Social media scribes take adventure trip to Jordan
Submitted by mabusaleh on Sun, 05/04/2014 - 11:00
Ten U.S. adventure travel bloggers have just completed a 12-day tour of Jordan as winners of Columbia Sportswear’s Omnigames competition. The USAID Economic Growth Through Sustainable Tourism Project co-hosted the trip with the Jordan Tourism Board (JTB) to enhance Jordan’s exposure in North America.
“We’re always looking for new, creative ways to attract people to Jordan, and our collaboration with Columbia Sportswear has been a great success,” said JTB Director Dr. Abdel Razzaq Arabiyat, noting that media familiarization (FAM) tours, such as this, are an effective way to promote Jordan as a destination and to wider audiences. “Thanks to USAID for their continuous support,” he added.
“FAM trips have proved very effective in promoting Jordan as a destination and expanding its reach to wider audiences. Travel stories written from real-life experiences provide both fascination and authenticity,” said Mr. Ibrahim Osta, the USAID tourism project Chief of Party.
“The Kingdom of Jordan and its myriad of adventure activities, serves as the perfect backdrop for our film which tells the story of 'Trying Stuff’. Through the eyes of ten adventure-loving bloggers, we explore deserts, canyons, and seas. From the metropolitan cities of Aqaba and Amman to the far removed Wadis, we showcase the breathtaking landscape, as well as the cultures, personalities, and hospitality of Jordanian people'” said Scott Trepanier, Senior Manager of PR & Promotions at Columbia Sportswear Company.
The U.S. bloggers wrote about their experiences while exploring Jordan’s deserts, canyons and seas. "From terrain, to people, to history and culture, Jordan is extremely beautiful and, unfortunately, a well-kept secret," wrote adventure blogger Jon Bausman.
This is the second year in a row that Columbia Sportswear has chosen Jordan as a destination for its Omniten Adventure Program in partnership with JTB and USAID. As part of a series of grants to the JTB, the USAID tourism project is helping improve Jordan’s Image as a safe and desirable destination, boost exposure on Jordan and its tourism products and experiences, increase stories on Jordan in travel media, and expand the reach of JTB North America to wider channels.
The Omni-games / Omni-ten program began in 2012, when Columbia challenged itself to find ten people who love the outdoors and live to “try stuff”. Every six months Columbia Sportswear selects ten influential outdoor enthusiasts to join its #Omniten brand ambassador program. Columbia Sportswear has chosen Jordan for the second year in a row as a destination for their Omniten Adventure Program, in partnership with Jordan Tourism Board and with support from the USAID Economic Growth Through Sustainable Tourism Project.
The trip to Jordan is part of an ongoing collaborative effort between JTB and USAID to boost exposure of Jordan and its tourism products and experiences in North America, which will be accomplished through written, photographic and video stories that document the bloggers’ experiences during the trip in travel media.
This group of winners was joined in Jordan by a six-member film crew who documented their adventures. Columbia will distribute the film later this year via social media channels and its website, www.columbia.com.
Follow this link to see how Columbia Sportswear picked their ten winners:
