The best travel conferences for women who love travel
plus what to listen to and read right now
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Once upon a time, I was living in a too-small apartment on East 79th and 2nd Avenue in Manhattan, dreaming of becoming a travel writer. At the time, that dream felt wildly out of reach for a myriad of reasons. For starters, I had spent the three or four years since graduating college looking for a journalism job to no avail. Instead, I stumbled from career to career, trying on jobs in advertising and marketing as if trying on ill-fitting sweaters, all the while trying to kickstart my writing career. The further I strayed from my dreams of travel writing, the more impossible it seemed that I’d ever turn them into a reality.
The truth is, I didn’t know where to start, but I figured asking people who had figured it out would be a smart play. And so, I began following a slew of travel writers, bloggers, and content creators whose work I deeply admired. I studied their respective career paths, paying close attention to the brands they worked with, the people they collaborated together with, the business developments they shared, and the events they spoke at. This is how I first came to learn of women’s travel conferences.
The first travel conference I ever attended was the Women’s Travel Fest in New York, where I was invited to speak about my (now defunct) travel blog, The Pin the Map Project, a blog aptly named after my desire to, well, add more pins to my map. By this point in time, I had managed to scale my little old blog into something that had amassed a decent following and, more importantly, allowed me the opportunity to travel and begin building my travel writing portfolio.
Unable to land a travel writing job, I figured I’d build my own field of dreams, so to speak, and poured all my efforts into The Pin the Map Project, in hopes that I’d one day parlay it into an on-staff writing job. This scrappy approach was something I found celebrated at the Women’s Travel Fest that first year. As I mingled with other travel lovers that weekend, each similarly hellbent on bringing forth their own travel-focused dreams, I realized I had found my community.
Over the years, I continued to speak at Women’s Travel Fest as well as expand to other conferences in the industry, including the Women in Travel Summit, Latino Travel Fest, and more. With the help of these conferences, the resources they shared, and the connections they fostered—what once felt impossible soon became possible. Through networking, collaborations, speaking engagements, and connections, I eventually turned that once seemingly far-fetched dream of travel writing into a bonafide career that has allowed me to explore the globe on the wings of my writing.
Today, whenever I meet a woman keen on breaking into the travel industry, I point her in the direction of the same travel communities and conferences that helped pave the path to my own career. The latest story on Unearth Women shares the best travel conferences for women and the BIPOC community.
In last month’s paid newsletter edition, I shared some of my favorite women and BIPOC-owned businesses to check out in New York City. For April, I’ll be taking paid subscribers to another city that is close to my heart and that is Chicago. While I live in New York, Chicago is where I grew up and where my parents still reside. There is so much I adore about Chicago—from its waterfront skyline to its food scene. In this month’s paid newsletter edition, I’ll share some of my favorite women and BIPOC-owned restaurants, shops, hotels, and businesses to check out on your next visit to the Windy City.
Alison Roman and her recipes are truly a thing of joy for me. Not only did they keep me and my now-husband well-fed during the COVID quarantine, but they also single-handedly got me into cooking in a BIG way. Roman’s cookbooks, of which I have all three, not only sparked a love of cooking in me, but they had me appreciating the nuances of simple and approachable dishes. I’ve since learned that when it comes to cooking, less is truly more. All this waxing poetic is to say that Roman is back with her Home Movies today and I’m here for it (and one foot out the door to go buy pasta and lemons).
Beyond cooking, I’ve recently gotten into the podcast Vibe Check, hosted by Sam Sanders, Saeed Jones, and Zach Stafford who bring thoughtful and well-informed opinions to the latest news and culture headlines. As far as books, the book currently sitting on my nightstand is the new Amor Towles novel titled Table for Two, which I’m excited to dive into.
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Love this post and the recommendations. I had the same experience with Alison Roman during quarantine. Her recipes are so accessible. :)