Roo Around The World

Today I headed over to the Business Design Centre in Islington, London for the TNT Travel Show, where I found plenty of backpackers all hungering for the best travel deals. There were travel companies and tour guides galore, all promoting and selling their best package deals, enticing us in with their shiny posters, freebies and competitions (I can’t even count how many brochures and pens I now have stashed away in my sturdy TNT carrier bag). As nice as it was to be surrounded by all my fellow travel junkies, I couldn’t help but feel a little sad and disheartened, for I have just returned from my big trip around the world and so, as much as I wanted to book myself onto a safari trip in Africa, or a week’s sailing in Croatia, I just don’t have the means right now. Sad face 😦

However, I wasn’t there only to see what the travel companies were offering. I was there to hear what my fellow travel writers had to say, and to try and soak up as many tips as I possibly could. First up was a seminar given by two lovely TNT ladies Laura Chubb and Helen Elfer, all about what to do or not to do when writing and how to pitch articles. It was great to learn exactly what a magazine such as TNT is looking for in a travel story, and there was definitely some great advice given.

Next up was the highlight of my day, a very funny and informative talk given by social media and business guru Andrew Grill, CEO of Kred, a site that displays a “visual history of your Social Media Influence”. He talked about how to be influential online and how to use social media platforms to your advantage. A very clever man…he has even created his own version of instagram, so his photos are all his own. Genius!

And finally, last but not least, we were graced with the presence of uber awesome and successful travel bloggers Dylan Lowe (@TravelingEditor) and Kate McCulley (@adventurouskate), who talked about their journeys into the blogging world before going on to discuss what makes a good story and how to tell it so people want to hear (read) about it. They gave some really excellent advice and it’s definitely stuff I’ll be taking on board in future articles.

All in all, it was a pretty sweet day, and while I would have like to see a few more different varieties of travel companies there, it was a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon, with travellers and bloggers alike.