My Vintage Journeys: LIFE'S A TRIP! 2017 TRAVEL & ADVENTURE SHOW

Friday, March 10, 2017

LIFE'S A TRIP! 2017 TRAVEL & ADVENTURE SHOW – SAN DIEGO

The 4^th Annual San Diego Travel & Adventure Show, held in March 2017, was the place to go for inspiration, insight, and expert information. With over 140 exhibits, four travel stages, and a global beats music stage, deciding where to spend your time will be the challenge. I usually grab a coffee and sit at one of the travel theaters to enjoy and learn from the most popular travel gurus around. They share their travel expertise in an entertaining way. I always leave with new ideas and inspiration to keep on traveling.

One of the most popular speakers is Phil Keoghan, Host/Co-Executive Producer of the Amazing Race and author of No Opportunity Wasted—a book that aims to inspire people to break through their boundaries, challenge themselves and live a fuller life.

He always has something new and exciting going on, and this year it was his new documentary Le Ride. In order to produce the film, Phil and his friend Ben Cornell, actually road the 1928 Tour de France route on 1928 bicycles with no gears. The two men biked an average of 150 miles per day. The film is a tribute to the first English-speaking cycling team of four, an underfunded and untested team from New Zealand and Australia that finished in 28^th place. The 3,338 mile tour was the toughest in history with only 25% of the participants finishing the race. The film is slated to be screened at the Palm Springs American Documentary Film Festival, March 31-April 5, 2017. It is currently showing in New Zealand and will be in the US later this year. Phil's best quote: “Focus on what's right, not wrong.”

Emmy Award-winning investigative reporter, producer and CBS news travel editor, Peter Greenberg, flies 400,000 miles a year. He is not shy about speaking up when the airlines, hotels, and others treat the public unfairly. As usual he had a lot to say about what's going on in the industry. Most importantly, he emphasized that it is a good time to be traveling, and it should be a global buyers' market through the end of the year. The value of the US dollar has improved, making it more expensive for those overseas to travel.

Because 2016 was a boom year for travel, more start-up airlines offered cheap flights from cities like San Diego that are not major hubs. He mentioned Edelweiss Airlines, WOW Airlines, and Norwegian Shuttle. The big consideration here is that you check the costs for extras like checked luggage and carry on bags.

One of my favorite travel bloggers is Johnny Jet, whom I have been following for at least a dozen years. He always has great tips on his website for finding cheap flights. He shared a story about his first job out of college, when he was a college recruiter and needed to travel a lot for work. He began learning all the tricks to finding the cheapest airfares, which he then shared with his fellow recruiters. Eventually, this evolved into a blog that allowed him to travel and write full time.

Another great reason for attending the travel show is to meet travel planners and locals from countries that you might be traveling to. That's why we headed over to meet Robert Hill, owner of Downunderguru, who was an exhibitor. He also gave an informative presentation: “What's on Down Under: Travel Worthy Events in Australia and New Zealand in 2017-18.” Fortunately, we found out that the 2017 Rugby League World Cup takes place in New Zealand at the same time we will be there. This will make travel bookings more difficult. I started early making my hotel bookings, but this bit of information will make me even more diligent.

Oh, yes, there were camel rides available to everyone this year at the travel show. I'm still bit a irritated that I didn't take advantage of the ride because the lines were long.