The Travel Tech Track 2018, an initiative by OTM Mumbai and TravHQ to celebrate the growth of travel-tech industry in India, witnessed a panel discussion between some of the top travel bloggers in India on how influencers are helping companies operating in the travel industry use different digital marketing tactics.

The panel featured Roxanne Bamboat, food and travel features writer and blogger at The Tiny Taster; Kaushal Karkhanis, digital expert and travel blogger at Exotic Gringo; Divyakshi Gupta, freelance travel writer and blogger at The Quirky Wanderer; and Ajay Awtaney, founder of Live From A Lounge that is an international network of frequent flyer writers.

From L to R: Roxanne Bamboat, Kaushal Karkhanis, Divyakshi Gupta, Ajay Awtaney and Daksh Sharma.

The future of influencer marketing in India looks bright, given the country’s growing digital infrastructure. According to Divyakshi Gupta, barriers to technology have become non-existent as Indian influencers are beginning to connect with more and more foreign bloggers. “However, the point of differentiation is diversification, which has not really set in for Indian influencers. For a long time, they thought partnerships only meant sponsored trips and freebies. Right now, brands and influencers are realising that diversification is key. Brands are partnering with influencers to create content not just for the latter’s page, but for themselves as well.”

At the event, the panel also discussed some of the issues and trends involved in both affiliate and influencer marketing. One of the biggest requirements is disclosure, where influencers are now letting consumers know they’re receiving compensation for posting about a particular brand or product, irrespective of the format of the content or the kind of compensation. Commenting on another major trend for the year, Kaushal Karkhanis stressed on the rising importance of ‘short-form content’ with videos. “These are really interesting, captivating bite-sized videos that tell a story in the most authentic way, because you can’t really fudge something you’re doing in a video format. Video is going to be a key-player going forward, in the content space.”

The panel also presented their opinions on a plethora of ways of operating in the travel domain – from talking about the rise of the micro-influencer, to zeroing down on the significance of having a certain number of followers, from discussing the changing landscape of the travel industry, to creating a niche and negotiating with brands to create the best value for both parties.

Watch the full video here:

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The rules of engagement for the travel industry have altered drastically in the last few years. Travel bloggers have fast become more influential than review websites for people looking to escape for a dream vacation to dreamy destinations. However, one thing that marketers and travel companies have a tough time cracking is how to tap into the vast array of influential bloggers for sponsored content, without discrediting their brand’s authenticity.

The Travel Tech Track 2018 holds all your answers. This initiative by OTM Mumbai and TravHQ to celebrate the growth of travel-tech industry in India, will have a bloggers panel that will help travel companies understand the nitty-gritty of influencer marketing. The panel will feature Roxanne Bamboat, food and travel features writer and blogger at The Tiny Taster; Kaushal Karkhanis, digital expert and travel blogger at Exotic Gringo; and Divyakshi Gupta, freelance travel writer and blogger at The Quirky Wanderer.

Roxanne Bamboat

Roxanne is an internationally-recognized writer based in Mumbai whose main interests are food and travel. She expresses her love for all things edible, along with all her travel tales on her blog. A freelancer, she spends most of her time sampling the city’s food offerings and reviewing them. Apart from her own website, she write for various publications and lifestyle websites about food and travel. She’s worked closely with various tourism boards, airlines and other hospitality partners on several projects and campaigns and has travelled extensively. She’s currently the chapter leader in Mumbai for Travel Massive, a global initiative to bring the travel community closer, and a curator for the Kalaghoda Arts Festival’s food vertical for the past six years. She’s also curated and hosted several events in the F&B space. Roxanne is currently the lead critic at Mumbai City for EazyDiner, a restaurant reservation site spearheaded by Vir Sanghvi.

Kaushal Karkhanis

Kaushal Karkhanis is a travel blogger and has been inspiring people for more than 18 years to ‘travel exotic & live simple’, via stories told through words, photos and videos on his blog. Kaushal is a creative strategist and travel blogger with two decades of experience in the field of design solutions and 10 years of travelling as a digital nomad. By consciously choosing a lifestyle that allows him to travel and work at the same time, he loves inspiring and helping others to travel to their heart’s content.

Divyakshi Gupta

Born in Punjab, brought up in Mumbai, Divyakshi Gupta spent all her summer vacations in a tiny town, nestled in the hills of Himachal. A self-confessed door lover, who has a penchant for architecture, she loves long road trips and travels to offbeat places to explore different cultures, meet locals, discover stories and in the process, herself. She started her career in advertising as a strategic planner, and is currently a freelance travel writer and blogger who narrates her stories on her blog, and also works as a social media consultant. Divyakshi was the first Indian travel blogger to be interviewed by WordPress.com. She has also collaborated with several travel portals, tourism boards and hospitality clients.

Are you ready for some interesting insights from an explosive session?

Ajay Awtaney

Ajay’s expertise over 20 years spans from investment management to mileage management. As a banker, then investment manager, Ajay first got on the pointy end of a plane in 2006 and was hooked to business travel ever since. On the road for more than 100 days in a year, he founded LiveFromALounge.com in 2011 in association with BoardingArea which is an international network of frequent flyer writers. Here, he shares insights on maximising value for luxury travel with miles and points for the global Indian traveller. He has also been a writer in the area of travel, lifestyle and technology since 1996. He currently writes for publications such as Conde Nast Traveller, National Geographic Traveller and GQ. Over the years, he has emerged as a pioneering voice focussing on aviation, loyalty and business travel for the Indian traveller, and his expertise has led him to work with many airline and hotel brands over the years.

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