Not only to learn, but also to experience. Dozens of foreign journalists invited to our country by the national tourism promotion agency had this opportunity in Lithuania.Travel in Lithuania". In the second quarter of this year, on the initiative of the agency, 33 journalists from various European countries and almost ten other popular opinion makers from all over the world visited Lithuania. Already during the visit, guests began to share their impressions on social networks and media channels.
"Constantly maintaining and increasing the attention and interest of foreign media in Lithuania is an important task for us. Media professionals and opinion leaders effectively help to open and widely present tourism objects to large foreign audiences. Arousing the curiosity of tourists is especially important at the moment, because after the end of the pandemic, European residents are traveling very actively. And Lithuania is perfectly accessible, small, convenient and able to provide a wealth of pleasant impressions and experiences - from nature to gastronomy. All this is reflected in the publications and video reports of invited foreign journalists", says Dovilė Seliukė, Head of the Marketing and Communication Department of "Keliauk Lithuania".
According to her, it is very important that a consistent flow of information about Lithuania through the lips of reliable journalists and opinion makers conveys the message about the security of our country.
Geography of guests - from Latvia to Taiwan
According to "Travel Lithuania", journalists and opinion makers from various countries - from Latvia to Taiwan - visited Lithuania in the months of April-June. For the guests, the Lithuanian National Tourism Promotion Agency organized special tours that provided a diverse experience.
"The travel programs offered to journalists really intrigued them - the invited guests enthusiastically got involved in the excursions and constantly asked about the presented objects, Lithuanian heritage and traditions. They collected a lot of interesting and valuable information about our country. They presented Lithuania to their audience from various angles, because during the tours they climbed the observation towers, walked along educational trails, admired the lakes, the Labanor forest and the Nida dunes, in addition, they actively participated in educational activities themselves - they baked shakočias, made zeppelins and kibins. In general, Lithuania provided guests with many new, unique experiences", says D. Seliukė and mentions that foreign journalists visited Vilnius, Kaunas, Traki, Klaipėda, Nida, Labanor. Excursions awaited in each city, museums, mansions and other objects opened their doors, so tour participants got to know the history and heritage of Lithuania in detail and were able to immerse themselves in unique experiences and feel the authenticity of cities and regions.
What do foreign journalists say about Lithuania?
According to D. Seliukė, the articles, videos and reviews that appeared after the tours are positive, very favorable and increase Lithuania's tourist attractiveness in the world. In the publications of journalists in Vilnius, Kaunas and Klaipeda described as safe, modern and cosmopolitan cities, compliments of restaurants are not spared. "It's amazing that the food culture in Lithuania especially surprises Italians - they describe our restaurants as extremely high-level. This is an important assessment from a country whose gastronomic traditions and food culture are very rich, famous all over the world", shares the interviewee. Not only that, even our Polish neighbors emphasize in their articles that Lithuanian cuisine is not only zeppelins, but many other pleasant discoveries. And the article published in the Polish version of "National Geographic" emphasizes that during the weekend it is worth and possible to get to know more deeply not only the old Vilnius, but also other cities and areas of Lithuania.
According to the representative of the tourism promotion agency, foreign authors who participated in the tours almost unanimously affirm that the people of our country are very hospitable, helpful and caring. The services are professional and the communication is sincere. The expert is no less pleased by the fact that local Lithuanian journalists and bloggers also give good feedback about the tours. A tour of Žemaitija was organized especially for them in the second quarter of this year - to visit Rietava, Plungė, Mažeikiai and their surroundings. Even journalists who know their country well after the tour testified that they had made interesting discoveries and enriched their knowledge and experience.
The next plans of the "Travel in Lithuania" agency include tours for journalists from Latvia, Estonia, Italy and Spain, and a bicycle route around Dzūkija. Also match the two journalists from JAV visits According to the agency, autumn tours and invitations for the Christmas period are already being organized so that foreign journalists can discover the festive capital of Lithuania.
