The initial edition of Tourism Blogging Championship staged by Polish Tourism Organisation is now over. The first place went to Alicja Rapsiewicz (LosWiaheros), a blogger representing the Kujawsko-Pomorskie voivodeship (Kuyavia and Pomerania). Aleksandra Świstow (Pojechana) and Kaja Wolnicka (Moi Mili) also took podium positions as the ambassadors of, respectively, Mazowsze (Mazovia) and the Zachodniopomorskie voivodeship (Western Pomerania).

The objective of Tourism Blogging Championship was to compile promotional materials aimed at encourage individual tourists arranging leisure stays in Poland on their own and social media users who search online for travel inspirations. The Championship was based on rivalry between bloggers and regional tourist organizations supporting them.

“’Tourism and the Digital Transformation’ is the theme of this year’s World Tourism Day celebrations. The Ministry of Sport and Tourism and Polish Tourism Organisation are joining the global trend of increasingly focusing on online promotion of tourism. Tourism Blogging Championship, intended to use influencer marketing to inspire Poles to sightsee the country, is among the results of this approach”, explains Minister of Sports and Tourism Witold Bańka.

The rivalry involved close to 60 bloggers from all over Poland. In the first stage competition jury selected 16 participants, who became ambassadors of particular regions. Next, influencers worked with regional tourism organizations on publication scenarios and set out on tours of the country’s most attractive areas. Starting with this stage, all bloggers were receiving remuneration of 3,000 PLN net awarded by Polish Tourism Organisation (Polska Organizacja Turystyczna - POT). The list of bloggers advancing to the third stage of rivalry was based on the votes of Internet users, the reach of blogs and the jury’s decision. The final eight contestants had two tasks to perform - preparing another post covering the tour of the region and recording a vlog, a video or a video-postcard. Two criteria were decisive for winning the whole championship - jury’s assessment of materials’ quality and the reach generated by bloggers.

“We are very satisfied with the final outcome of the project. Founded on gamification, already the formula of the championship guaranteed high-quality content. In addition, we were observing the mobilisation of bloggers, their target groups and local communities. The works prepared by influencers were unique and distinguished by an impressively creative character. As a result, we decided to make the event a permanent feature of our calendar of activities”, said President of POT Robert Andrzejczyk.

The winners were announced on 28 September during an awards ceremony gala in Wieliczka. Cash prizes (10,000 PLN for the first place, 6,000 PLN for the second place and 3,000 for the third place) were presented to victorious bloggers.

“I am very happy to win the Tourism Blogging Championship. My objective was to showcase the areas of my voivodeship that, while lesser-known, are just as attractive from a tourist viewpoint. I would like to thank all my readers for their support - I would not be here if it was not for you”, said Alicja Rapsiewicz (LosWiaheros), ambassador of the Kujawsko-Pomorskie voivodeship.

Competition winners:

1ST PLACE:
Alicja Rapsiewicz, Kujawsko-Pomorskie voivodeship
LosWiaheros

2ND PLACE:
Aleksandra Świstow, Mazowieckie voivodeship
Pojechana

3RD PLACE:
Kaja Wolnicka, Zachodniopomorskie voivodeship
Moi Mili

DISTINCTION:
Dorota and Jacek Kowalscy, Warmińsko-Mazurskie voivodeship
Szalone Walizki

An initiative of Poland Tourism Organisation, the competition is Poland’s first action intended to create unique guides to areas usually overlooked in traditional tourist publications. Guidebooks presenting Poland seen through the eyes of bloggers are coming soon. Congratulations to all the winners! To read competition entries visit mistrzostwablogerow.polska.travel.