The Medical Blog Contest, organized by the Tourism Authority of Thailand, is aimed at promoting medical tourism within the Kingdom. The competition is open to each individual blogger who has acceptable experience in writing tourism, medical or medical tourism related blogs  in English language and/or bloggers' local language. 12 qualified bloggers, also known as Finalists, will be selected to experience for themselves pre-selected key medical and health service providers  (e.g. Hospital, clinic, spa) from five randomly selected destinations (Bangkok, Phuket, Pattaya, Chiang Mai and Ko Samui) over the course of 4 consecutive days,  and then 3 more in Bangkok. The TAT and/or Organizer will also arrange a variety of sightseeing tours for Finalists, so further encouraging Thailand’s attractiveness as a medical tourism hub.

Each Participant will be asked to share his/her daily experience with a global audience by posting blog posts, photos, videos and travel stories  (in English language and/or his/her own local language) with social media tools in order to inspire other travelers to learn more about and take interest in visiting those destinations for the purpose of medical tourism.

The template URL for each Finalist’s Medical tourism blog will, once the Finalists are selected, be created and provided under the domain name www.MedBlogContest.com

After the committee has made its decision based on the competition criteria, the Participant whose blog receives the highest unique visitors will be named the 'highest unique visitors winner' and the contestant whose blog is selected as the best blog content will be named the ‘best blog content winner'. The Competition prizes and process will operate as follows:

Prizes for Winners

Highest Unique Visitors:
Cash $10,000 + Hotel Voucher valued at $3,000 = $13,000

Best Blog Content:
Cash $3,000 + Hotel Voucher valued at $2,000 = $5,000


Period of Submission:The submission period to apply as a Participant begins on or around September 1, 2010 and ends on October 31, 2010  at 11:59 PM (GMT +7) 

Review of Submissions and Notification of the Finalists: Submissions will be reviewed by the Judging Committee, which consists of representatives from the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) and the Media, on an ongoing basis throughout the Submission Period.  The twelve (12) selected Participants (“Finalists”) will be notified by the TAT and/or Organizer via email as well as by announcement posted on www.medblogcontest.com  on or around November 8, 2010.

Notification of the Finalists: The twelve (12) selected Participants (‘Finalists”, “Contestants”) who will be participating in the Competition will be notified by the TAT and/or Organizer via emails with information on their Itineraries and Assignments (See more on Assignment Description in Official Rules), as well as by an announcement posted on the website on or around November 8, 2010.

Notification of the Winners: The winning participants selection period will start on November 22, 2010 and last until January 31, 2011 11:59 PM (GMT+7). The winning participants (“Winners”) will be notified by the TAT and/or Organizer via email as well as by an announcement posted on the website on or around March 15, 2011


EVENT SCHEDULE:

• September 1 – October 31, 2010 : Application Period.
• November 8, 2010 : Finalists Announcement.
• November 21, 2010 : Finalists arrive in Bangkok, Thailand.
• November 22, 2010 : Finalists briefing / Welcome party / Press conference in Bangkok.
• November 23 – 26, 2010: FAM trip period in each destination.
• November 26, 2010: Farewell Dinner in Bangkok.
• November 27, 2010: Finalists return home.
• November 22, 2010 – January 31, 2011: Blogging Competition and Best Content Selection.
• March 15, 2011 : Winner announcement.