Skift Take
We'd love to see a travel show that combines technology with and an approach to the subject that says 2014 and beyond rather than "is it still the 1990s?"
On an overcast Sunday, at least 30 people stood in line at New York City’s Javits Center waiting to buy tickets to the annual New York Times Travel Show.
The consumers, separated from the exhibitors and press also present throughout the three-day event, paid $17 a person to walk rows of stands representing destinations from Curacao and Azerbaijan.
We were curious about the personal reasons that drove people from New Jersey, Long Island, and New York City to the convention center. So we asked randomly selected consumers walking the floor, “Why did you come to the show today?”
Some people walked alone, some with spouses, and some with their children. Most had traveled before and all wanted to find or learn more about new destinations. Many reported finding what they come for.
Nine responses from randomly selected consumers at the New York Times Travel Show are included below:
Middle-aged couple bags full of pamphlets: “My husband and I are probably going to be retiring in the next year or two. And we already started our travel bucket list. We figured this was a place to come and get information on all those places that we want to see, hopefully in the very near future.”
Teenage girl standing with her father: “I like travel and want to find new places…I would love to go to Australia, South Africa, or Cuba.”
Young man with a large camera around his neck: “I came to New York from China last September and in that time I’ve traveled to many places within New York and some national parks like the Great Smoky Mountains. I like to travel, I like the beautiful scenes, places. This is why I came here, to find more places.”
Middle-aged man standing next to his wife with a clipboard: “We are trying to solicit donations for a fundraiser.”
Couple in their 30s: “My wife and I are big travelers. We’re always looking to see what’s the next big trip we want to do. We figured this is the best way to get everything in front of us all at once. We came specifically to find out more about Uganda and the silverback gorilla tours, because that’s hard to find at certain travel agencies.”
Group of three friends, in their 20s: “To try and win free stuff. We haven’t won anything, but our friends have won a couple of vacations here.”
Woman in her 20s exploring solo: “To see what’s going on in the travel industry, because traveling changes your life. When step outside of your culture and see different cultures, different people, diversity, you learn a lot and you grow as a person. I love traveling so I want to see what’s going on at this travel show. It’s the biggest one.”
Man in his 20s standing with a friend: “To see all of the different destinations and what they have to offer. I learned about what the Bahamas has to offer.”
Man in his 40s exploring solo: “I travel frequently for business so I see a lot of different places that I might like to return to, so I’m just coming to see some places that might be offering a special deals or information. Other than that, I’m trying to explore new locations for personal travel as well.”
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