The New York Travel Festival aims to reinvent the consumer travel show for tech-savvy, immersive travelers, focusing on interactive experiences for people who see travel as a means of experience, not just escape. The event will be held on April 26-27, 2014. On Saturday, the event activities will be held at the Bohemian National Hall which is located at 321 East 73rd Street in Manhattan and on Sunday, it will be held at Hostelling International.
They’ll have an Experts’ Corner, which gives industry, media, and consumers the opportunity to interact with travel experts during pre-scheduled ten-minute appointments. G Adventures Founder Bruce Poon Tip will be the headline speaker at the Matador Network Speaker Series. In a session entitled “Transformation in Travel”, Bruce will discuss lessons from his experiences as an entrepreneur and sustainable travel advocate, as well as his new book, Looptail.
A full day of panels to elucidate topics of interest to the travel industry, including:
- From Inspiration to Publication (presented by AFAR)
- DMOs and Media (presented by Niagara USA and Destination Accelerator)
- Travel + Social Good
- Tourism in Emerging Markets
- How Younger Generations are Changing Luxury Travel (presented by Young Travel Professionals)
They have also teamed up with Travel 2.0, NYC’s premiere networking group for travel start-ups, innovation and technology. Travel 2.0 @ #NYTF is a forum for travel start-ups to demonstrate their services and products.
Industry sponsors and partners include Been to Africa, Czech Tourism, Destination Accelerator, Niagara USA, Travel 2.0, Travel+Social Good, and Young Travel Professionals.
speakers include Google Marketing Strategist Ting Ting Yan, TripWing’s Eric Tanner, travel TV and radio host AnneLise Sorensen, National Geographic adventurer Charles R. Scott, Ignite Good’s Todd Schechter, The Culture-ist’s Maria Russo, AFAR’s Joao H. Rodriques, Associated Press’ Scott Mayerowitz, Emmy-award winning TV producer Lisa Lubin, Nomadic Matt, Brand Karma’s Mario Jobbe, The Trip Architect’s Alena Hadley, Matt Gross, Colin Glaum, Ethan Gelber of Outbounding, EcoAdventure Media, Destination Accelerator, and The Travel Word, Four North’s Jeffrey Donenfeld, AFAR’s Joe Diaz, Jim Brody, Jim Blumenfeld, Niagara Tourism & Convention Corporation’s Michelle Blackley, Lee Abbamonte and more.
New York Travel Festival early bird priced tickets are $35 for consumer, $100 for industry members and $12 for Sunday’s portion with lunch at $12 up until April 15. For more and tickets, visit their site.
Renee Blodgett is the founder of We Blog the World. The site combines the magic of an online culture and travel magazine with a global blog network and has contributors from every continent in the world. Having lived in 10 countries and explored over 90, she is an avid traveler, and a lover, observer and participant in cultural diversity. She is also the founder of the Magdalene Collection, a jewelry line dedicated to women’s unsung voices and stories, and the award-winning author of the bestselling book Magdalene’s Journey
She is founder of Blue Soul Media and co-founder of Blue Soul Earth as well as the producer and host of the award-winning Blue Soul CHATS podcast, that bridges science, technology and spirituality. Renee also founded Magic Sauce Media, a new media services consultancy focused on viral marketing, social media, branding, events and PR. For over 20 years, she has helped companies from 12 countries get traction in the market. Known for her global and organic approach to product and corporate launches, Renee practices what she pitches and as an active user of social media, she helps clients navigate digital waters from around the world. Renee has been blogging for over 16 years and regularly writes on her personal blog Down the Avenue, Huffington Post, BlogHer, We Blog the World and other sites. She was ranked #12 Social Media Influencer by Forbes Magazine and is listed as a new media influencer and game changer on various sites and books on the new media revolution. In 2013, she was listed as the 6th most influential woman in social media by Forbes Magazine on a Top 20 List.
Her passion for art, storytelling and photography led to the launch of Magic Sauce Photography, which is a visual extension of her writing, the result of which has led to producing six photo books: Galapagos Islands, London, South Africa, Rome, Urbanization and Ecuador.
Renee is also the co-founder of Traveling Geeks, an initiative that brings entrepreneurs, thought leaders, bloggers, creators, curators and influencers to other countries to share and learn from peers, governments, corporations, and the general public in order to educate, share, evaluate, and promote innovative technologies.
