Tillerman in Queensland?

Photo courtesy of problogger.net.

I had a bit of fun back in January when Puma sent ten bloggers to Abu Dhabi to cover the Volvo Ocean Race by writing a post, Puma Loves Bloggers, in which I expressed fake outrage that Puma weren't sending any of my favorite sailing bloggers to cover such an important sailing event.

It seems like the idea of sending a bunch of bloggers on a trip to an exotic location to promote tourism to aforementioned exotic location is catching on. Darren Rowse of ProBlogger fame recently announced a competition to select ten bloggers to fly to Queensland in June this year for some blogging workshops with Darren and to blog about their experiences in Queensland, including a visit to the Great Barrier Reef. Darren mentioned that they were looking for entries from bloggers in various niches, and gave parenting, food and photography blogs as examples that would work.

Well, of course I had to have a shot. I love Australia and, although I have visited Queensland before, I've never been to the Great Barrier Reef. And how could they fully cover the amazing itinerary they have planned without having at least one watersports blogger?

So I've sent in my entry. I hear they have hundreds of entries so my chances are slim. But wish me luck anyway.

PS. And keep your eyes open for future opportunities of this kind. I wouldn't be at all surprised if the "send ten bloggers" option doesn't become a common tool in the tourism PR world.