The travel and adventure show series ended its season with their final show held in Dallas on April 1-2. America’s Favorite Travel Shows took place in 8 cities including: New York, Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Dallas, Denver and Washington DC
The shows provided attendees with a wealth of new travel knowledge from hundreds of top destinations and travel providers from around the world, as well as advice from leading travel experts, including keynote speakers Rick Steves, Pauline Frommer, Samantha Brown, Peter Greenberg, Brian Kelly and Andrew McCarthy.
This year’s series of shows saw an increase in attendance from previous years as US travelers signaled they were ready to book travel for this year.
- The series kicks off in Chicago at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center with headline sponsor MSC Cruises. The show welcomed more than 16,500 visitors, 300 exhibitors and 500 travel traders and members of the media.
- The New York Travel & Adventure Show returned for a second year at the Javits Convention Center in partnership with TravMedia’s IMM to create New York’s first “Travel Week” as the city welcomes thousands of travel professionals and enthusiasts. The show had over 21,500 visitors, over 350 exhibitors, 850 travel advisors and over 3,000 travel traders and members of the media.
- With a more than 50% increase in attendance from 2022, the Los Angeles show, located at the Los Angeles Convention Center and sponsored by Rick Steves’ Europe, welcomes more than 17,000 travel enthusiasts, more than 250 exhibitors, more than 590 advisors travel and over 2,300 traveling trade and media members.
- The Denver Travel & Adventure Expo, sponsored by Go Touch Down Travel & Tours and Tourism Santa Fe, saw 11,000 attendees who had the opportunity to engage with over 200 exhibitors.
- Celebrating its 16th year, the Washington, DC Travel & Adventure Show held at the Washington Convention Center welcomed 16,000 visitors and featured over 180 exhibitors. This event was sponsored by MSC Cruises, Barbados Tourism and Go Touch Down Travel & Tours.
- The Atlanta Travel & Adventure Show at the Cobb Galleria Center saw 7,000 attendees and over 150 exhibitors, with Visit Barbados coming on board as a major sponsor for a weekend of travel planning, tips and deals.
- The Boston Travel & Adventure Show sponsored by Turkish Airlines, Go Touch Down Travel & Tours, Visit Barbados and Cruise Planners at the Hynes Convention Center welcomed 8,900 attendees and had over 125 exhibitors present.
- The Dallas Travel & Adventure Show was held at the Dallas Market Hall and was sponsored by the Florida Keys and Key West, welcoming 8,000 attendees over the weekend as the Travel & Adventure Show concluded its 2023 run.
“We saw a big increase not only in attendance this year at all of our shows, but also in the quality of passengers that came to each event. Serious buyers have proven that the desire to travel is stronger than ever among US consumers,” said John Golich, CEO of Unicomm, LLC, which produces Travel & Adventure Shows. “The shows have taken industry travel back, with a record number of exhibitors signing up for the 2024 events.”
Show attendees engaged with destination representatives, tour operators and travel suppliers both domestically and from around the world, offering travel ideas and inspiration. Attendees were even invited to take advantage of special offers and on-site promotions to stretch their travel dollars and make their dream vacation a reality. This year, exhibitors selling exclusive offers at the show saw a sell-out on-site. To meet traveler demand, Travel & Adventure Shows has even introduced passport acceptance programs at several shows this year so travelers can submit passport applications and renewals on-site at the show, an initiative that has proven popular with attendees as a passport, processing times have increased and local offices have booked their passport appointments for months.
The Travel & Adventure Show has now released its calendar for the 2024 season, which includes the addition of a new show to be held in Phoenix. The schedule of events for 2024 will be as follows:
- Chicago | 13-14 January 2024
- Denver | January 20-21, 2024
- New York | 27-28 January 2024
- Los Angeles | 3-4 February 2024
- Phoenix | February 17-18, 2024
- Washington | February 24-25, 2024
- Atlanta | March 9-10, 2024
- San Francisco/Bay Area | March 16-17, 2024
- Dallas | March 23-24, 2024