Conference brings greater than 400 journey writers to Chattanooga

The common attendee at a convention on the Chattanoogan Hotel this weekend has within the vary of fifty,000 and 100,000 followers on social media, in response to estimates from one of many organizers.

Across Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest and emailed newsletters, that is probably lots of eyeballs centered on the Scenic City in a brief time period, and native tourism officers hope it would translate to extra guests and extra native spending. That’s all whereas the organizers of the occasion — known as the Women in Travel Conference — goal to foster workforce improvement alternatives for girls within the trade.

“We bring hundreds of creators together,” Beth Santos, the founder and CEO of the corporate Wanderful, mentioned in an interview. “They share their stories. They grow their businesses. These are real businesses with a real economic impact.”

Wanderful, which produces the annual convention, began as a weblog in 2009 when Santos was dwelling in São Tomé and Príncipe, a small nation off the West Coast of Africa. She was educating center faculty college students about computer systems in Portuguese and writing about her journey experiences. In 2014, she and some different writers determined to plan a convention in Chicago, the place she lived on the time. It attracted about 180 attendees from 10 nations.

“That was just so far beyond the scope of what we expected,” Santos mentioned. “We actually had only booked space for 100 people because we thought that was the max we could ever possibly do. I think it was in that moment we realized something was brewing.”

About 10 years on, the convention now chooses a special location yearly, and in 2025, it hosted the occasion in New York City, which attracted its largest turnout but of about 600 folks. About 475 persons are taking part within the summit this weekend in Chattanooga.

Santos mentioned the convention gives networking alternatives for attendees, and it helps shine a highlight on the optimistic contributions of the trade. Content creation is not all the time on the best path, she mentioned — it might probably get overly transactional, and girls within the trade are sometimes paid lower than males regardless of encompassing a large portion of the sector.

“A lot of people have a bad taste in their mouth when they hear the word influencer, but there’s also another side of this,” Santos mentioned. “There is a really cool grassroots, real authentic side of creation where you are being your whole self, and you’re doing that in a way that helps other people be seen. And especially when it comes to DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) — when it comes to people who have been kind of shut out from the travel industry.”

About a 3rd of the attendees this yr reside inside driving distance, Santos mentioned. Although about 10% of the individuals usually come from worldwide areas, broader political dynamics have put a damper on that quantity amid issues about restrictions on passports or visas, she mentioned.

Most folks arrive a couple of days early and join a number of excursions round city. The excursions are provided totally free in trade for content material, Santos mentioned. Attendees have taken excursions to locations just like the Chattery, Rock City and Ruby Falls, she mentioned.

“We’re asking them to post about these places,” Santos mentioned, a lot of that are small companies.

The occasion may even characteristic a “lunch around” Saturday with reservations at about 25 to 30 completely different Chattanooga eating places, Santos mentioned.

“That’s pay-as-you-go, so that’s local, economic impact for our community,” Santos mentioned.

The convention itself kicked off Friday afternoon and can characteristic a collection of talks and workshops by Sunday. Saturday night, the occasion will host its Bessie Awards ceremony, which is called in honor Bessie Coleman — the primary lady of African American and Native American descent to carry a pilot’s license.

In 2024, guests spent $1.8 billion in Hamilton County, producing about $186 million in state and native tax revenues. Without visitor-paid taxes generated by tourism, in response to tourism officers, every Hamilton County family would pay $1,232 extra in state and native taxes.

Susan Harris, the interim CEO of the Chattanooga Tourism Co., mentioned the convention will assist amplify what residents already know makes the neighborhood particular. The tourism firm does assist the group cowl internet hosting prices for the occasion, Harris mentioned. That consists of help with shuttles and excursions.

Overall, the occasion presents a tremendous storytelling alternative for the Chattanooga area, she mentioned.

“The impact is going to be far-reaching for months and potentially years,” Harris mentioned.

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Contact enterprise reporter David Floyd at [email protected] or 423-757-6249.