This weekend will mark the inaugural kickoff of the New York Travel Festival.
The Festival will take place at Bohemian National Hall on the Upper East Side of Manhattan Saturday; on Sunday, attendees are not limited to one singular location and can choose from a whole host of tours offered in all five boroughs.
Top travel-savvy experts such as National Geographic's Digital Nomad Andrew Evans and travel content provider for her NY1 News show Valarie D'Elia will speak at the NYTF.
Lonely Planet guidebook author Robert Reid will also put in his two cents, speaking on the main stage with his colleagues.
There will also be discussion panels on Saturday, on topics ranging from adventure and outdoors, the cultural, responsible and eco/sustainabe, gay and lesbian related topics, as well as food and drink around the world.
Founder of the New York Travel Festival Roni Weiss wants this travel show to stand alone, as a new way to look at expos. He grew weary of the same old travel show that took place in a "character-less convention center," replete with "circuit speakers doing a talk that doesn't recognize any difference in the calendar," he writes on his website.
Tired of the antiquated style of brochure-hawking and booth-trolling, Weiss set out to add a sprig of modernity to travel expos-one that could nestle comfortably in our fast paced age of information.
"The demographic we're going for sees travel as an extension of life, not as a way to escape from it," Weiss said. "We're trying to reinvent the travel show for people who are tired of the convention-center, booth-based model. Part of our pedigree is local travel, as a package ticket that includes tours in NYC, all done by smaller companies with many focusing on otherwise unseen experiences."
On the main stage, speakers will present, debate, and hold contests. On a smaller stage in the space, the Niche Breakout area will foster topic-specific discussions on sustainable travel, food in New York City, and questions of single female excursion.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
