…”Hello, Yvonne“, I reach out to shake hands in introduction. The woman looks at me perplexed, expecting me to say more and then finally she says “and“. My turn to look perplexed and then we both burst out laughing, realising that we are both called Yvonne. From that moment on we were referred to as “the Yvonne’s”. We had a unique power and developed a fun friendship which one can only develop if you have the same name and are around the same age and both come from countries beginning in S – Switzerland and Sweden.
This, is exactly what visiting a travel fair is all about. It’s not about how many followers you have or how big your company is etc. What matters most is the social connections made. The connections you will cherish for years to come because you have met at a special event and you both have travel as one of your core passions.
Keep reading for more about “Milan BIT 26 – Presenting a New Approach to Travel”
Milan BIT 26 – Presenting a New Approach to Travel
BIT 26 is the 46th edition of BIT – Borsa Internazionale del Truismo (International Tourist Exchange). This is the first time I have been invited to this travel fair. Despite having visited several travel fairs in the past, experience has proven that every travel fair is different and I really had no idea what to expect…
Italians being Italians simply made me feel welcome the minute I arrived. There was plenty of delicious coffee and an endless supply of tiny cakes in the media room. Despite arriving totally unprepared the stands were all super welcoming. I had great fun walking through the array of over 1’000 exhibitors from 54 different countries.
The whole atmosphere was in line with the new BIT theme of travel starting with people. Today the role of the trade fairgoer beyond matching supply and demand to become a shared space in which all stakeholders interact to create value across the entire supply chain. This includes traditional print media as well as online content creators. One of my favourite parts of the event was the speed dating. We were all given stickers highlighting what we did – either media or content creation and then exhibiters could come to us.
Another favourite part of the trade fair was a dinner held offsite the evening before the BIT 26 officially started. It was a great way to meet other media/content creators as well as find out about a special property in a very personal relaxed way. This is where I met the other Yvonne – smile.
My take-away and future tips as a “Content Creator”
If you have the opportunity do go to the next Bit Milano.
Be prepared with your own travel pitch. Who and what you meet may be a mystery beforehand but you yourself are not!
Important in today’s world is to make a difference in whatever we do. The numbers are great but it is not about numbers, it’s about quality, authenticity, making a difference and showing results.
Most importantly – as content creators we may work on-line. However true success is only achieved by going out and meeting people off-line!
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Hi dear Yvonne thank you very much for your travel blog very interesting and it for sure makes you on to travel the world all over