23 February Meetup Recap – Travel Blogging

Twenty-two bloggers and travel enthusiasts came out to our Travel Blogging meetup at BongoHive on Wednesday, 24 February. It was good to see familiar faces and even better to see so many people attend a WordPress Meetup for the very first time!

First-timers to note included Jacqueline and Linda. Sheena Carey from Your Insider Zambia (a curated local travel service) was a treat to have. We also had Doris Kofi from the Zambia Tourism Board. Doris is an encyclopedia of all things to do with domestic travel. She was a valuable gift to have at the event.

Attending my first WordPress meetup hosted by @BongoHive
Almost my turn to speak, nervous as "yikes" #wplsk tag 😃 @WPLusaka

— Jacqueline Hunter (@jacqu3isawesome) February 23, 2016

First timer @WPLusaka #wplsk, glad i'm finally attending after planning to attend this meeting for a long time, like a looooooooong time….

— Call me Aunty Linda (@linda_lisha) February 23, 2016

As always, you can get live-Tweets from the discussion using the #WPLSK hashtag on Twitter but you really should have been there!

The meetup started with some “get to know you” questions – tell us your name, what you blog about and where in Zambia you’d like to travel to. People spoke so passionately about their local travel aspirations that introductions took 40 minutes! Within the four walls of our meetup, we were already starting to explore Zambia through other people’s knowledge about where to go and what to do there. You’ve got to love wanderlust!

It was a delightful detour and we eventually, got to the topic of discussion: Travel Blogging.

#WPLSK Do you blog about your travels in Zambia? Why? Why not?

— WordPress Lusaka (@WPLusaka) February 23, 2016

Three big challenges seemed to keep coming up for our bloggers:

1. The high cost of local travel
2. The scarcity of information – where to go and what to do there
3. The lack of a travel culture among Zambians

@WPLusaka But why travel? To spend time an Money??? Still trying to get into the idea of travelling #wplsk

— Call me Aunty Linda (@linda_lisha) February 23, 2016

#WPLSK Information, information, information … there's NOTHING online about Zambian tourism and travel – @Kat_1ofAkind

— WordPress Lusaka (@WPLusaka) February 23, 2016

Culture influences our ability to explore our lovely country Zambia. Some don't see it as priority #wplsk

— Farai (@iaraf11) February 23, 2016

 

Being the proactive group that we are, some answers to these challenges bubbled to the surface.

#WPLSK Look at world-renowned travel bloggers. What are they doing? – @loriegrey

— WordPress Lusaka (@WPLusaka) February 23, 2016

#WPLSK About travel blogging, the keyword is "influencing" – @loriegrey

— WordPress Lusaka (@WPLusaka) February 23, 2016

#WPLSK There is an opportunity for bloggers here – information about HOW to afford a travel trip is what people want to read – @simunza

— WordPress Lusaka (@WPLusaka) February 23, 2016

#WPLSK I try to blog about every place I got to. I try to make it as simple as possible – @ChipoAutumn

— WordPress Lusaka (@WPLusaka) February 23, 2016

#WPLSK If you are serious about traveling research, be smart and patient. Don't travel during Valentine's Day for example – @afrosocialite

— WordPress Lusaka (@WPLusaka) February 23, 2016

 

We had a grand time and met some fascinating people who love Zambia and take travel very seriously. We loved it so much we are considering a re-boot of this topic. Hope you can make it to the next meetup. Bring a friend and a snack or drink to share. #KeepBlogging.

#wplsk #Photo! pic.twitter.com/wsAkuOqcAO

— George L. Mutale (@LupMqr) February 23, 2016