tourism conferences in usa

65 Best Tourism Industry Events & Travel Conferences 2024/25

Looking for the top travel conferences 2024 has to offer? If you’re working in the tourism industry and you haven’t booked a ticket to one of the many events, what are you waiting for? Not only are these events an excuse to get out of the office and network with like-minded people, but they’re also great opportunities to learn more about travel and tourism.

Travel conferences are great for making new deals, discovering up-and-coming innovations, learning new skills, or just some good old networking. And there are some really exciting travel and tourism conferences in 2024 that exemplify the importance of travel .

We’ve put together this comprehensive list of conferences happening all over the world in the next year. Have a look at which ones you don’t want to miss and start planning your trip now.

Best Travel Industry Conferences 2024/25 by Month

January: Fitur – International Tourism Trade Fair

February: Travel & Adventure Show

March: B Travel Trade Show

April: World Travel Market

May: Tbex San Sebastian Spain

June: ITT Conference

July: Web in Travel (WIT)l Conference

August: Global Business Travel Association Conference

September: World Youth and Student Travel Conference

October: TBEX Africa

November: The Phocuswright Conference

December: International Luxury Travel Market – Worldwide

Fitur — International Tourism Trade Fair

Dates: 24 – 28 January 2024

Location: Madrid, Spain

Fitur is held every year in Madrid. It is one of the biggest tourism fairs in the world and an ideal gateway to Latin American markets. Fitur draws an international crowd of tourism professionals and travellers alike. It provides a platform to develop strategies for consumer demand and communication.

The first three days of the conference are for trade visitors only, with doors opening to the public on Saturday and Sunday. Visitors can use this conference to network with other tourism professionals and travellers, as well as gain new insights and knowledge in the industry.

Find more info here

Matka — Nordic Travel Fair

Dates: 19 – 21 January 2024

Location: Helsinki, Finland

Being the largest travel conference in Northern Europe and the Baltic Region, Matka attracts over 1000 exhibitors annually. These exhibitors travel to Finland from more than 80 different countries, allowing for a diverse crowd. The conference is open to the public and trade buyers, with two days solely dedicated to the professionals.

The main aim behind Matka is for tourism trade professionals to learn about new products and services. As well as make valuable connections, and gather information on the ever-moving innovations of the travel industry.

Travel & Adventure Show

Dates: 13 – 14 January 2024

Location: Chicago, USA

Dates: 20 – 21 January 2024

Location: Denver, USA

Dates: 27 – 28 January 2024

Location: New York, USA

Dates: 3 – 4 February 2024

Location: Los Angeles, USA

Dates: 17 – 18 February 2024

Location: Phoenix, USA

Dates: 24 – 25 February 2024

Location: Washington DC, USA

Dates: 9 – 10 March 2024

Location: Atlanta, USA

Dates: 16 – 17 March 2024

Location: San Francisco, USA

Dates: 23 – 24 March 2024

Location: Dallas, USA

The Travel and Adventure Shows are a series of exhibits that take place across the USA. So American visitors have the option to catch the business travel conferences closest to them.

Discover new travel destinations across the globe, and take the chance to rub shoulders with some big travel celeb names. These travel events bring tourism businesses and the public together.

Dates: 19 – 21 February 2024

Location: Melbourne, Australia

This is the Asia Pacific region’s leading meetings and event industry trade conference. Decision-makers in the event industry engage with each other during this three-day event to share, connect, and do business.

The 2024 AIME is preparing to be one of their biggest yet as they celebrate their 30th birthday. They expect to host 400 buyers and 2000 visitors from around the world, making it a business tourism conference of 2024 you won’t want to miss.

Business Travel Show

Dates: 28 – 29 June 2024

Location: London, England

The largest business travel conference in Europe will be back in 2024. This conference is very business-oriented, so it’s the perfect place to find suppliers and network.

It also offers the opportunity to grow your business knowledge. This is the type of travel industry networking event that will challenge you and teach you to innovate and grow.

Travel Technology Europe

Despite only lasting two days, this is one of the top travel tech conferences in 2024. The event draws in over 5000 attendees and more than 30 conference sessions. It’s focused on technological development in our ever-growing industry.

Travel professionals looking for technological solutions to the industry’s current problems can find all the latest findings at this conference. It’s a gathering place of refreshing ideas and exciting opportunities.

Dates: 5 – 7 March 2024

Location: Oman

The ITB conference is the perfect place for B2B travel trading and gives visitors a taste of future travel and tourism trends. From panel discussions to keynote speakers, there is no better place to get an inside scoop on the year’s upcoming trends.

The three-day conference is exciting and informative, a great way to get exposure to the respective markets and the ideas that are shaping them.

Women’s Travel Fest

Dates: 3 – 5 March 2024

The Women’s Travel Fest is a conference just for ladies who love travelling. It’s been growing since 2013 and has become the largest women-in-travel summit. Join more than 30 amazing female speakers and network with other like-minded women.

This conference is an incredible opportunity to make good connections and upskill in all the right areas. The aim of this travel convention in 2024 is to connect, support, and inspire women to travel the world safely. It is undoubtedly one of the best tourism fairs in the world for solo female travellers.

Web in Travel (WiT)

Date: 5 – 6 July 2024

Location: Tokyo, Japan

Date: 27 July 2024

Location: Penang, Malaysia

Date: 2 – 4 October 2024

Location: Singapore

Date: 2 November 2024

Location: Seoul, South Korea

For anyone interested in travel technology, distribution, and marketing, this conference will bring it all into one room. Join the masses as you get the opportunity to meet with others in the travel-tech and marketing space and gain new insights into the industry.

While the event occurs in several live locations throughout the year, it’s also one of the few travel technology conferences offering a virtual space. So you can connect with travel and marketing gurus from across the world.

Select Traveller Conference

Dates: 17 – 19 March 2024

Location: Buffalo Niagara, New York

This conference aims to boost the relationship between travel clubs and travel loyalty programs. If you are in the industry and hoping to increase your club membership or add value to your loyalty program, this is the place to be.

B Travel Trade Show

Dates: 15 – 17 March 2024

Location: Barcelona, Spain

The tourism trade show is a great all-around travel trade fair. You’ll learn a lot, be introduced to world-class products and ideas, and socialise with industry leaders. It’s Southern Europe’s biggest travel event, with over 24,000 visitors annually, so expect a crowd.

Travel Technology Initiative

Dates: 20 March 2024

TTI continues to establish and maintain technology standards within the travel industry. This conference is the main event of the year, where all the big travel tech names come together. Learn about the technological trends that will affect your business and the greater travel industry.

Travel and Words

Dates: 12 – 14 November 2024

Location: Missoula, Montana

This is a conference built on passion and voluntary work. The Travel and Words event is a great place for travel bloggers , writers, and destination marketers to get together. Here, they can discuss the future of travel marketing in media and print.

Its focus is on freelance travel writers in the Northwest, making it ideal for exposure to potential new markets.

International Luxury Travel Market – Worldwide

Dates: 19 – 22 June 2024

Location: Marina Bay Sands, Singapore

Dates: 18 – 21 September 2024

Location: Baha Mar, The Bahamas

Dates: 4 – 7 December 2024

Location: Cannes, France

Dates: 7 – 10 May 2024

Location: São Paulo, Brazil

The ILTM conferences showcase the ultimate luxury travel brands to handpicked travel advisors in different regions. It is here that luxury and travel combine to display fantastic holiday opportunities in each country.

Simply put, it’s one of the best international travel events of the year for luxury marketers and business owners.

World Trade Market

Dates: 6 – 8 November 2024

Dates: 2 – 4 April 2024

Dates: 10 – 12 April 2024

Location: Cape Town, South Africa

Dates: 6 – 9 May 2024

Location: Dubai, UAE

WTM hosts thousands of travel professionals in multiple locations each year.

The Latin America WTM showcases the best of Latin America to the rest of the world. Travel agencies, service providers, and travellers themselves all congregate together to see the best of Latin American Tourism.

WTM Africa does much the same, except for the African Continent. All tourism industry people, from hotel owners to tour guides and everyone in between, will meet under one roof to share and expand their network and knowledge.

WTM London celebrated 40 years in 2020 and will host many travel and tourism professionals in 2024. Here, you can connect and mingle with the industry’s head runners, as well as learn more about the world of travel and tourism.

International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association Global Convention

Dates: 4 – 7 October 2024

Location: San Juan, Puerto Rico

The IGLTA tourism convention exists to connect the LGBTQ+ community with gay-friendly travel and tourism brands, suppliers, and buyers. There are interesting educational workshops and numerous networking receptions for all attendees.

IGLTA also runs events around the world for LGBTQ+ travellers and promotes equality and safety within the tourism industry.

Skift Forum

Dates: 26 – 28 September 2024

Dates: 12 – 14 December 2024

The Skift Global Forum 2024 provides a space for innovative leaders in travel and tourism to come together and share, gain, and develop new ideas. With research-driven actionable insights, amazing speakers, and an excellent opportunity to network, it’s one of our favourite travel marketing conferences in 2024.

Women in Travel Summit

Dates: 12 – 14 April 2024

Location: Salt Lake City, USA

This is a wonderful conference for women in the travel and tourism industry. There will be brands, influencers, and creators.

Visitors can attend workshops and talks on travel directed specifically to the ladies. It’s A great opportunity for travel writers and influencers who want to expand their monetization strategies and learn from others.

Africa’s Travel Indaba

Dates: 9 – 11 May 2024

Location: Durban, South Africa

Africa’s tourism and travel industry are showcased well at this annual event, with exhibitor booths for travel services and product suppliers. Buyers, media, and the public can enjoy a first-row seat to the best that Africa has to offer.

This conference is geared more towards businesses (like tour operators and travel agents) than travel writers.

Digital Travel Summit 2024

Dates: 12 – 13 September 2024

Location: South Carolina, USA

One of the best tourism conferences for travel executives, Digital Travel, caters to their niche perfectly. With big keynotes and small face-to-face discussions around customer engagement and personalization, you’re bound to come away with creative new strategies to grow your business.

We Are Africa

Enjoy the luxurious side of African tourism as this event hosts both an African and International audience. It focuses on rebranding Africa as a top luxury destination with exciting investments and lavish products.

Tourism & Leisure Studies Conference

Dates: 14 – 16 June 2024

Location: Granada, Spain

This conference offers a space for travel industry professionals to discuss matters within the industry. Past, current, and future trends, issues, and innovations are presented and debated with like-minded individuals.

This is a great space for those looking to change their business model and adapt to relevant tourism in the new decade.

IPW Conference

Dates: 3 – 7 May 2024

IPW is where US travel exhibitors connect with travel buyers and media from more than 70 countries.

This is one of the best tourism events of 2024 that showcases products and builds relationships. It’s a national showcase of what America has to offer and brings in a great deal of tourism to the country.

Global Business Travel Association

Dates: 13 – 15 August 2024

Location: Toronto, Canada

Dates: 22 – 24 April 2024

Visit Canada’s largest conference for business travel and management professionals. As it attracts over 900 attendees, the event is a fantastic way for travel innovators to showcase their latest products and services to industry professionals.

It’s comparatively small in scale to other travel events of 2024, making it best for networking.

Keyframe 23 by Traverse

Dates: 13 – 16 April 2024

Location: Malta

This travel conference is aimed at bloggers, influencers, YouTubers, and other content creators. The vibrant festival combines travel and technological innovation. Digital content creators from around the world will gather to learn, progress, and develop new ways to show off the world of travel.

ITT Conference

Dates: 5 – 7 June 2024

Location: Doha, Qatar

The Institution of Travel and Tourism conference is held each year to provide a space for all those in the tourism industry to discuss and share.

You can find guidelines on how to be a professional in the industry, as well as support and advice on your travel career. You can also enjoy some networking with others in the industry.

Future Travel Experience

Dates: 19 – 21 September 2024

Location: California, USA

Dates: 8 – 9 November 2024

Learn more about the future of travel and hear from hundreds of airline and hotel representatives. Whether you attend the global travel industry event, the Asian event, or both – there is much to learn and many faces to network with.

As the name suggests, it is all about forward-moving tech and industry.

Digital Travel Summit EU

Date: 15 – 16 November 2024

All things digital and travel combine perfectly in this two-day event held in London. Along with industry-leading speakers, there are workshops, presentations, and small group sessions. There are also over 400 other digital travel professionals to network with.

Global Travel Marketplace

Date: 18 – 20 July 2024

Location: Fort Lauderdale, Florida

This travel conference is an appointment-only event connecting influential travel advisors with travel suppliers. It’s small-scale and tends to lead to many exciting new business deals.

TECNZ Tourism Conference

Dates: 8 –11 August 2024

Location: Rotorua, New Zealand

TECNZ Tourism Conference is for anyone interested in making partners and learning about New Zealand’s tourism innovations and trends.

Inbound 2024

Dates: 5 – 8 September 2024

Location: Boston, Massachusetts

Inbound is a yearly conference where big ideas are shared and expanded. It’s all about actionable strategies for growth and improvement. And with nightly parties, you’re likely to make good friends with your new connections.

Massive and exciting, it can be a little daunting. But there’s a surprising opportunity to make close connections and brainstorm your niche challenges.

Travel Writers and Photographers Conference

Dates: 10 – 13 August 2024

Location: Corte Madera, California

More niche than most options on our list, this conference is the perfect place for all travel writers and photographers to come together and expand their knowledge and skills.

Hosted by Book Passage, there is a world of knowledge to be shared over the 3-day event. With workshops, panels, and evening activities, you’ll come away with actionable insights and a lot of new contacts.

PATA Travel Mart

Dates: 4 – 6 October 2024

Location: New Delhi, India

The Pacific Asia Travel Association hosts the PATA travel mart each year. The role of PATA in tourism is essential, allowing sellers, buyers, and other industry professionals in the Asia-Pacific region to meet, greet, and network.

There is also a public day when traders can meet visitors and exhibit their products.

Travel Mart Latin America

Dates: 20 – 22 September 2024

Location: TBD

This is a long-standing conference showcasing Latin American tourism. It’s a great place for tour operators, wholesalers, meeting planners, and incentive companies to meet and share their businesses.

Travel Mart is also an expo of all travel and tourism opportunities in Central and South America.

World Youth and Student Travel Conference

Dates: 12 – 15 September 2024

Location: Lisbon, Portugal

This conference is a must for professionals who work in youth and student travel. It hosts over 150 buyers, represents 100 countries, and offers workshops and networking events aplenty, making it a conference worth your time.

Vestnorden Travel Mart 2024

Dates: 17 – 18 October 2024

Location: Reykjavik, Iceland

This is an extremely important trade show for the North Atlantic region. It allows B2B trading and networking for all travel professionals in and around Iceland, Greenland, and the Faroes Islands.

TBEX Africa, North America, and Europe

Dates: 17 – 20 July 2024

Location: Eau Claire, Wisconsin

Dates: 28 – 31 May 2024

Location: San Sebastian, Spain

TBEX has quickly become the largest conference and networking event for content creators, travel brands, and industry professionals. Partnering with fantastic destinations across the globe and attracting hundreds of delegates each year. This is a great place to network and do business.

It’s one of the best travel and tourism conferences in 2024, with the fantastic convention occurring in Africa, North America, and Europe.

Luxury Travel Advisors Ultra Summit

Dates: 20 – 22 June 2024

Location: Scottsdale, Arizona

This is a great international tourism conference for travel agents to attend to network with suppliers and learn more about the industry. It’s also a fantastic opportunity for exhibitors to showcase their businesses and what they offer.

TTG Travel Experience

Dates: 11 – 13 October 2024

Location: Remini, Italy

Anyone looking for a gateway to the Italian travel market should attend the TTG conference. With over 130 countries being represented, this is considered the largest B2B trade conference in Italy.

International Tourism Film Festival

Dates: 24 – 27 October 2024

Location: Caldas Da Rainha, Portugal

This unique event brings travel filmmakers and businesses together, showcasing industry greats and newcomers alike. It’s not a travel conference we all need to attend, but if you have a special talent for promotional travel films or are looking for someone who does, check it out.

GBTA + Conference 2024

Dates: 14 – 16 November 2024

Location: Hamburg, Germany

It’s one of the top business travel conferences in 2024 for B2B exposure. You’ll learn about the latest trends in tourism and make valuable new connections.

Phocuswright Conference

Dates: 13 – 16 November 2024

This is a great place for travel leaders and influencers to meet and discuss the latest innovations in the travel and tourism industry.

Top Travel and Tourism Conferences 2024/25

2024 is an exciting year for travel, with new solutions and innovations constantly breaking ground and a global public itching to explore.

Are you planning to attend any of these conferences? You may just see our team at a few of them too! So maybe, see you there.

More to explorer

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Book a call with an digital strategist.

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14 Best Travel Conferences to Attend in 2024

So, you’re now a travel influencer. Here’s a list of travel conferences to attend yearly, and why you should attend them. You may have a blog, or a big social media following, or you could be a vlogger. You now want to step up your game. Maybe learn more from people who have been in the business longer than you are. You may want to meet DMOs (Destination Marketing Organizations), or CVBs (Convention and Visitors Bureau) to partner with them.

Is attending a travel conference worth it?

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It depends. What do you want to get out of the conference? Do you just want to learn and sit in the sessions? Want to get discounted tours and activities by signing up for a conference? Do you want to meet destinations or companies to form partnerships with?

You need to figure out why you want to attend travel conferences so you can justify the cost of the entry tickets and the travel costs like hotels and airfare.

In no order and in my opinion, here’s a list of travel conferences that are worth attending.

• Travel Blogger Exchange (TBEX)
• Women in Travel Summit (WITS)
• Southern Travelers Explore (STE)
• Chicago Seminars (only if you are a travel hacker and know points and miles well)

Some conferences allow you to trade your time for a free ticket. It could be from volunteering for the conference or becoming a speaker. Volunteering for a conference means putting work in for a set number of hours. The type of work varies from helping man the registration booth, setting up, or doing random things for the conference.

Speaking at a conference can have its perks. You get free entry tickets to the travel conference. However, depending on how big that conference is, you could also get free hotel rooms and your flights compensated too. TBEX is one of those conferences that comp your flights and your hotel room if your topic is chosen.

It is highly competitive to be selected as a volunteer or a speaker, but it doesn’t hurt to try. Just fill out the form to speak or to volunteer and wait for the organizers to get back to you.

If you want a more intimate conference and you write content about the Southern states of the US, then Southern Travelers Explore is great. There are less than 60 tickets available, and the conference is usually held over a weekend. The schedule is perfect for those who are working full-time jobs and can’t take a lot of days off work.  Fly in on the first flight that you can get on Friday (or one of the later flights on a Thursday) and fly out on Sunday. Easy as that!

Southern Travelers Explore is a great way to meet brands and influencers who focus on Southern content. CVBs from the South are in attendance too, and you can get a chance to meet and network with them. If your goal is to work with CVBs or DMOs from the South, then this conference is for you. If you want to grow more as a content creator, then there are talks that are included in your admission. These talks vary from social media to video, and written content. There are goodie bags that you’ll get to take home after the event. There are also prizes that you can win!

Conference tickets cost around $200+ taxes and fees per person, which isn’t bad, and the location rotates yearly. 2023’s Conference was hosted by Irving, TX, and 2024’s will be at the Hilton in Gulf Shores, Alabama.

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Much like Southern Travelers Explore, the Midwest Travel Network’s conference focuses on bloggers who want to write or focus on Midwest travel content. I have personally not been to this event, since I had conflicting schedules this 2023, but it usually happens in June, over 3 days (usually from a Thursday to a Saturday). The event changes its hosts yearly, but you can expect it to be hosted in a Midwest City. Like Southern Travelers Explore, you can also get a chance to meet CVBs and DMOs, as well as other content creators throughout the event. There are also talks that pertain to content creation and scaling up your business.

Conference tickets cost around $200+ with taxes and fees per person. 2023’s Conference is in Kansas City, MO and 2024’s will be in Shipshewana, Indiana.

Probably the biggest travel blogging conference out there, TBEx hosts multiple conferences, one in North America, one in Europe, and another one in Asia (or Africa for 2023). The first TBEX I attended was in Lafayette, Louisiana (North America) in 2022, and it has changed the way I treat my blog as a business. The number of networking opportunities you get as well as a chance to see more of the host destinations are more than worth the price you pay for the ticket. 

When you buy a ticket to TBEx, you can sign up for some pre-tours (limited to 1 or 2, depending on the host cities), and a chance to attend a FAM (Familiarization trip) after the conference. The conference ticket also covers lunch, snacks, and after-parties that have dinner. You can also get to meet with brands and destinations one by one to connect with them. You can then turn these connections into deals and partnerships that will benefit both parties. Want to sign up for an affiliate program? These conferences may have sponsors that have companies that suit your needs. Want to partner with destinations to cover? Oh yes, they do have that.

TBEx is worth the entry fee, and if given a chance, I would go to all the different events in the cities they have, if the dates align with our travel. Having the chance to meet brands and attend pre- and post-BEX tours is worth your time. Think of it as having a workcation: where you get to explore a new city while also generating content for the host as well as networking with other people. In October 2023, TBEX will go to Africa for the first time and will be hosted in Durban, South Africa. TBEX North America is in Eau Claire, Wisconsin in 2023, while TBEX Europe for 2023 was in Peloponnese, Greece. TBEX Europe will be in May 2024 in San Sebastian, Spain, which we already visited. Next year’s dates are usually announced a year in advance, so you can plan your trips accordingly.

A downside to TBEX is sometimes, the destinations that host the event could be hard to get to. One year, they hosted TBEX North America in Tri-Cities in Washington State. For a small destination with not a lot of links to a major airport, I decided to skip that event altogether. Not to mention having to fly all the way from the East Coast (in Jacksonville, FL where I am based), to the West Coast meant that the flights are exorbitant, and I needed to pay for a rental car too. Take note of the destinations and how hard (or easy) it would be to fly in and out of in case you are thinking about attending. I will skip Africa this time because the airfare is a few thousand dollars, and I would need at least two weeks off from work to just attend.

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Women in Travel Summit was in Puerto Rico in 2023 and is my first ever WITS conference. While the conference programming is good, I feel it is catered more to influencers on Instagram and TikTok than it is to blogging. I did like the session about doing the travel business with a full-time job as well as the SEO session.

WITS also offers pre-tours where you can sign up for free, as well as the chance to get FAM trips. There’s also the Media Marketplace, where you can talk to brands and other sponsors for potential business opportunities and partnerships. You’ll get a lot of value by signing up for WITS on the pre-tours, FAMs, and the ability to connect to other brands during the media marketplace. The sessions are a bonus for me and are always a plus if the host is in a destination that I have never visited before. Traveling somewhere and connecting with brands as well as fellow content creators is always a plus when doing these types of events!

2024 WITS will be held in Salt Lake City, Utah, with a day out in Park City included!

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I’ve only learned about Travel Blogging Success (TBS) because some of the bigger bloggers started promoting it a lot through emails and social media. Unlike WITS and TBEX, which have pre and post-tour FAMs, TBS focuses strictly on content, and the sessions are all catered to that. The conference lasts 2 days with no pre or post-tours available for the ticket. The price of TBS is twice as much as WITS and TBEX, even on an early bird rate.

For the price you pay, you can get to learn from a big influencer. 2023’s main keynote is from A Blonde Abroad, and you can learn how to grow your creator-centric business from them too. I don’t have much experience of this conference to say if it’s worth going to or not.

2023’s Travel Blogging Success is available virtually and in person from Nashville, TN.

IPW is the US Travel Association’s conference, where media and trade partners meet in different cities held yearly. I personally have not been to an IPW but am excited to try and join if I get accepted as a media partner for 2024’s event.

2024’s event will be held in Los Angeles, California. Registration is already open for exhibitors but will have to reach out to a contact person to get Media credentials. You’ll then need to get approved before you can get access to IPW! Not sure if you’ll have to requalify yearly for the media pass though. 

ITB Berlin is the biggest travel and trade show in the world. The location does not change every year and is usually in March in Berlin, Germany. I have personally not been to this event, but just adding it to the list to be on the radar. To get into ITB Berlin, one must provide a screenshot of at least 5,000 readers to the website from Google Analytics.

If you have a mostly European audience or want to focus on European travel, then ITB can be a solid choice for you when it comes to a travel and trade conference. I for one would love to write more about European content, given that we fly yearly to the continent to visit family.

WTM is a bit like ITB, where it is a travel and trade show focusing on the European market, mostly. I also have not been to this event but adding it in for future reference for me! WTM is always in London during November, with just the dates changing yearly. It is a bit predictable where one can just go to the same city and convention center, but not enough for me to justify going back to Europe a second time during the year just to visit (yet).

In a few travel blogging groups that I’m in, some people find WTM London and ITB to be excellent sources to meet brands they would like to partner with. These could be in the form of hosting and providing content, as well as affiliates for certain services. 

If you’re not big on the content creation part of travel and just want to see what the world has to offer, why not visit a consumer show? Some of these consumer shows do talk to media, but out of our personal experience, nothing has really materialized in terms of partnerships for us. However, you can get a lot of inspiration from these consumer shows on where to travel next.

Some consumer shows sell tours and have promotions on the spot which are specials for the trade show.

The Travel and Adventure Show is a very consumer-friendly trade show. There are multiple booths that cater to destinations, cruises, and tour operators, and each has its own freebies or brochures that you are free to take. Some of these sponsors have promotions happening on the spot.

At one Travel and Adventure show in New York, they had amazing deals for Antarctic expeditions. I was nearly tempted to book a trip but realized I didn’t have the budget for it yet! The travel and trade show up the ante for you because you can get a LOT of information on different destinations at the exact same spot.

They even have book signings and other meet and greets and Travel and Adventure shows. Previous guests have been Pauline Frommer, Samantha Brown, and a few other travel influencers slash celebrities that you may have heard about.

The Travel & Adventure Shows do provide media passes for writers, but I didn’t particularly connect with any CVBs at the time, since they were mostly in the consumer mindset and getting people to visit their destination instead of building a partnership.

There are multiple cities for 2024’s Travel and Adventure Conference, including New York, Chicago, and Atlanta.

I don’t have a particular experience with World Travel Expo . The event for 2023 is in Miami, at a conference center close to the airport. I feel that it is more of a consumer-focused show with media invites to the event. I’ve included it in the list to add to my radar for next year’s event in case the dates align. For now, it appears that 2024’s event will still be in the Miami area.

Travel hacking means using points and miles to travel cheaper than paying cash. This means paying just taxes and fees while flying or staying in hotel rooms for free. Travel hacking takes a bit of time to learn. Once you know more, you can now reap the benefits of traveling without paying too much for it.

There are travel hacking conferences that focus on the art of learning more about the hobby. These conferences are rarely recorded, since some of the sweet spots and what is being discussed during the conference are not meant to be taught mainstream. We have been to the Chicago Seminars back in 2017 and it has been a game-changer in our life.

The Chicago Seminars are so-called because it is always in Chicago (close to ORD airport). The seminars are usually on Friday evenings and end on Sunday. The schedule is perfect for weekend travelers. During my first-ever Chicago Conference, my husband and brother-in-law tagged along, and they used the time to explore downtown Chicago while I was in the seminars. It is a perfect trip for those who have partners who have no intention of going to the seminars, and just want to explore a big city!

If you do attend, make sure you know at least an intermediate level of travel hacking. The topics are not really catered to beginners. There are plenty of online courses available online that you can pay for if you want to fast-track your learning, but there is also plenty of free content available. A few of the bloggers to follow if you are just learning would be Lucky at One Mile at a Time, and The Points Guy. The Points Guy (TPG) is catered to beginners and intermediate travel hackers, so you can binge-read a lot of his articles. There’s also a free course by 10x that you can join!

You can also network with fellow travel hackers during the event, but you usually just attend these seminars to learn more from the presenters. There are usually a few tracks to choose from when you are in the event to cater to what type of information you are looking for.

Like the Chicago Seminars, FTU focuses on travel hacking information but has a bit more of a beginner-entry vibe to it. FTU changes its location for its conference (called FTU Signature) yearly, but you can pay to see some of its information online.

I have not been to any FTU conferences yet but planned to go to one eventually. It will be a good way to compare what would be available in FTU vs what’s in the Chicago Seminars and if the same people are attending both. You go to these seminars to learn more about sweet spots and other things you may not know about travel hacking. You don’t go to these conferences to partner with brands unless you are using them to increase your number of points or miles through buying groups.

There is a small sub-niche of travel content creators that focus strictly on cruising. We get it, we ourselves are big cruisers and have already taken our three-year-old child on cruises multiple times. It is hard not to get addicted to cruising, and if you are in the cruising niche, or want to get more into cruising content, here are a few travel cruising conferences you can attend.

Seatrade Cruise Global is a trade show and conference in one, where leaders of various cruise lines get to mingle with destinations as well as cruise lines. Where it gets tricky is how to meet with the cruise lines in the expo as they do not have a booth of their own. Instead, the cruise lines are just freely roaming about and the only way to identify them is through their credentials.

Here are a few of my thoughts on Seatrade, having been accepted into their media program and from my first year of attending. First off, the expo floor is huge but is conveniently separated into two parts. The first part is for the destinations, which is what you’ll want to focus on if you are a travel content creator. The second part is for ship suppliers, so if you need materials for a ship or a boat, then that’s the place for you.

• Activities and Entertainment on Virgin Voyages
• Solo cruise on Virgin Voyages (what to expect)
• What is the Virgin Voyages Loyalty Program (Sailing Club)
• Virgin Voyages Restaurants and Dining on Scarlet Lady
• Virgin Voyages Shopping on Scarlet Lady: What stores are onboard?
• Why Book a Virgin Voyages Cruise?
• Rhapsody of the Seas (Royal Caribbean Cruise Review)
• 13 Tips for Cruising with a Toddler
• Cheap Nassau Shore Excursions with a Toddler
• All Posts About Cruising

Within the Seatrade conference, you’ll get access to panels, press conferences (if on a press pass), private parties, and more. There’s even F&B@Sea, which is a trade show mostly for those who deal with food and beverage options. It’s a way to sample some food and drink without having to leave the convention area.

Seatrade is so huge that it gets overwhelming. It doesn’t help that I got an invite to the event late to the event. By the time I wanted to meet with destination representatives, the schedules are already full. If you have the time, do get some of the freebies on the expo floor from various destinations. They have amazing stuff up for grabs!

The conference is located yearly in Miami or Fort Lauderdale. There’s also a European leg held in Hamburg, Germany yearly, so you can do two Seatrade events a year if you are up for it.

While I haven’t personally been to Cruise 360 , it is much like Seatrade, which is a conference and trade show on cruising. One can get a media pass by applying for one, and it includes entry to the panels, the expo floor, and any press conferences. If you are trying to get credits for CLIA certification, the ship tours count as part of your continuing education. Cruise 360 is the official conference from CLIA, the world’s largest cruise line trade association.

Cruise 360 is in either Fort Lauderdale or Miami yearly. A lot of cruise lines have a presence in Miami, so the who’s who of these companies are in attendance.

As a bonus, I’ve included a few conferences that may help your travel content creation career. These are not applicable to me now since I am mostly focusing on long-form writing on a blog but adding it in just in case I want to branch out more in the future.

With so many social media platforms coming out to create content on, there are always a few new conferences coming out. Here are two that have been more focused on podcasting and videos (long or short form).

Another conference I have never been to but thought would help podcasters out there to grow more. The cities change yearly, but if you want a podcasting conference that’s always in one location, there’s Podfest in Orlando.

I’ve never been to any of these podcasting conferences. From reviews I’ve heard from fellow content creators, Podcast Movement is pretty good but more catered to intermediate podcasters. Podfest in Orlando does have a track for beginner podcasters or just learning more about the media. As a plus, the tickets for beginners in Podfest are half the cost of the creator ticket (but do not have access to the actual learning tracks).

VidCon is usually in Anaheim, California, but is going to Baltimore in 2023. A lot of your popular vloggers and video content creators go to this conference, and you can get a chance to meet them. I feel this conference is the best way to up your video content creation game if you’re on the industry track and a way to learn more from those who have millions of subscribers.

Video is a great way to get sponsorships, ad revenue, and a way to create a base for your followers to follow you in your other endeavors. VidCon does not come cheap for the industry track, but you can get a community track for $50 a day. You can then get a chance to go to the expo floor to meet exhibitors and meet your favorite creator who’s attending.

VidCon has other events happening all over the world, so just depends on where you are located. The one I mentioned above is the United States track. Will I ever attend VidCon? Maybe, it just depends if I can have enough bandwidth to focus on video creation as part of our travel business. 

With a really long list of travel conferences to attend for the year, how many are you planning to go to? Did I miss any conferences that you should absolutely attend? Please feel free to let me know and leave them in the comments below!

If you are just starting out, pick and choose which ones to go to (or use my list of conferences to try above). The entrance fees to attend may be a barrier to entry. Time is also a factor when visiting an event, especially if you’re still building your travel business on top of your full-time job. In my case, we try to pick and choose the conferences that we feel would return the most investment and in a destination we haven’t been able to visit. We then treat these conferences as a workcation where we can see and visit a new destination while trying to grow a business!

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6 Travel Conferences You Must Attend in 2023 – 2024

After two years of darkened hotel ballrooms and piles of chairs locked up in conference room corners, the lights are finally switching on. The cobwebs have been swept away, experts contacted, and now the digital ads are in full swing. Travel trade shows are back and with them, enormous opportunity.

Travel agent events like conferences connect travel professionals from around the world to share knowledge, meet vendors and create new partnerships. And let’s be honest, it’s about time we abandon our desks and computer screens and see the world.

That said, below are 6 travel agents trade shows and conferences coming up in 2023-2024 to inspire you with exciting new ideas and help you expand your business vision.

1. Adventure Travel World Summit; Hokkaido, Japan

Do you sell adventure? Or are you looking to pivot into that niche?

The Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA) sponsors a summit every year for tour operators, travel writers, industry partners and tourism boards who are involved in the adventure travel industry. But it’s much more than a conference. Summit participants join offsite trips in addition to hearing from keynote speakers, maximizing endless networking opportunities, sharing industry information and pitching new story ideas during Media Connect sessions.

The ATTA has already reserved Hokkaido, Japan for September 2023. The event will include adventures into the surrounding wilderness, business meetings and networking opportunities, and time for travel leaders to connect.

2. FITUR 2024; Madrid, Spain

FITUR is an International Tourism Trade Fair organized by IFEMA MADRID. In January 2022, Fitur hosted 600 exhibitors from 107 countries and welcomed over 100,000 visitors. Fitur serves as a meeting place for tourism professionals from around the world. It’s also the leading trade fair for inbound and outbound markets in Latin America.

Fitur targets both mass tourism and niche markets, showcasing new sectors each year as the tourism industry becomes more diverse. It also presents cutting edge technology including artificial intelligence, smart tourist destinations and big data.

Fitur will hold its 44th tourism trade show from January 24th – 28th, 2024. Targeting hotel chains, agencies, tour operators, technological companies, suppliers, transportation and institutions from around the world, Fitur 2024 will focus on how to strengthen post pandemic tourism and how to generate new business opportunities.

3. ITB 2024; Berlin, Germany

ITB takes place at the Berlin ExpoCenter City exhibition center. With more than 10,000 exhibitors, ITB is the largest convention in the travel industry. The convention presents informational stands on countries, destinations, hotels and tourism associations as well as on specialist suppliers, booking systems and transport operators. ITB is a platform for B2B travel industry leaders to meet and network.

ITB’s event will take place in Berlin from March 5th – 7th, 2024. The guest country of ITB 2023 will be Georgia.

4. IPW; San Antonio, Texas

How about a trip to the USA?

US travel exhibitors convene once a year in San Antonio, Texas for the U.S. Travel Association’s IPW international inbound travel trade show. At IPW, US travel exhibitors connect with travel buyers and media from more than 70 countries to share their products and build new business relationships. IPW showcases the American travel industry to its international visitors to promote and increase tourism in the USA.

The U.S. Travel Association’s IPW is the leading international inbound travel trade show. The next convention will take place from May 20th-24th, 2023.

5. ETOA’s Global European Marketplace (GEM); London, UK

For ETOA members only, GEM is ETOA’s annual travel trade event. Not just another tour operators’ event, here tourism suppliers meet new leads and reconnect with existing business contacts. With preset appointments based on business profile and goals, buyers and suppliers meet one-on-one throughout the event.

Participants also attend educational and networking sessions. Close to 400 global and intra-European buyers are invited to GEM’s upcoming event, which will take place from November 2nd – 3rd, 2023 in London, UK.

6. Travel Expo-Travel and Adventure Show

Looking for an excuse to visit a metropolitan center in the USA?

The Travel and Adventure Show is a traveling expo, which will meet in 9 different cities across the USA in 2023 including Chicago, Boston, NY, Washington DC, Los Angeles, Denver, San Francisco, Atlanta and Dallas.

For tour operators, travel agents and tourists alike, the Travel and Adventure Show gives travel companies the opportunity to maximize their marketing and sales by presenting to prescreened audiences. Buyers can obtain the most up-to-date travel and itinerary options, safety protocols directly from the source.

In addition, visitors can attend one or more of the dozens of educational and informational travel workshops that take place throughout the day.

Travel trade shows: are they worth attending?

The last two years wreaked havoc on the travel industry. According to the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), global tourism experienced its worst year on record in 2020. Destinations worldwide suffered a decrease by one billion in international arrivals as compared to the previous year due to the massive drop in demand and the serious travel restrictions.

But with travel restrictions lifting, the travel industry is returning in full force. According to a recent Pulse survey , 73% of business travelers agree that a general increase in business travel is extremely likely and 62% anticipate an increase in their own business travel compared to 2021.

With demand on the rise, it behooves any travel professional to continue networking, building strategic relationships and marketing their products in person at travel trade shows. If the expense was worth it to you in the past, then now, in the current travel industry, the ROI should prove to be even greater.

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U.S. Travel Association’s IPW is the leading international inbound travel trade show, driving $5.5 billion in future travel to the United States.

It is a national showcase of America, where U.S. travel exhibitors connect with travel buyers and media from more than 70 countries to promote their product, negotiate future business and build relationships. IPW secures America’s position as a foremost global travel destination by increasing international visitation and showing the world the best of what the U.S. has to offer.

Learn more about  The Value and Economic Impact of IPW

For more information or to register for IPW, visit www.ipw.com

About Brand USA 

As the premier sponsor of IPW, Brand USA looks forward to welcoming travel professionals from around the globe to IPW. As the nation’s destination marketing organization, Brand USA’s award-winning consumer campaigns inspire millions of people worldwide to visit the United States and experience its diverse destinations and attractions.

Brand USA works in close partnership with the travel industry to maximize the economic and social benefits of travel, including creating jobs essential to the U.S. economy and fostering understanding between people and cultures. According to studies by Oxford Economics, over the past eight years Brand USA's marketing initiatives have helped welcome 7.7 million incremental visitors to the United States, benefiting the U.S. economy with more than $56 billion in total economic impact and supporting, on average, more than 45,000 incremental jobs a year.

Information about Brand USA and its award-winning campaigns and partner resources is available at  www.TheBrandUSA.com .

Information about the exceptional and unexpected travel experiences across the United States is available at  www.VisitTheUSA.com .

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