The rise of the Tweetup

Tweetups are a great way to meet fellow travellers

Definition of a Tweetup: A tweetup is when a group of people who have spoken via Twitter or social networking sites meet in person. It isn’t as creepy as it sounds, we promise!
If the words ‘tweetup’ or ‘internet-meetup’ make you cringe and conjure images of geeky teenagers gossiping about World of Warcraft then you wouldn’t be alone.
It’s true that there was once something nerdy about meeting friends on the internet through chat rooms, forums and twitter and it would be even nerdier (that’s a word, right?) to meet them in ‘real-life’. But times are changing and these once geeky encounters are starting to become the norm.
We’re seeing more and more people using the gapyear.com message boards to find travel mates and meet up with them before they leave or while they’re away.
It can be scary arriving in a new country where you don’t know anyone so arranging to meet people before hand is a great way to ease those pre-travel nerves and make sure you’ve got a travel buddy once you arrive. Even if you don’t travel together, it can be nice to meet in person and swap travel stories, tips and advice.
Tweetups within the travel industry are also on the rise and we attended #Travtweetup last night, organised by our friends RTW Experts and G Adventures. This was a chance for travel writers, journalists and bloggers to get together and share their experiences.
If you’re on Twitter, you can take a look at the #Travtweetup hashtag stream to see all the news and photos from the night. Hashtags are used to categorise tweets and makes it easier to search for topics on Twitter.
There were great giveaways including and 8 day trip from LA to San Francisco with G Adventures, £750 towards flights from Round the World Experts and everyone who attended received a £100 gift voucher for Round the World Experts. Not bad for an evening of meeting new people, networking and chatting about what we all love the most; travel.
If you’re planning a gap year and you want to find people to travel with or you just want to meet up with like-minded travel obsessives to chat about your plans then get on the message boards and say hello.
Have any of you met travel buddies through the internet? If you have, we’d love to hear your stories.

Comments

What’s Hot in the 2014 Luxe Report?

Every year Virtuoso polls its travel advisors on where their clients are going now – and what styles of travel are popular. The result is the Virtuoso Luxe Report, which forecasts the latest luxury travel destinations and trends and offers insights into the patterns and decisions of the world’s wealthiest travelers. In 2014, multigenerational family travel maintained its stronghold as the top trend. But this year’s Luxe Report shows active and adventure travel as a dominant trend predicted for all travelers – families, couples, honeymooners, retirees – especially in more exotic destinations. Other Luxe Report highlights:

How These 9 Qualities Shape Generation X Travel Choices

Generation X has money to spend on vacations, but tends to stay close to home The travel choices Baby Boomers make have attracted interest for decades. And their children – the Millennials – are an influential new force in travel. But what about the generation sandwiched between them: Generation X travel preferences? Age ranges vary, but typically Gen X was born between 1965 and 1982. They’re about 25 percent of the U.S. population – some 68 million strong. They’re established in their careers, and MMGY Global reports that 61 percent have children at home. They’re paying off mortgages and other debt, and saving for college educations for the kids and retirement for themselves. How do these factors and more influence Generation X travel? Read on for these 9 factors that shape how Gen Xers choose to vacation.

Cities to visit for your first time in Europe

Planning your first time in Europe is an out of body experience. There is so much history, culture and art to explore that it can be overwhelming. But there are a few destinations that really stand out for first-time visitors. I should know, I’ve had my fair share of visits to the continent! And if you find yourself visiting for the first time, these are the cities you absolutely can’t miss. Your first time in Europe If you are booking your first trip to Europe , you might be feeling overwhelmed by the choices. That’s totally normal! After all, there is so many great cities and countries on offer. My first piece of advice to first time travellers visiting Europe would be to choose less destinations and spend more time in them. This is the kind of continent where slower is better. There’s hardly a point in visiting Paris if you stop over for only a day. The capital cities of Europe are so filled with history and culture that you need at least a f...

Vacation packages for family

Search This Blog