is full of information and inspiration but more importantly, answers. I now have a plan for moving my blog forward,” said Suzanne Jones, of The Travel Bunny.
“So grateful for the incredible #PropelGraz experience, congratulations for holding a mind-blowing event,” said Carly Hulls of blog, Austrian Adaptation.
“I’ve been blogging for eight years, and have been pretty successful, but the things I’ve learnt over the last few days will take my blog to another level,” said Kathryn Burrington, of Travel with Kat.
Currently the team at Captivate is working on the next Propel Conference and will announce where and when it will be held in the coming months.
NOTES FOR EDITORS
Images available here: http://bit.ly/PropelGraz and should be credited to (c) Graz Tourismus_Werner Krug. Contact us for many more hi-res photos.