20 Feb 2013
Seven Australian destinations are fighting it out on Facebook to host Social Media Tourism Symposium Australia (SoMeT) to be held on 17-18 July this year.
Over 2,000 votes have been cast within the first 72 hours and destinations are pulling out all the stops encouraging their community and tourism operators to 'Vote One'.
Townsville has put together a special promo video and Wollongong have re-branded their Facebook fan page all with the aim of rallying voters before first round voting closes this Friday, 22 February.
The SoMeT (pronounced so-me-tee) conference is designed to bring the digital destination marketing community together.
It is a premier conference for tourism professionals looking to share ideas, network and discover opportunities in social media for destination marketing.
Think Social Media Executive Director, Rodney Payne, said that the diversity of destinations in the running to host SoMeT is a reflection of the growth and uptake of social media strategy Australia-wide.
"Regional destinations are leading the votes with Townsville and Wollongong currently ranking one and two, Brisbane, Alice Spring and Margaret River are not far behind."
"Hundreds of #SoMeT13au tweets have been sent as fan communities rally behind destinations in the last few days of this first round battle. The enthusiasm and excitement from Australian destinations in the running to host SoMeT is a reflection of the need for a social media conference of this nature." Mr Payne added.
Round two and three of voting will continue over the next two weeks with the winning location for SoMeT Australia 2013 announced in early March.
For more information, please contact:
Holly Galbraith
E: hollyg@thinksocialmedia.com
P: (+61) 0432 274 846
About SoMeT
SoMeT is presented by Think! Social Media, a boutique digital marketing agency that works with leading destination marketing organisations across the world and has offices in Sydney, Vancouver, Detroit and Amsterdam.
The Social Media Tourism Symposium provides an opportunity for destination marketing organisations, hotels, resorts, attractions and tourism-related entities to share ideas and learn how social media are effecting marketing within the travel industry.
2013 is the fourth year that SoMeT is being held and the first year it occurs on two continents.
The inaugural conference was held in Loudoun County, Virginia, which hosted 110 attendees. In 2011, #SoMeT hosted 183 attendees in Tunica, Mississippi. Close to 250 attendees enjoyed #SoMeT in El Paso Texas last year. 2013 will be the biggest year yet!
SoMeT is more than a conference, it's a year-round, passionate community that continually engages in the discussion of tourism and social media. The annual conference is an opportunity to unite this conversation and explore topics together. Each year's presenters and speakers are notable authorities and professionals from across the tourism industry whose insights provide exceptional perspective for organisations.
To vote visit: https://www.facebook.com/SoMeTourism
To be notified of updates and engage with the symposium community, follow SoMeT on Twitter @SoMeTourism and Like the Facebook fan page: facebook.com/sometourism.
