Women in Travel Summit 2018

Have you read an article or heard someone talk about self care lately? One of the fastest growing segments in the tourism industry, wellness travel is on everyone's radar -- and for good reason. As people around the globe deal with high stress and anxiety levels, they are turning to wellness approaches to maintain and improve their health.This presentation will include a comprehensive explanation of the different activity sectors of wellness travel, the importance it has within the global tourism industry, and what this means for travel influencers who want to connect with wellness tourism brands.

What you can expect to learn:

• What is wellness travel and why is it important?
• How has wellness travel emerged in the last decade?
• As an influencer, how can you work with wellness brands?
• How can a media platform like a blog cater to the wellness travel clientele and their interests?

As influential travelers, how can you be sure your travel is doing the most good and least harm possible, and how can you best communicate 'good' travel to your audience? It can be hard to know what impact our jet-setting has and how much money is actually going into the local economy vs. how much escapes back into other parts of the tourism industry. It’s also difficult to discern which organizations you can connect with are actually helping vs. those that (while likely well-intentioned) are actually hurting people or the environment in the areas they are trying to serve. In this session, we'll look at how to do the most good and least harm before, during, and after your travels, how to find responsible and sustainable ways to see the world, and how influencers can give back to places and communities that have enriched their lives. Gain the knowledge and skills you need to influence your audience to make better travel decisions, act as voices for sustainable travel, and join the movement to make travel 'good'.

What you can expect to learn:

• What does it mean to do "good" while traveling, and how can you communicate this to your audience?
• What are some areas of the tourism industry we should be looking critically at?
• What are some of the red flags to look out for?
• How can you give back in meaningful ways, particually as an influencer?
• How can infuencers act as voices for sustainable travel?

Brace yourself to soak in a gold mind of knowledge from the influential female changemakers leading diverse communities of women travelers that are breaking the mold and smashing stereotypes: Black Girls Travel Too, Fat Girls Traveling, Muslim Travel Rocks, and Latinas Who Travel. This panel discussion will increase your knowledge about diverse communities of women, the challenges they face and how to handle these challenges in a more effective way. Learn how the panelists overcame societal and familial pressures to follow their passion to travel the world and find inspiration to pursue your dream of a career in travel, even (or, perhaps especially) if you are facing similar pressures.

What you can expect to learn:

• Learn about these communities of diverse women travelers: Black Girls Travel Too, Fat Girls Traveling, Muslim Travel Rocks, and Latinas Who Travel.
• How and why did each panelist create their community?
• What is the mission of each community?
• What challenges have they faced?
• Why is it important to keep going in the face of these challenges?
• What do they hope to achieve through these communities?

Immersive travel VR experiences are taking the travel world by storm! Advances in 360 and VR technology have the power to transform how we capture and experience new perspectives on the “same old” destinations and explore new frontiers that might not be accessible. Previously, action cameras and drones led the way in travel content, but 2018 is the year of the 360 camera. From the perspective of a 360 photographer and videographer, learn how the latest 360 cameras are moving content forward with stabilization and directional editing. Top companies in the travel space are leading the way with unique 360 and VR travel experiences -- could you be next? Set your content apart and make your business stand out from the crowd with this immersive discussion on the past, present, and future of 360 and VR content!  

What you can expect to learn:

• The difference between 360 content and virtual reality (VR)
• How the latest 360 cameras are moving content forward
• How companies and influencers are benefiting from using these travel technologies

Overtourism hit its peak last summer, when local residents in European cities like Barcelona, Dubrovnik, and Venice, voiced their displeasure at the toll tourism was taking on their hometowns using spray paint, signs, and protests. With the growth of the travel industry comes the possibility of overtourism in all corners of the world, from large cities to rural villages, but there are many ways that we can combat this phenomenon. What the industry needs is educated, quality travellers that understand what it means to travel responsibly.

There are so many ways to be a responsible traveller, and in this session, we’ll focus on what action you can take to be responsible traveller that gives back to the local economy, promotes small business, empowers disadvantaged communities, and leaves a place better than it was when you arrived.

What you can expect to learn:

• What causes overtourism and where are the world’s most affected areas?
• What are the indicators of overtourism and how can influencers highlight the trend to their followers?
• What are the best ways to combat overtourism and promote responsible travel?
• How can you best demonstrate to your audience how to support the local economy while they travel?

Fundamental to the idea of transformative and adventure travel is another idea—being exposed to concepts and cultures that are unfamiliar, and being open to having your understanding of the world changed in the process. Indigenous tourism can be challenging, both for the providers as well as the visitors. We are going to talk about Indigenous tourism experiences in Canada, and how you can (and should be) talking to your audiences about it too.