Travel bloggers consider illogical a refusal of Chechen Ministry of Tourism to pay for advertising

When commenting on the refusal of the Chechen Ministry of Tourism to pay for travel reports, travel bloggers explained their desire to receive money for advertising attractions by the cost of travel and the production of high-quality content.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that on January 29, Chechen Minister of Tourism Muslim Baitaziev reproached local bloggers for not advertising the republic’s sights and not accepting offers to visit some places for free to advertise them on blogs.

If bloggers have assistants and other team members, they cannot travel for free, even if they want to, because “they have people whom they pay salaries,” notes François Konde, the author of the Konde.Travel YouTube travel channel.

The blogger clarifies that he could not afford free trips. “I have a team that I work with, including specialists in graphics, voice acting, colour correction, and sometimes shooting on the spot. And if I go just for ‘thank you,’ I will be in the red,” the blogger emphasized.

A blogger may request payment for a post, but the matter depends on the reach of the audience, travel blogger Natalia Mikhalyova believes. “If we are talking about [several] thousand subscribers, then it is hardly worth taking payment for a post: the audience is too small. But if we are talking about tens, hundreds of thousands of subscribers, then a blogger may present a price list. The claims of the Chechen authorities to bloggers with thousands of subscribers are unfounded. This is the blogger’s work, and it should be paid,” Natalia Mikhalyova told the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on February 4, 2022 at 10:22 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.