Travel Massive: Massive Reasons Why You Should Go
When you live in Australia, sometimes it can feel like you live on the wrong end of the world. There always seem to be events that just aren’t feasible to go to because of the sheer distance you would have to travel. For instance, I just spent 50 hours in transit to get from Brisbane to Porto for the TBU Porto conference. With work and money restraints, I can’t do that very often!
That’s why Travel Massive is so great. Originally founded in Sydney as the Travel Tribe, it’s a great place to meet people in the travel industry without having to travel across the globe. Over 25 cities now host monthly or semi-monthly meetups for anyone and everyone that wants to attend.
Travel Massive at the Hilton Surfers Paradise.
I used to be jealous that the American expats I know in Sydney were able to go to such great events each month with Travel Massive (like a full moon party on the beach). Eventually, Kirsty Wallett decided to do something about Brisbane being left out and founded a Travel Massive for our city. I’ve met a lot of great people in the year I’ve been going to these events and I would love to see the event grow even further.
So why should you go to a Travel Massive meetup?
The people.
Like I said above, I’ve met a lot of really interesting people through Travel Massive. I’ve met a number of bloggers, like Kirsty, Anthony from The Travel Tart, Jade from Our Oyster, and Hayley from Hayley on Holiday. It’s great to be able to talk — face-to-face — with other people that are really serious about their blogs. I feel like it’s helped me immensely and was one of the driving factors for me going to the European travel blogging conferences this month.
Everyone chatting away at the Travel Massive held at the Hilton Surfers Paradise.
Plus, someone’s always going on an amazing getaway to places like Samoa, the Australian Outback, and Lord Howe Island. I love being able to share travel experiences knowing I’m not completely boring the person on the other end with yet another vacation story.
I’ve met plenty of people in the Brisbane travel industry as well, from hoteliers to rental car companies to regional tourism operators. It’s always interesting to hear from them about the inner workings of travel since it’s something I’m not often exposed to.
The friends.
I’ve become good friends with people I’ve met in Travel Massive, and I can’t say enough how important that is. Since I’ve lived in Brisbane, I’ve had many different groups of friends relating to different interests, like tennis, photography, and wakeboarding.
Some of the Brisbane Travel Massive regulars.
While I do find that it pulls me in different directions, I think it’s a very good thing. I have people that I know I can talk to about different interests, knowing that they, too, have a deep interest in the same thing. I’ve learned so many things this way, especially about photography.
It’s always nice, when you’re standing in the middle of nowhere in the dark taking a 45-minute star trail shot, to have someone else to chat to. The same is true for travel. While I often travel solo, I’d be happy to travel with the friends I’ve met and share the experiences with them.
The places.
I think I’ve been to more fancy hotels and bars with Travel Massive than I have on my own in the last year. Each month is hosted by a different venue somewhere around inner Brisbane (and on one occasion, at the Hilton Surfers Paradise). Most places provide tasty plates of tapas and canapes as well, which is always welcome since I usually head straight to Travel Massive from work.
The rooftop bar at Spicers Balfour.
If I ever want to have a big party in Brisbane — say, when I do my citizenship ceremony and officially become an Australian citizen — I will have plenty of places to choose from. One of my personal favourites was the venue for last month’s event, Spicers Balfour in New Farm. I had no idea it was a hotel, situated as it is in a residential area of New Farm. The views from the roof bar are hard to beat and it would be a great place to party for Riverfire.
The opportunities.
I wouldn’t say that I’m a great “networker.” I like meeting people and making connections, but I’ve always had a hard time going to conferences, handing out business cards and talking briefly to huge numbers of people in an effort to expand my personal network.
This isn’t something I’ve ever been compelled to do at Travel Massive either. I often find that I’ve spent the entire night talking to just a few people, but I’ve truly enjoyed it. Still, even though I’m not out there trying to network for networking’s sake, I’ve still had opportunities through Travel Massive that I wouldn’t have otherwise. The most recent was a personal offer to spend Riverfire photographing from the balcony with an unparalleled view of the river and Story Bridge.
The door prizes.
Last but not least, right? Companies often sponsor individual meetups, meaning there’s always a good chance of a door prize! I’ve managed to take home the door prize twice; the first was a one-night stay in the historic Inchcolm Hotel in central Brisbane and the other was a bottle of champagne.
Presenting a door prize at the Brisbane Travel Massive first anniversary.
The Brisbane birthday celebration had even more door prizes than usual, plus a huge pile of swag provided for free from Vroom Vroom Vroom. Not bad for a free event!
So what are you waiting for? Sign up for the Brisbane Travel Massive meetup group (or check out when events are running in your city) and come along to the next one!
About KristinI'm Kristin, a Texan born to an American father and English mother. I've been living in Australia since 2008. My first plane flight was when I was three weeks old and I've been hooked ever since. I never feel quite right unless I have a plane ticket (to anywhere, whether it's Sydney or Sweden) booked in my name. You can also find me on Twitter and Facebook.
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I'm Kristin, a Texan born to an American father and English mother. I've been living in Australia since 2008. My first plane flight was when I was three weeks old and I've been hooked ever since. I never feel quite right unless I have a plane ticket (to anywhere, whether it's Sydney or Sweden) booked in my name!
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It was just over two years ago I went to a Sydney ‘Travel Tribe’ meetup which inspired me to start one back home in Toronto. Here we are celebrating two years of meetups and I’m so amazed and proud of the community it has formed. I’ll have to make it out to a Brisbane meetup next time I visit! Cheers!
Hi Alicia — I’m so sorry that I never replied to your comment. I read it while on a trip to Europe and must have forgotten to reply since it was all pretty hectic! Anyway, I’ve heard so many good things about Toronto Travel Massive. It sounds like you guys have an amazing community and I’d love to make it to one of your meetups if I’m ever in that neck of the woods. And we’d definitely love to have you at Brisbane Travel Massive anytime you’re in town!
Does it matter if you aren’t a travel blogger?
Deb
Hi Deb — I’m so sorry that I never replied to your comment. I read it while on my European trip and must have forgotten to reply since it was all pretty hectic!
Anyway, I know you’re up in Hervey Bay now and it would be more difficult to make it down to Brisbane — but non-travel bloggers (and non-travel-industry people in general) are definitely welcome! The more the merrier
I have never heard of this before. Sounds like a lot of fun and a great way to meet like-minded people for those of is who have friends who don’t travel much. I will have to keep my eyes open for local events.
Hi Mandy — I’m so sorry that I never replied to your comment. I definitely read it a while ago but it must have fallen through the cracks while I was on my European trip in September.
Anyway, Travel Massive is definitely a lot of fun. I love that I can go there and chat travel without worrying about boring someone to death with yet another vacation story! What city are you in? There are so many Travel Massive meetups happening around the world now that hopefully there’s one closeby!
Thanks for sch a great plug Kristin! We’re really lucky in Brisbane to have such a great crew of people from the travel industry who love chatting about all things travel and having a few drinks. We rely on participants like you who have such enthusiasm for Travel Massive. I don’t think you’ve missed an event yet, so thanks again for everything
No worries Kirsty! I think I missed an event or two at the beginning because of my crazy work schedule last year but I’ve tried to make it to all of them since then. Really looking forward to the Christmas event next Friday — and is it sad that it’ll be the first time I’ve ever gone to the Normanby? I’ve probably made up for that with all the time I’ve spent at the RE though…
Hear hear! We are about to celebrate our 2 year anniversary in San Francisco this Thursday. It has been such a fantastic addition to the travel event world in the bay area for all the above reasons. So proud to be a part of this community. Hoping to make it to the Brissy one someday! Cheers.
Hi Lauren — I’m so sorry that I never replied to your comment. I read it while on my European trip and must have forgotten to reply since it was a pretty insane trip!
I’ve heard great things about the San Francisco group too. I actually tend to fly through SF on my way back to Australia from Texas so maybe I’ll have to line it up with a Travel Massive meetup next time! It really is a great community to be part of and I’m so glad that Kirsty finally founded one in Brisbane. I was feeling a bit jealous reading tweets from everyone in SF, Sydney, and Toronto!
You should definitely make it out to the Brissy one someday. We’d love to see you!
I went along to the Toronto one whilst I was there for their Summer, and had such a great night meeting people. And being in the room with some very famous Travel Bloggers – pretty cool!
I am really looking forward to getting involved with the Melbourne one now that I am home….
Hi Tash -— I’m so sorry that I never replied to your comment. I saw it when you posted it, but it was right at the beginning of the madness that was TBEX and my reply seems to have slipped through the cracks!
That’s so cool that you got to go to Travel Massive in Toronto. I’ve heard so many good things about it, and there seems to be a really large group of travel bloggers that goes there regularly. It’s awesome that you got to meet them, and hopefully you’ve been able to keep in touch. Do you think you’ll get to go back to Toronto next year for TBEX?
I hope you’ve been able to get involved with the Melbourne Travel Massive in the last few months! I’ll be down there in January although it will be for a pretty short time, but I’ll have to look you guys up and see if, on the off chance, anything is happening. And you’re always welcome at the Brissy one as well!