Paying costs for travel writers worthwhile, says Tourism PEI

P.E.I.'s budget for covering costs for travel writers who come to the Island isn't as much as other provinces, but is well worth it, says the tourism department.

This comes after a CBC report earlier in the week showing that New Brunswick spent $1.1 million over the last four years on air travel, meals, accommodations, and transportation for certain writers.

That was criticized as paid advertising: the N.B. government showering reporters with freebies in exchange for good reviews.

But Brenda Gallant with Tourism PEI told Island Morning that's not how it works at all.

"When they do come here, they make it absolutely clear that we have no say in what is being written," said Gallant, director of marketing and communications. "We've been fortunate, because the people who have come here have really written some fantastic stories. But it's not always the exact angle that we might have taken if we were writing the story."   

Hundreds of requests yearly

Gallant said the department spends approximately $100,000 a year for travel writers, bloggers and social influencers.

None of the money goes directly to the writers, but is used for on-the-ground expenses such as travel and accommodation, car rentals, admission fees and meals.

"We get hundreds of requests every year," she said. "And I mean hundreds, maybe even thousands. The vast majority of them are freelancers who are looking to write some stories that they feel they can pitch to various media outlets."

Most of the people sending requests do get some kind of help, but the majority is non-financial, such as photos, video or information.

The department does chose some to help financially, depending upon the reach of the publication, and the target audience.

Gallant and her team will even target the most desired media.

"We do aggressively go out and seek media that we feel are a really good product market fit for us, and where we'd like to get some exposure," she said. "So things like the New York Times or Condé Nast Traveler or Travel + Leisure."

Great return on investment

The province also uses a third-party firm to judge the value of sponsoring travel writers in a return-on-investment report.

"For example, the New York Times," said Gallant. "They came here in 2014, and we paid close to $3,000 in hosting them, and we ended up with an article that was valued at $143,000."

Gallant thinks it's a practice governments should continue.

"I think a lot would be lost," she said. "We're in a day and age where there are some people who really don't trust paid advertising."

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