I recently attended my first-ever travel blogging conference, TBEX Asia 2022 held in Phuket, Thailand. Yep, that’s right – conferences for travel bloggers are a thing!
I really wasn’t sure what to expect from this type of event. It was an investment to attend, in terms of both time and money. In fact, I had umm’d and ahh’d over whether to attend or not for quite a few weeks before taking the plunge and booking my ticket.
This is my personal thoughts and reflections on my first TBEX. I’ll share my experience, some insider tips and things to consider if you are attending, as well as pro’s and con’s from my time at TBEX Asia 2022.
Keep in mind – I have been travel blogging for 2 years now and would consider myself intermediate to experienced in terms of skills for things like SEO, working with brands/DMOs and social media.
Update: I attended TBEX Europe 2023 in Kalamata, Greece! It was wonderful to reunite with my TBEX friends that I had made in Phuket, as well as meet more of the blogging community.
What is TBEX?
TBEX stands for Travel Blogger Exchange. The conferences have been running since 2009 and has grown to be an event that is (usually) held two to three times a year in each of the key regions; North America, Europe and Asia.
2023 Update: in 2024 TBEX will be making its way to Africa! I’m still hoping there will be another TBEX in Asia soon (fingers crossed for us Aussies).
TBEX Asia 2022 was the first in a couple of years due to the pandemic, and I had heard had around 300 attendees.
The attendees were mostly travel bloggers, but there were also podcasters, content creators, influencers, travel writers and other creatives in attendance.
There were people that had been blogging for 10+ years, and there were attendees who had only been blogging for a few months.
There is also a strong attendance by local tourism operators, tourism boards and brands.
How Much Does it Cost to Attend TBEX?
To attend as a creator, it costs me US$347 (~A$500) for my ticket. The price of the tickets increase as it gets closer to the event, so if you are thinking of attending, it is better to sign up earlier to take advantage of early bird prices (and also to register for a fam trip, but more on that soon).
This is a significant cost for most, myself included. Plus you need to consider the cost of travel to attend and stay for the duration of the conference. TBEX facilitate reduced rates for partner hotels which helps with the cost of accommodation.
In the end, including the cost of flights and accommodation I paid around AUD $2,000. Keep on reading if you want to hear if I think it was worth the cost to attend…
What’s Included in TBEX?
It took me a while to get my head around how the conference works, and what’s included in your ticket.
Let me break it down for you, including all the need-to-know jargon.
It may differ slightly for each region, but TBEX Asia 2022 consisted of four formal days of events. (2023 Update: TBEX Europe 2023 was the same format, but the nightly events were only held on Day 2 and Day 4 – apparently it depends on the hosts of the region).
- Day 1 and 2 consisted of Pre-BEX Tours. Day 3 and 4 were the actual Conference days which included keynote presentations, break-out sessions and speed networking.
- There were also nightly events; Opening Night Party on Day 2, Evening Party on Day 3 and the Closing Party on Day 4.
- For those that had purchased tickets early enough and registered, there were also 2-day hosted FAM trips after the conference in various areas of Thailand.
Pre-BEX Tours
Pre-Bex Tours were available for all attendees. These were half-day or full day tours on offer in the local area. To sign up, it was first-come first-served. I signed up for Day 1 “Power Catamaran Maiton Island” tour with Nikorn Marine, which was snorkelling tour to a nearby island off the coast of Phuket. Day 2 was a half-day Walking Tour of Phuket Old Town with an energetic and humorous local guide, Tiwa.
Both these tours were fantastic, and everyone else I spoke to really enjoyed their respective activities / tours. They were also where I made the closest connections with fellow bloggers and creators. The tours were a great way to informally chat with everyone in the tour and get to know them better.
While this was also possible during the conference and at the nightly parties, the length and quality of conversations I was able to have on these day tours provided the best networking opportunities.
If you plan on attending, make sure you plan ahead to be in the host city to attend the Pre-BEX tours! For both the value of the activity, but for the networking connections it provides.
Conference – Presentations
After a jam-packed Day 1 and Day 2, I’d felt like I’d already been in Thailand for a week!
Then it was time for the official conference to start. Each day was similar, starting with a keynote presenter, followed by break-out sessions during the day and then speed networking sessions to close the afternoon.
I found both the keynote presenters on both days brilliant. The break-out sessions were a bit of a mixed bag – it can be hard to glean from the title and brief summary on the TBEX website what each speaker was actually going to be talking about in detail. Some sessions were fantastic, others were a little bit more basic for me.
Before going to TBEX, I had heard and read mixed opinions about the break-out sessions and quality of presenters. However, I went into the conference with the mindset of going to gain connections and build my network, not so much to build my “technical skills” from listening to presentations.
Either way, I still picked up a few ideas and nuggets from these presentations which I will implement in my business. For the sessions you don’t attend, you should be able to access them post-TBEX as they were recorded. I have a few on my list I need to watch after rave reviews from other attendees, so looking forward to being able to catch up on the few I missed.
Conference – Speed Networking
Following from the break-out sessions, each afternoon consisted of Speed Networking with local brands and tourism boards. You need to register to meet with them, you don’t just turn up, and it is all done through a platform called BloggerBridge.
Some people hadn’t seen the emails that came out about how to pre-register, or registered too late so they missed out on this.
I’ll share more details on this in my tips section below, but one key theme of TBEX is to make sure you diligently keep an eye out for all and any communication shared by the organisers – it can be a bit sporadic and shared through various channels.
I managed to sign up to BloggerBridge and get my profile set up on the platform, and then I could send out invites to connect with brands and tourism boards. Being TBEX Asia, I was hoping to see more regional tourism boards and brands, but they were solely Thailand-based companies and tourism organisations.
I had heard there is a wider attendance of regional tourism boards at TBEX Europe. Maybe because this was the first TBEX Asia post-pandemic, or maybe TBEX Asia is more localised than TBEX Europe… time will tell.
2023 Update: There was a wider range of tourism boards at TBEX Europe. It was still largely made up of Greek tourism boards, but there were representatives from other tourism boards from Hamburg (Germany) and a region in China.
Personally, I wanted to sign up and have as many speed networking appointments as possible.
Whilst my travel blog is currently focused on Australia travel, I have plans to expand my content into the Asia-Pacific region as there are many places Australians (and myself!) love to travel to like Indonesia and Thailand.
I also thought it would be a great experience in pitching myself, my brand and my blog to companies, no matter the outcome.
Speed Networking was full-on – you get 8 minutes to introduce yourself to the brand, tell them what you’re about, exchange contacts and discuss possible ways of working together. Then you have just 2 minutes to find your next appointment table and do it all over again!
See my tips below on how to make the post of your 8 minutes and what to pitch.
Evening Events
We had nightly parties, for a total of three nights. These were certainly extravagant events!
The opening night was held at the Andamanda Water Park in Phuket, with live performances, speeches, cocktail bars and an amazing Thai buffet.
The second night was hosted by Aquaria Phuket where yep, we dined alongside the marine life in this underground aquarium below a shopping mall!
The closing party was a celebration to remember, with a beach party at the Intercontinental Phuket. A marching band, cabaret show, muay thai fighters, oyster bar, fire show and free flowing sparkling were just some of the incredible things we were treated to.
I won’t sugar coat it – the days are very long at TBEX. You might be tempted to skip the evening social events but you really shouldn’t! It was a great way to meet other attendees and build relationships during the week.
Fam TRIPS
If you purchased your ticket early enough, you were able to register for Fam (short for familiarisation) trips. These trips were 2-day fully hosted trips to other regions in Thailand like Chiang Mai and Bangkok. They included all travel costs, activities and food etc so if you were able to get on a fam tour, this experience alone would more than cover the cost of your ticket.
Unfortunately, I didn’t realise there was a cut-off date and purchased my ticket 2 days too late to register for a FAM tour (the dates weren’t clear on the website). Lesson learnt for next time!
2023 Update: I managed to get onto to FAM trip post TBEX in Europe! It was a jam-packed three days, and it was an amazing experience.
Tips for Attending TBEX
Here are my key tips and learnings for those attending TBEX.
Keep an eye out for communications from the organisers. The main channel for communications was a Facebook group, which I happened to stumble upon a few days after booking my ticket.
Here the organisers shared key updates around things like fam trips, pre-bex tours, updates from the tourism organisations etc. During the actual conference, updates around lunch location and bus timings to events were shared inside this group.
It wasn’t always clear when new information was added to the TBEX website and emails were rarely sent, so this Facebook group will be your number one source of up to date information! (plus a great way to get to know some of the people that will be attending).
Stay at one of the partner hotels. Buses back from the nightly parties only stopped off at the partner hotels, and Phuket was difficult (and expensive) to get around otherwise.
Plus, TBEX get some great deals with the partner hotels. Staying at the main hotel where the conference is is also beneficial to maximise the very small amount of downtime you had each day in between the end of the conference and the time to get on the buses to go to the nightly parties.
I was staying at a partner hotel a 10 minute walk away from the main conference hotel where the buses left from and was always rushing to and from the venues in the steamy, humid Phuket temperatures which didn’t help!
Attend all the events. One of the biggest benefits is the connections you make and networks you build. Don’t skip any of the events, no matter how tired you are!
Speed networking preparation. Take a screenshot of your speed networking schedule. Find a floor plan and takes notes of where all your meetings will be so you don’t miss out on valuable time looking for your next meeting. I took a photo of the seating plan and drew up where I needed to be each time!
Have your pitch ready. Speed networking is not meant to be about learning what an organisation or brand does. Do your research before hand, and go into the meeting prepared to introduce yourself and do your elevator pitch.
Have supplies. Take a reusable water bottle with you, you’ll need it for all the talking you’ll be doing. Make sure you have plenty of business cards on hand too.
Dress to impress. Business casual, with emphasis on the casual in Phuket seemed to be the dress code. Still, dress respectfully as you are meeting people from different cultures and backgrounds, and you are representing your brand.
Plan what break-out sessions will bring you the most value to see live. The rest of the sessions are recorded so you can always go back and watch other sessions which sound attractive. Prioritise those that you think will be most beneficial attending in person (e.g. if you want to meet a certain presenter, or ask questions).
Tips for Speed Networking and Sharing Your Pitch
In just 8 minutes, you need to share your elevator pitch and explore options of how you can work with brands. Here are some tips on how to make the most of this time.
- Introduce yourself, exchange business cards.
- Share your elevator pitch. Be clear on who you are, what you do, who your audience is, what makes you unique from every other speed networking appointment the brand has, what can you bring to the table.
- Spend 2 minutes max on your intro/pitch, explaining your brand and outlining the above points
- Allow time for the tourism board/ brand to explain their position of how and when they work with bloggers etc – or ask them specifically if they don’t naturally start to talk to this.
- Make sure you know your stats – whether this is social media impressions, audience demographics, blog sessions/ page views etc.
- The rest of the time (if you have any) will be an interactive conversation
If you aren’t able to secure a speed networking appointment with a brand, you can usually find them at their designated table during other parts of the day.
You can skip out on a break-out session and see if you can find them to have a chat outside of the formal speed networking time.
Was it Worth Attending TBEX?
In summary, it was an eye-opening, inspiring and jam-packed 4 days.
I think it was definitely worth it for me attending the conference. The connections I made and ideas I gained from conversations were so worthwhile. How often do you get to connect with like-minded travellers that for most of them, do this crazy thing called blogging and content creation full-time?!!
Connections
In particular, I was grateful to connect with a lovely group of fellow Australian bloggers, like Melissa from Thrifty Family Travels, Paula from Truly Expat and Tracy from Tracy Travels.
I also got to meet Sharon from Digital Nomad Wannabe who was a presenter at TBEX Asia. I’ve been a member of her Facebook group since the early days of my blogging journey. I’ve also purchased her blogging and SEO courses previously so it was fantastic to watch her present live (and a really motivating presentation it was too!)
Sessions
To be frank, some of the break-out sessions were average, but others were brilliant. It can be a bit of a mixed bag, but I was prepared for that going in so my expectations were set.
Besides, so much of the benefits of TBEX happens outside the day of the conference, like during the pre-BEX tours and the nightly events!
Summary
I felt like I really expanded my horizons and perceptions, and felt myself growing as a traveller and a blogger. For me, having just stepped into doing this full-time, attending TBEX was exactly the burst of motivation and inspiration I needed to jump start my transition into blogging full-time.
As someone who likes to plan ahead and have all the information, it was frustrating at times to feel like you had no idea what was going on, in part due to the patchy and random communication from the organisers in the lead up to the event.
For example, I didn’t even get a confirmation email when I purchased my ticket… let alone receive instructions on what was next. It could have been as simple as hey, please go join the Facebook group since that’s where all the information is being shared!.
However, the actual event ran really smoothly, and it was clear there was a lot of work put in by the organisers to make it so .
Will I attend TBEX again? Definitely. I have my eye on TBEX Europe 2023, and maybe some grander plans in the works for the next TBEX Asia event…. Watch this space!
Final Thoughts
I hope this review gives you some insights into what TBEX is about, and what to expect. Not to mention provide some useful tips for you if you are considering attending, or are attending as a first-timer like me! Let me know in the comments below if you have any questions or further thoughts.
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It was fabulous to meet you at TBex Asia, this is a great summary.
Like you I gained tremendous motivation from meeting others in our field, developing my skills, & through invitations received to partner with brands.
I have also attend WTM London (Oct 2021) & IMM London (March 2022), all gave me the same excitement for our industry and motivation to improve. What was special about TBex Asia was the sense of community, I can see why people return time and time again. See you at a future event somewhere!
Great to meet you too! Amazing, I hope to attend WTM London one of these days soon!
Ok! Now this article makes me really want to go ! Definitely need to look out for where and when is the next one. Thanks for sharing Tess.
Thank you for an informative blog Tess! I’m really excited for TBEX Europe 2023 and hope to see you there! 🤗
Oh this is such an informative article, I wish I had something like this before I went on my first trip. It is always such an added bonus meeting people like you and Dane! xx