My first travel conference: Traverse16
So I’m just back from my first EVER travel conference, and what a weekend I had! Traverse 16 was held in the lively Welsh capital of Cardiff this year and the city stadium made for a fantastic venue. IĀ was super impressed by Traverse; they were welcoming, friendly and the whole atmosphere was relaxed and informalĀ yet completely informative and helpful – I learnt SO much!Ā Here are my top highlights from a fun filled weekend…
I met so many new people & have made some wonderful friends
So I have known the beautiful Lucy Ronan from Faraway Lucy for the past few months now – we are both shortlisted as finalists in the UK Blog Awards – and we decided we would FINALLY meetĀ by attending Traverse together for our first ever networking conference. Naturally we were both a little nervous but it actually really helped that we were together and I think we boosted each others confidence by sharing ideas and discussing everything we had learnt from our differing workshops.
I also met the lovely Sabina Trojanova, Emma Hart & Sophie Davis from Girl vs Globe, Ā Paper Planes and Caramel Waffles and Sophie’s Suitcase respectively – we finally met girls!! – and it was lovely to put faces to names as we have been in touch with each other in the virtual blogosphere for so long.
I attended workshops with industry professionals and expert bloggers
I took part in three workshops and two one-to-one sessions during my days conference – I had such a jam packed day butĀ I loved every second! I also took the opportunity to speak with the sponsors who were showcasing their brands and I met some really interesting people. My favourite workshop was ‘How to take the Leap into Fulltime Blogging’ with Monica Stott of The Travel Hack– this was incredibly helpful and I was full of admiration forĀ Monica after seeing first hand how she has turned her hobby into a career.
I also attended a writing workshop with Abi King of Inside the Travel Lab and a photography workshop with Kim Leuenberger – both talks were fantastic and I cameĀ away with so many ideas and so much inspo. Before the day was out I was lucky enough to book two 1-1’s with Skyscanner’s Tika Larasati and Julie FalconerĀ of A Lady in London – thanks for the advice ladies!
I enteredĀ some competitions
Who doesn’t love a good competition, especially when there are travel prizes and free trips up for grabs?! I entered four different competitions during my day at Traverse, two included dressing up silly for Expedia & IcelollyĀ to win free trips/credit towards a bookingsĀ (see above – I had so much fun) the other wasĀ a treasure hunt with ILOVENYPR searching for US themed clues to win (yep, you guessed it, a trip to NYC) and the last one was a Twitter comp with Surprise Trips – guess the ‘surprise’ European city and win a free trip! I had so much fun entering the competitions and chatting to the lovely sponsors throughout the day and I know so many others did too – unfortunately I wasn’t a winner but it’s the taking part that counts, right?!
I bagged tonnes of cheeky freebies
This was a MAJOR highlight for me.. who knew there could be so many freebies up for grabs at one of these events?! As I walkedĀ through the door at home my mum was quite literally astonished as to how much I’d brought home – I left the house with one bag and came back with FOUR! Amongst my fabulous freebies was a lovely Expedia towel (and pen and paper clamp), a Traverse business card holder, a Skyscanner hoodie, a cute little monkey fromĀ CathayĀ PacificĀ and goody bags fromĀ Visit Wales and Wye Valley. Thanks folks, love all my new blags!
I networked the hell outta there
https://www.instagram.com/p/BEBJWZwNPuf/?taken-by=jessica16_x
As this was my first conference, the act of ‘networking’Ā was something totally new to me but I think I took it in my stride and seemed to do ok! Effectively, networking is just chatting with like minded people and making contacts;Ā I was justĀ happy to get my name out there and meet as many people as possible, plusĀ I love a good chat- who doesn’t?!
I set fire to a table (I’m not even lying)
Lol. I know what you’re thinking; who even sets fire to a TABLE?! Well folks, it did happen – and I think Lucy and I wanted the ground to just swallow us up there and then. I have never beenĀ SO EMBARRASED and I’ve done a lot of crazy things in my time! I’m sure I don’t need to give you all the explosive deets (see what I did there ;)) but basicallyĀ there was a waffle in a waffle box (obvs) and a candle and a table..and then there was a flame and a pint of water and Lucy got soaked…Ā you get the gist..Ā nothingĀ in my life has everĀ compared to how mortified I was on that Friday night! Talk about making a good first impression… #ooopppsss
So as you can probably tell I had a whale of a time at my first ever travel blogging conference and cannot WAIT until the next one! A big thank you to everyone at Traverse who made my first experience so worthwhile, especially Lucy & Ollie who were both hilarious and soo friendly and welcoming <3
Until next time Traverse!
Traverse always sounds like a great experience. I’m glad you had fun, and that the time was also productive!
Thanks for your comment – I had SO much fun at Traverse and can’t wait until the next one!