Authors: Michael Collins, Bronagh Mc Namara, Alastair McKenzie
Below is a list of social media and digital marketing conferences in 2020 into 2021 that we feel are of particular interest to the travel industry.
Some conferences may have already happened, but remain listed in anticipation of next year’s details.
The list is meant to be as comprehensive as is possible, and will be updated on a regular basis. We therefore welcome your feedback. Any edits, amends or additions please send them to: michael@travelmedia.ie
Phocuswright is a travel/tourism industry research company that hosts a number of conferences and events.
Innovation: 3 September
Center Stage: 9-10 September
Phoenix, AZ & Online
17 – 19 November 2020
London, UK
24 February 2021
International Media Marketplace
IMM is a scheduled-meeting networking event run by Travmedia.com in five locations worldwide. Local tourism organisations & travel brands take stands and meet with bloggers, influencers, traditional travel writers and other travel media over a day.
Online
27 -28 October 2020
Online
27 – 29 January 2021
Online
21 – 22 January 2021
Online
29 – 30 September 2020
Online
6 -7 October 2021
São Paulo, Brazil
2021 TBC
London, UK
2021 TBC
Online
22nd September 2020
Digital Travel Summit APAC has gone virtual this September. Join this virtual summit to find out how online consumption habits are changing and how travel brands are adapting their digital marketing activities to retain and attract new customers.
Online
22 – 23 September 2020
Just because inbound won’t be face to face doesn’t mean we can’t still sweep you off your feet from the safety of your home. We’re so excited for the potential that an online event has to bring us all together in totally new ways. We’ve been doing a lot of thinking about how we’ll bring the education, inspiration, connection, and energy of INBOUND online and we can’t wait to share more with you soon.
INBOUND 2020 is more than just four days of learning and inspiration. It’s a place where you can step back from your day-to-day, and think about big ideas, not if you remembered to email Karen back. Finally, you’ll have the mental space to look at your opportunities and challenges in new ways and from new perspectives. If you think you have your best ideas in the shower, you haven’t been to INBOUND yet.
Norwegian Digital Travel Conference
Kristiansand, Norway
22 – 23 September 2020
The event is Norway’s largest travel conference with a sole focus on digital marketing and use of technology within the industry. It is organized by Usus (former Visit Southern Norway) and supported by Innovation Norway and NHO Reiseliv (The Norwegian Hospitality Organization).
Online
18 November 2020
SEE2020 is a one-day virtual experience that will help you plan for 2021 amidst the ongoing challenges and opportunities for our industry. And have a little fun along the way! More event details will be unveiled in August.
Singapore
08 – 10 December 2020
Digital Travel APAC brings together top minds at Asia’s most successful airlines, hotels, OTAs, metasearches, tours and activities, car rentals, cruise lines and tourism boards to plan eCommerce, digital marketing and customer experience strategies for growth in 2019 and beyond.
Content Marketing World Virtual
Online
13 – 16 October 2020
We’re looking through our orange-colored glasses at the great opportunities this virtual environment will provide to our amazing community. We’re hard at work on our end creating the epic CMI experience we’ve given our community for the past 10 years, and this year will be no different. From the best speakers covering every aspect of content marketing, to opportunities to network with our technology sponsors and event partners who may be the perfect solution for your needs in 2020 and beyond, we think you’ll love what we’re putting together.
Major (4000 delegates) digital marketing conference with a packed programme of presentations, panels & workshops.
Lille, France
16 – 17 April 2020 (Postponed)
New Dates: 17 – 18 October 2020
Salon De Blogueurs De Voyage is a boutique conference for French travel bloggers, run by We Are Travel.
The first edition was held in Cannes in September 2014. Since then, each edition has been a real success and welcomes more and more participants. Every year, in a different destination, bloggers and e-tourism professionals meet for 2 days to discuss influence marketing and Networker.
Las Vegas, NV, USA
19 – 21 October 2020
eTourism Summit is the glue between destination promotion and the latest practices and innovations in digital media.
For 21 years, the feedback from hundreds of attendees has been crystal clear: eTourism Summit connects the ecosystem of destination marketing pros exchanging ideas in an intimate setting like no other conference. So, in 2020, it’s by staying small and staying true to that “North Star” that we’re guided in everything we do.
To support that mission in the best way possible, eTourism Summit 2020 will be a hybrid event with options for both virtual and in-person attendance.
Travel industry community & publisher, offering a number of conferences focusing on digital technology, social media marketing and travel content.
San Diego, CA, USA
1 – 2 June 2020 (Postponed)
New Dates: TBC
London, UK
22 – 23 October 2020
Singapore
28 – 30 October 2020
WIT is a travel industry community & publisher focusing on travel technology, distribution and marketing. In addition to their main conference they have a number of spin-off events…
Online
28 September – 01 October 2020
Tokyo, Japan
5 November 2020
Singapore
28 – 30 September 2020
Seoul, South Korea
29 October 2020
Dubai, UAE
24 November 2020
Capetown, South Africa
28 May 2020 (Postponed)
New Date: TBC
Penang, Malaysia
13 March 2020
New Date: TBC
Gdansk, Poland
24-26 September 2021
Online
9 – 11 November 2020
WTM London 2020 is facilitating a completely virtual event which is taking place on 9-11 November. The main aim is to help recover and rebuild and shape the travel industry at a time when it needs it the most. The virtual event will focus on restoring and developing business connections, growing your network, your brand and learning how to make your comeback.
The virtual event will take place across three days, from 7am-10pm, to allow access from the different zones across the globe. The live conference sessions and forums will be tackling some of the issues the industry is facing today, as well as speed networking sessions, one-to-one meetings, and virtual networking opportunities. We want to keep the global travel conversation alive and help deliver new connections as well as offering a wide range of online business opportunities.
WTM has some spin-off conferences…
Sau Paulo, Brazil
31 Mar – 02 April 2020 (Postponed)
New Dates: 20 – 22 October 2020
Cape Town, South Africa
7 – 9 April 2021
Dubai, UAE
19 – 22 April 2020 (Postponed)
New Dates: 28 – 01 July 2020
Kansas City, KS, USA
23 – 25 April 2021
The clue is in the name; a 2-day conference (with several days of pre-conference events) for women travel influencers and industry members.
Palma, Mallorca
27-28 March 2021
Traverse is a 2-day blogger conference aimed at new bloggers and influencers developing their skills. It started in Brighton in 2013 and moved around the UK (Newcastle, Kingston-upon-Thames, Cardiff) ending up in London in 2017 with around 500 delegates. In 2018 it moved to the continent (Rotterdam), and in June 2019 it was hosted in Trentino, Italy.
Speakers are mostly pro-bloggers, and experts in marketing, editing, videography, etc. Travel & Tourism brands use the conference and its social events running over the preceding week, to network with up and coming bloggers. Traverse also run half the social media programme at World Travel Market, and a number of other social media marketing & networking events.
Online
13 – 14 October 2020
One event, over two days, for influencers, journalists and content creators to meet with the travel industry.
Now more than ever people are familiar with networking, socialising and doing business from behind their laptop screens. So cancel all those sporadic Zoom meetings, messy calendar invites and arrange to meet during Waypoint.
Palm Springs, CA, USA
18 – 20 May 2020 (Postponed)
New Dates: 14 – 15 December 2020
Digital Travel US 2020 is in its 7th year. It is the premier interactive conference for travel executives who are looking to re-imagine their customer journey. This year’s conference will address enhanced personalization to deliver better cross-channel experiences – so you’ll win the booking every time!
Mumbai, India
04 – 06 February 2021
OTM is the largest and most international gathering of travel trade buyers and professionals in India. Learn, network and connect with 1000+ exhibitors and 15,000+ travel trade visitors from around the world in 3 days at OTM.
Dublin, Ireland
15 February 2021
Meet the Media is a one-day networking event for the international travel trade and Irish media, which takes place in the 5* Radisson Blu Royal Hotel, Dublin. This unique event connects media from all over Ireland (print, broadcast, online, digital, bloggers, influencers) with 30 worldwide travel suppliers including airlines, hoteliers, tourist boards and tour operators.
https://www.travelmedia.ie/meet-the-media/
San Diego, CA, USA
1 – 2 March 2021
Claims to be “the world’s largest social media marketing conference”. With around 5,000 attendees/speakers it probably is. A busy programme of presentations, panels & workshops from top social media marketers.
Berlin, Germany
10 – 14 March 2021
ITB Berlin is the world’s largest tourism trade fair. It has a busy programme of digital marketing, & social media events including expert industry and influencer panels & presentations.
There are now two spin-off conferences…
Online
21 – 23 October 2020
Shanghai, China
12 -14 May 2021
Portland, OR, USA
5 – 7 March 2021
The Women’s Travel Fest is a 3-day event that aims to inspire, empower and connect women in travel.
FTE is an event and online media business focused on the air passenger experience. FTE has four annual events around the world: FTE Global, FTE Asia EXPO, FTE Europe and FTE Ancillary.
Every FTE event includes ‘On the Ground’ and ‘Up in the Air’ conference streams, and an exhibition of the latest solutions and services.
Singapore
3 – 4 February 2021
Las Vegas, NV, USA
8 – 10 September 2021
Online
8 – 9 December 2020
Dublin, Ireland
9 – 10 June 2021
New Orleans, LA, USA
16-18 April 2021
This three day conference will connect you with industry leaders, influencers, and celebrated writers through keynote speeches, small group writing and photography workshops, breakout tutorial sessions, and industry panels. You will learn what’s working in today’s competitive travel industry, timeless business practices, and the skills you need to succeed as a creator.
Dubai, UAE
16 – 21 May 2021
The annual business-to-business (B2B) exhibition showcases over 2,800 products and destinations from around the world to over 28,000 buyers and travel trade visitors across four days at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre (DICEC).
2020 Midwest Travel Network Conference
Minnesota, MN, USA
10 – 12 June 2021
The 2021 Midwest Travel Network, to connect travel bloggers and influencers in the U.S. Midwest region with Midwest CVBs and DMOs. Located northwest of Minneapolis along the banks of the Mississippi River, St. Cloud, Minnesota is a haven for lovers of the outdoors and urban enthusiasts alike.
San Diego, CA, USA
TBC October 2021
Digital Travel Connect is the one-stop shop for eCommerce, digital marketing and customer experience executives. The event aims to inspire travel brands – from all verticals, including airlines, hotels, OTA and meta-search, cruise lines, rental cares and disrupters — to embrace and test transformative technology in order to master customer personalization and boost their omni-marketing strategy. Digital Travel Connect is an invite only forum which is strictly limited to senior level (VP and above) digital marketers in the travel industry.
Launched originally as “Travel Blog Exchange”, TBEX runs multiple annual travel blogger conferences for up to 600 blogger & industry delegates, worldwide. TBEX conferences nominally run for 2-3 days but there is usually a programme of pre-TBEX tours & events and post-TBEX fam trips that expand the whole thing out to a week or more.
Catania, Sicily, Italy
10 – 13 March 2020 (Postponed. Tentatively Scheduled for November)
New Dates: TBC
Lafayette, LA, USA
7 – 09 October 2020 (Rescheduled, 12 – 14 October 2022)
Tri-Cities, Washington, USA
16 – 19 August 2021
Milwaukee, WI, USA
11 – 15 October 2020 (Cancelled)
An annual convention held by the Society of American Travel Writers. SATW is a professional organization comprised of the travel industry’s most experienced journalists, photographers, editors, broadcast/video/film producers, bloggers, website owners, public relations experts and hospitality industry representatives from the United States, Canada and beyond.
London, UK
11 – 12 September 2020 (Cancelled)
An exciting new event designed for aspiring and established content creators, online influencers, bloggers, YouTubers, Instagrammers, journalists and social media experts who are at the forefront of industry trends, and those just beginning their online journey. Brought by WTM London and Traverse Events.
NATJA Conference & Marketplace
Puerto Rico, San Juan
5 – 8 May 2020 (Postponed)
New Dates: TBC
North American Travel Journalists Association conference provides the opportunity to engage and network with fellow members – both media and destination representatives – throughout the conference, participate in top-notch professional development, and enjoy the best sites and gastronomy in the host destination.
Surrey, UK
8-10 January 2020
New Dates: TBC
This is a digital travel conference with academia and travel industry professionals in attendance. Technology experts, local authorities and International companies like Expedia and IBM, will come together with academics from around the world to discuss and exchange ideas on industry problems, ongoing research, latest trends and the future of technology and Tourism.
Helsinki, Finland
New Dates: TBC
The Ping Helsinki Business Festival brings high-end professional influencers together with brands to talk about content and influencer marketing.
Dublin, Ireland
26 – 28 January 2020
New Dates: TBC
Two-day annual conference with a focus on digital marketing and social media for those in the hostel industry.
NH Belfort Ghent, Belgium,
1 February 2020 (Postponed)
New Dates: TBC
This travel gathering is the biggest tourism event for online influencers in Belgium. The travel gathering is Belgium’s first-ever blogger event in tourism.
Nashville, TN, USA 2020
New Dates: TBC
EventCamp is a gathering for restaurant and hotel sales and event professionals focused on one big goal: to learn about innovations that help them increase sales, stay on top of trends, work smarter using technology and data, and grow their business.
Dublin, Ireland
5 March 2020
New Dates: TBC
DMX Dublin features over 30 world-leading speakers in multiple presentation streams, and over 900 marketing professionals attendees in a full day of sharing, learning and networking. A Marketing Institute event, DMX Dublin celebrates the crossover of marketing, digital, creative and media. Over the past 5 years it has become Ireland’s must-attend marketing event of the year, bringing together top international and Irish marketing leaders, marketers from multinationals and start-ups, advertisers, creative agencies, digital agencies, online publishers and vendors.
23 – 26 March 2020
New Dates: TBC
INFLOW (Influencers of The World) organises Brand-2-Influencer summits for a range of industries.
DeKalb County, GA, USA
New Dates: TBC
Travel Media Showcase, offers a unique opportunity for top travel journalists and travel industry professionals to meet one-on-one, at a single location, for the purpose of exchanging information and developing personal contacts.
New Dates: TBC (Postponed)
STS is a forward-looking conference developing new ways and ideas for the travel & tourism industry to work with top professional travel bloggers & influencers who are there by invitation only. One highlight is the Think Tank which produces policy on blogger-industry issues.
Bologna, Italy
New Dates: TBC
Developed by the Emilia Romagna Region Tourist Board together with iAmbassador, the BlogVille project brings together, since 2012, digital influencers from all over the world to Emilia Romagna, Italy.
Espoo, Finland
New Dates: TBC
Over the course of 2 days we will be talking all about content and the people behind it. We will be inviting a wide range of Content Leads and Creators to share their work with you and engage in discussion as they reveal the process behind it.
Travel Social Media and Digital Marketing Conferences 20/2021 (Continued)
Travel Massive is an international community of tourism industry professionals and hosts events in over 100 cities around the world. They host over 400 events each year around the world, including New York City, London, Los Angeles, Berlin, Tokyo, and Sydney to name a few. Their online platform is free to join and you can find and connect with over 32,000 members and 2,300 tourism brands on travelmassive.com
Helpful links:
Travel Massive Events -> https://travelmassive.com/events
Travel Massive Chapters -> https://travelmassive.com/chapters
Find your nearest chapter on the map -> https://travelmassive.com/chapters/map
Learn how to start a Travel Massive chapter -> https://travelmassive.com/blog/start-a-chapter-guide/
Other Travel Social or Digital Marketing Conferences?
The list is meant to be as comprehensive as is possible. If you are running a social media conference or have attended digital marketing conferences aimed at the travel industry that you feel should be on this list, please contact us.
We intend to update this list on a regular basis, and therefore, welcome your feedback. Any edits, amends or additions please send them to michael@travelmedia.ie