Travel Networking Around the World

AdventureDrinks August 2012 at the Punchdown in Oakland

Although we live in a digital age, personal connections are more important than ever. Out of the hundreds of people you email for work, how many have you actually met? Once you meet in person, the impression is much stronger. Networking is a great skill to have, no matter what industry you are in.

Throughout 2012, the Go Overseas team have become regulars at local Bay Area travel meet ups. These events are a great way to connect with other travelers in the area. From industry leaders like Lonely Planet to travel bloggers/writers to travel startups and more, you're sure to find a fun crowd at a travel meet up.

Travel Meet Ups in the Bay Area:

• Travel Massive is just one great example of a travel group that has events in 27 cities all over the world. This global group started to connect local people in the travel space. Travel Massive is free and open to anyone in the travel industry. Anyone interested in starting their own Travel Massive event should look into bringing the largest global travel networking group to your town!
• AdventureDrinks is a monthly meet up for those in the adventure and outdoor travel industry. This casual meet up is a great way to chat with other travel professionals with similar interests. AdventureDrinks currently hosts meet ups in the Bay Area, Seattle, Boulder, and Washington DC. AdventureDrinks is also connected with the Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA). Contact the organizers about starting an AdventureDrinks meet up in your city!
• LinkedIn groups: No matter what industry you're in, there are sure to be several LinkedIn groups that will help you connect with your peers. The Travel Tech LinkedIn group recently hosted one of the classiest networking events that Go Overseas has seen in San Francisco, hosted by our friends at Room 77. Other great LinkedIn groups for travel professionals include: Volunteer Global, Education Abroad Professionals, and Travel Bloggers.

Jetpac Travel Trivia Night in San Francisco, August 2012
• Meetup.com is a very popular website for creating local networking groups. Easy to use and organize your own groups on, Meetup is great for finding and creating events. Whether you want a casual social or exercising group or you want to network professionally, you're sure to find a number of groups and events that are right for you. For example, our friends at Jetpac are putting on monthly Travel Trivia nights in San Francisco and New York.

By attending a variety of travel-related professional events, the Go Overseas team has made some great connections. We are lucky to be in the Bay Area with so many other blossoming travel businesses. From big names like Couchsurfing, Hipmunk and the SF Chronicle travel section, to awesome start-ups Triptrotting and Gogobot, to travel program providers and hotel search engines, we look forward to continuing to meet others with a passion for travel.

Building these relationships, whether it's online or offline at an event or conference, is great for business as well as personal professional development. We've made some great friends and met people from all over the world working in different areass of the travel industry. It's also a great way to stay connected with what's going on in the industry. Go Overseas even plans to host an upcoming Travel Massive event at our beautiful offices in downtown Berkeley.

What networking experience do you have? Have you been to any cool travel meet ups?

Photos courtesy of Cathrine Lindblom Gunasekara, Jetpac App Team