Travel & Adventure Show lands back in Illinois

The Chicago Travel & Adventure Show brought in guests from around the world once again on January 13 and 14, 2024 at the Donald Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois. For almost 20 years this popular expo has gathered travel enthusiasts together to formulate ideas and partnerships.

Travel advisors and destination professionals descended on the venue to network over the two days. Sprinkled throughout the weekend were seminars with guests brought in to share valuable tips and speak on their experiences. Some of the experts who gave advice at the four different stages were European travel authority Rick Steves, Netflix's Somebody Feed Phil Rosenthal and guidebook writer Paulina Frommer.

Giveaways and merchandise were placed at the guest's tables for attendees to snap up and inspire vacations. Some of the major companies held raffles and drawings for valuable prizes.

Places to enter included the Baja California booth for a three-night stay at Ensenada & Tijuana and a three-night stay at Embassy Suites in Panama City Beach. A gift card for $200 for seafood at Visit Anchorage Alaska was offered and two $500 gift certificates by Landmark Tours were among the possible winnings.

Thrill seekers could ride a rescue camel named Peanut or play on a Segway. Groups specializing in diving were available to guide people on watery expeditions

This year pink was a popular theme possibly thanks to the success of the Barbie movie. Exhibitors also dressed in traditional garb at times and proudly talked about what their special area of the world has to offer.

Attendees could sign up for mailing lists to acquire bargains and deals to help plan a future trip.

The addition of a Chicago LGBTQ Pavilion brought a rainbow of representation to the expo. Key West and Spain were some of the out-and-proud operators who waited to assist the community to plan unique getaways geared especially for them. The pavilion is a new and important piece to the show hopefully gaining more prominence in the future. The travel industry raked in an estimated $218 billion worldwide prior to the pandemic from the queer community and LGBTQ+ travelers make up about 10 percent of the overall market.

This traveling series of shows arrived at an important time to stir up plans for vacations and get business booming for the new year!

The Travel & Adventure Show hits the road to Los Angeles on February 3 and 4th, then Atlanta on March 9 and 10, with more stops after that in 2024. Visit TravelShows.com for further details.