How much does the government of Buenos Aires spend on the Influencers program and to whom it invites

A Spanish instagrammer makes the mistake of mixing the mate with the bulb and the indignant Argentineans correct it while Damas Gratis Fondo music plays. The stranger surprised the euphoric tone with which one discusses football and tries to mimic the accent with insults. In a later scene, we see him at the exit of the restaurant Don Carlos de La Boca looking for empanadas with a hand in the belly.

This is a video that appears in the story of Madrid's influencer Jorge Cremades (
@jorgescremadess) who has received more than a million visits and 6,000 comments. A detail: in the post, it is mentioned in the official account of tourism of the government of Buenos Aires (
@travelbuenosaires), who invited him to the country to promote the city on social networks and spread the desire to travel to Argentina.

Government's invitation to Cremades is not an isolated case. The
The tourism agency of the city has already gathered 105 opinion leaders within the framework of a
Program of influencers designed to position the city in the world and achieve organic growth of tourists. The project started mid-2017 and is maintained up to now with the budget of the government agency and mainly with exchanges and courtesy invitations.

In dialogue with
THE NATIONJoaquín César, director of communication and promotion of tourism, explained that the program "enrolled in an international positioning strategy of Buenos Aires as a tourist destination". "We believe that tourism is no stranger to the advancement of the digital world and new technologies." More and more, when choosing a trip, people are inspired, planned and experienced. book it on the Internet, according to Google Travel., 74% of vacationers plan their holidays online, "says the manager.

The influencer selection criteria are based on the impact and scope of potential tourists defined by the tourism entity as strategic markets. "There were influencers with a million followers, others with 100,000 or 200,000, also segmented according to different themes: travelers, those who are more urban or gourmet, and as far as the nationality of the guest, according to the statistics of the Market Intelligence Directorate of the tourism entity, the most promising destinations are

Spain

,

la France

,

United Kingdom

and

United States

", maintained Caesar.

The influencer profile requested is varied and open to lifestyles, travel, nature, arts and sport, but most must indicate the age range of 21 to 40 years old. That is, they are looking for influencers who have young followers but enjoy a good economic pbad to cope with a long trip to the city of Buenos Aires.

An example is that of
@dutchnomadcouple, a Dutch couple with 29,500 subscribers on Instagram who is known to have quit their job and start traveling as a profession to capture their adventures and post them on social media. They were part of the government Influencers program. This week, they posted a video on YouTube explaining what to visit in the city of Buenos Aires for a three-day stay. The publication in which they were seen on the flea market received over 16,000 views and 133 comments.

Another case is that of four Mexican influencers: Geraldine Bazán (
@geraldinebazan), Lamda García (
@ lambgarcia), Cristina Alonso (
@thedoubledenim), Pablo Ahumada (
@pabloahum) who went to Buenos Aires in May 2018 as part of an alliance with
Latam Airlines. They have all uploaded photos of the city into their accounts.

Instagram

and among the four, they accumulate nearly 4 million followers.

Stay and financing

The Tourism Entity for Influencers program budget was $ 3,172,700, and the City of Buenos Aires' electronic purchases and contracts include:
Seventeen of the files include five-star hotels, direct flights, personalized transfers and a customer selection coordinating agency.

Among the hotels listed in the specifications, let's mention the
Faena from Buenos Aires,
Recoleta Grand,
Intersur Recoleta and
Loi Suites Recoleta. In total, 40 rooms were recorded and the number of nights varies according to the influencers. All stayed in the "superior rooms (non-standard)", got three meals a day and a "late check out" for $ 660,865.

In addition, the program offers a bilingual tour guide service that is present throughout the stay. Joaquín César ensures that travel schedules depend on the profile and interests of the guests, but that they usually include: Caminito, Recoleta Cemetery, National Museum of Fine Arts, San Telmo Market, MALBA, El Ateneo, Galleries art, walks through El Tigre, field days, Konex Cultural Center, avenues of Puerto Madero, Teatro Colón and Corrientes.

Government spending also includes several transfers. In the last flight record corresponding to the turn made at the beginning of this year, there are return tickets for Paris at $ 89,650, London at $ 76,410, Miami at $ 77,856, Madrid at $ 75,735, New York at $ 75,668. In addition, as requested by the City in the technical specifications of the contracts, the vehicles that moved the influencers in the City had to be available 24 hours a day and each pbadenger had one at their service. In total, transfers included in the procurement system cost the government $ 684,330.

Before asking if there was a salary payment by the municipal government, Caesar said that "no influencer or journalist has received economic remuneration from the city and the influencers we have brought the ticket only 20% because we were working. " With what we call "opportunities", we discover who travels, whether for work, for another reason or because it comes from the Ministry of Tourism, a hotel or an airline. , and we are establishing a relationship with companies in the tourism sector to negotiate prices from a press proposal ".

That is to say that the expenses of the rest of the influencers who do not appear in the official registers, are exchanged or invited by courtesy, promoted by the tourist entity, with the various companies of the gastronomy, the hotel industry and of aviation. "We are negotiating the price because it is also a press opportunity for the supplier.Many die when we say that we are going to bring such a character," explained the director of communication.

Among the obligations of the influencers that the City imposes on them in exchange for the invitation and the negotiation with the companies, there is, in the case of the invited journalists, a guaranteed press coverage. And when it comes to instagram, which publish daily a publication on the city and use the arrobas that provides them the Directorate General of the strategies of mbad communication, is
@travelbuenosaires,
@visitargentina or another particular place visited. In addition, they are usually asked to post a previous message anticipating their participation in the trip to Buenos Aires and to produce at least one Instagram account on each of the points visited.