Blacknight Sponsors TBEX Europe Travel Bloggers' Conference in Killarney, Ireland

“Bloggers are delivering real value to consumers, and extraordinary opportunities for tourism practitioners”

TBEX, the travel bloggers' conference, is returning to Ireland after four years, and Ireland’s leading hosting and domain names company Blacknight is among the sponsors.

Over 600 delegates from up to 50 countries are expected to attend the three-day event at the Convention Centre (INEC) in Killarney, County Kerry. TBEX Europe connects bloggers, travel writers and new media creators with travel brands, PR firms and tourism promoters from all over the world.

Tourism Ireland and its related organisations are host sponsors of the event, reflecting the importance of word-of-mouth marketing and social media influencers in tourism promotion.

Consumers nowadays search the web for testimonials and genuine user experiences, before they commit their cash. That applies to planning a holiday as much as to other things, such as buying a car.

Some travel bloggers are full time nomads. Others plan trips around life events, like honeymooners Shane and Georgia (shaneandgeorgia.com), driving from Ireland to Mongolia in a Nissan Micra!

Bloggers cover the range of travel options: from adventure tourism to art and culture. Some specialise in luxury travel and five-star accommodation. Some seek out scenery and solitude, bronzed hippies who attract a global following at hashtags like #vanlife (wheresmyofficenow.com).

Irishman Johnny Ward has turned his travels into a successful business, investing in property and managing a team of staff from his laptop (onestep4ward.com).

Husband-and-wife team Dave and Deb (theplanetd.com) will give the opening keynote at the Killarney conference. They’ve visited 106 countries in the last 8 years and won numerous awards for photography and blogging, including back-to-back gold medals for best travel blog at both the Society of American Travel Writers and the North American Travel Journalists Association. They've spoken on five continents about the business of social media, and their vision for pursuing passion and living life to the fullest.

Blacknight’s CEO, Michele Neylon, is himself a seasoned traveller who averages about 200,000 miles per year attending internet events and business conferences. Having attended the last TBEX event in Dublin, he is pleased to be sponsor of its return to Ireland.

“TBEX is a great example of the media revolution which has occurred over the past 15 years. Bloggers and online content producers are delivering real value to consumers, and extraordinary opportunities for tourism practitioners. The result is a thriving industry, which Blacknight is delighted to support.

“Ireland leads the world in both technology and tourism, and the marketing campaigns for the Wild Atlantic Way and Ireland’s Ancient East have been a phenomenal success. It’s no surprise that our beautiful country looks irresistible online.”

TBEX Europe will offer two days of lectures, workshops and networking in 5 parallel strands: Visual Media, Entrepreneur, Social Media, Strategy and Tourism. Two additional days are devoted to practical workshops in writing, branding and blogging for beginners, and delegates will take part in pre and post-event activities around Kerry as well as in Cork, Limerick, Dublin and other counties. Further information and tickets are available at TBEXcon.com.