I first attended SATTE in 2013! Gosh how time passes by! I attended it again in 2014 and 2016. In 2015 I was out of town. So what is SATTE? It is a leading trade event for tourism. In 2017 35 countries and 28 tourism boards participated in the event. The next logical question is if 2017 was a trade event, what is there in it for a travel blogger? SATTE 2017 New Delhi was held at Pragati Maidan (added after reading the comments from Joe and Jyotirmoy).
I too pondered along the same lines. In 2013 I was invited by Malaysia Tourism Board! After meeting them I had no clue what to do, I must have walked around and turned back! Even last year, I reconnected with the people I worked with in the past, might have made one or two new connections. If I said I was a travel blogger to new people many would give me a quizzical look and move on.
But this year things felt different! A lot more people showed interest when you told them you are a travel blogger! And of course, in the meanwhile I have worked with a few more tourism boards! So I had many people to meet at SATTE. I also felt more bloggers attended SATTE this year! The event is colorful too, with live dances and music thrown in!
On another note, the topic of making money via blogging comes up again and again. I surely make less money than my salary, but I have definitely traveled more than I did when I used to work full time. But then I was already blogging for 10 years before I quit my job. I was aware how much money was there in blogging. I think it is growing, but I did not quit my job thinking I will make tons of money after quitting my job. To anyone out there who wants to quit their jobs, give blogging a try part time first!
SATTE 2017 was extra special for me, because Israel Tourism Board used three of my pictures as posters in their booth! It was a first for me, it was a high! By now I feel at home at SATTE and I look forward to the next edition in 2018.
PS. I was invited by UBM, the organizers of SATTE to attend the event.
That must have been a real good feeling – to see your own picture blown up.
By the way you did not mention where the 2017 SATTE was held…..
Thank you for pointing it out, this one was the Delhi edition, held at Pragati Maidan.
with time everything change, good to know about your experience but where did the event take place?
I agree, so one eye on who long this social media swing will last for sure. The event was held at Pragati Maidan.
Great 🙂 Awesome pics. Congratulations.
Thank you so much Rupam!
Congratulations Mridula! Lets hope to see your picture in more tourism booth in 2017 SATTE 🙂
Ha ha let us see if that happens! Thank you so much.
Thanks for sharing Mridula.. I had no idea about Satte and it sure sounds like a good deal for travel bloggers to meet people from tourism boards..I have also noticed a great change in 2017 where I feel people have begun to understand the concept of blogging and are more appreciative towards the narrative content 🙂
More power to the change!
Ah, I missed attending this event as it was in Delhi, and by the time the invite came in, I couldn’t book myself up for a flight on Delhi. However, your write up definitely helps and may be I will book my travel well ahead of time.. Will get to meet you all in Delhi as well 🙂
That would be great Deepika!
Being recognized is a great feeling, Mridula. It’s more than the satisfaction money brings. Congratulation.
Making money in blogging seems to be a question every blogger is asking. And who can be a better person to talk than you who’s in blogging for years. I have been reading your blog for last 7 or 8 years even before you moved to a dedicated hosted site. With so many bloggers chasing, it does become difficult for a newbie. But after few years and with a well thought approach, it’s very well possible. How much, well that’s a different question.
Right Arv, there is still a lot of churning going on in the blogging world. And like anywhere else there are no quick fixes. Thank you for stopping by and leaving the thoughtful comment.
“Israel Tourism Board used three of my pictures as posters in their booth! It was a first for me, it was a high!”- Kudos! No wonder though, given the quality of your pics – In this post the pic of the Indonesian artiste is a clear example!
Thank you so much Rajeev!