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This past weekend, approximately 40 family travel writers and bloggers (including myself) gathered at the Omni Berkshire Hotel in New York City to participate in the inaugural Family Travel Conference. The two-day conference was hosted by Kim Orlando (TravelingMom.com), Kyle McCarthy (FamilyTravelForum.com) and Eileen Ogintz (TakingtheKids.com) and it was produced by JoAnne Vero (Travel Media Showcase). Due to the intimate size of the group, the attendees not only learned from family travel experts but also were able to network with one another at this “hands-on” gathering.

Focused exclusively on the family travel market, FTC was presented to potential attendees as a “conference that is half education, half press trip and all fun. We’ll learn some things, get to know our sponsors, see the sites of NYC and take in a Broadway show.” It ended up being all of that and more. The Friday workshops focused on better travel writing and monetizing content. Later in the evening, attendees learned some twitter tips and participated in a mini twitter party in the midst of a cocktail reception and dinner where the Orlando destination was highlighted. On Saturday, the focus was on videos, the future of travel coverage. After learning some practical tips, the writers were split up into pre-assigned groups to perform video interviews of various Omni roles (doormen, housekeeping, chef, general manager). After a hands-on travel video workshop where help was available for participants to turn their footage into a final video, the conference officially ended at a special Virgil’s lunch. (Attendees had the option of extending their stay for an additional night to enjoy a Broadway show and to use their New York Passes to explore the city.)

Two aspects made this conference stand out in the sea of conferences that are held for women bloggers every year. First, each conference participant had the option of bringing one child to experience the city and to participate in the Saturday portion of the conference. Secondly, there was no fee to attend the conference for the invited participants. The conference, meals and lodging were provided by the conference sponsors who obviously value the family travel market. As Kim Orlando noted, “FTC is important because family travel has come of age. Over 100 million trips include kids each year. Family travel is a broad term that can include friends, blended families, grand kids, college kids and multiple generations. There is still a lot to be done to make the family vacation a great experience and as travel writers, we can promote change and really make a difference.” It makes sense that the conference sponsors would want to tap into this lucrative market.

What do you think about such conferences? Are intimate, invitation only conferences geared towards niche bloggers the wave of the future? Are conference attendees as guests of the sponsors (who want the writers and bloggers to both learn more about them as well as more about their craft) a positive thing? While there are pros and cons, I think that this is a positive thing when done in the spirit of overall community growth. In any event, I was impressed by the first-ever Family Travel Conference. I learned a lot and enjoyed including my son in Saturday’s events.

{Post image courtesy of Family Travel Conference}