Disclaimer: In exchange for a press pass to The 13th Annual New York Times Travel Show, I am writing this brief review.
The 13th Annual New York Times Travel Show took place on 8-10 January, 2016, at the Javits Center in Manhattan, New York. I was only able to attend on the 8th, which was the only day reserved for travel professionals and the press. To be more accurate, I was only able to attend on the 8th because I drank many a cup of coffee on the flight in earlier that morning.
So, what does it mean to visit to event without, specifically, the general public? Significantly less crowds, of course, more networking and more seminars:
The crux of the travel expo is to introduce and familiarize attendees with various destinations and tour companies, and throw in some musical dance numbers and food samples to tempt everyone a little more. Special thanks to the Indonesia pavilion for offering peaberry coffee, as I REALLY needed it.
Anyone spot the bear costume at the opening ceremony? They say it’s part of the Taiwanese display right behind it, but I think it’s Kuma from Tekken.
Let’s have a look at some of the booths:
I was jet lagged from having been in Tokyo a day earlier. Naturally, they were the first people I went to chat with, particularly the Okinawa tourism board representatives.
Terima kasih untuk menyajikan kopi gratis! (Thanks for the free coffee!)
If they had fresh pupusas, I never would have left.
Lithuania’s delegation offered a bite of šakotis (sha-kotis), or tree cake. It’s made on a rotating spit, much like Germany’s rounder baumkuchen, which I first learned about in Japan. How many more countries can we fit in this description? LOTS.
Gaz, or nougat originating near Isfahan in present-day Iran. Reading about what makes it nougat is… your prerogative, and other typical ingredients include almonds, pistachios, rosewater, egg whites, and likely sugar.
My favorite booth this year might have been the one for Vermont Rail System, a family-run service since 1964. Sounds like fun in the autumn months, as they run foliage tours throughout various parts of the state.
Well the ad campaign for New York state relishes in hyperbole, but I will admit that there are some pleasant places to visit upstate.
Have you ever attended a travel show? How about this one?
buildingmybento 
Reblogged this on From the Golden West and commented:
Stay tuned; I’m heading on an adventure for the blog this weekend! Details and photos to come. In the meantime, are you interested in travel? Here’s a review of the New York Times Travel Show. I didn’t write it, just wanted to share it.
Thanks for the reblog, Sabrina!
Thanks for the great post!
Greetings from Ladakh/Himalaya
Hi, how are you doing? I was recently in Kathmandu…good times.
Nope! No travel shows for me… Enjoy traveling for business (and pleasure!) rather than the travel business! 🙂 However cool to see the treats from different places.
Sounds like a good plan;) So, what’s in the works for ’16? Actually, how much have you explored Indonesia beyond the Big Durian?
Haha! No where near enough! Just a couple of interesting road trips. 🙂 However I’m slightly ‘grounded’ these days trying to get the business stuff far enough along to have money coming in not just going out! So pleasure travel plans on hold at the moment and so far no work plans for Indo on the horizon. Sigh…