During our second #bostontravelers tweetup a couple of weeks ago the lovely Maureen, a representative of the Boston Globe Travel Show, handed out free tickets. So on Saturday Lisa and I attended.
Going to the travel show is hard because it only makes you want to go everywhere. Overall, whether I get to these places or not, there were a bunch of booths that really stood out with some creative stuff.
In no particular order, the most memorable were…
Novia Scotia. I was instantly drawn to this booth because they had tables set up with laptops where people could research their genealogy. I come from a line of Forshners that hail from Nova Scotia and the man at the booth who assisted me said he actually knows a Forshner – the world gets smaller every day. He also gave me information so I could do some more heritage digging at home.
Puerto Rico. As passersby approached this booth, they were greeted by men and women dressed in colorful suits and long flowing dresses, inviting them to hop on the dance floor to learn how to salsa. I never danced, which I regret because I have been wanting to learn to salsa for a while now, but it definitely had tons of energy and in the end was still memorable. Also, the booth was right at the entrance so it really set the tone for the show.
Busch Gardens. They always makes a big splash. This year, among so many other animals, they also brought back the penguins! This handsome gentleman was kind enough to pose for a photo…
Thailand. A demonstration on how to make a Thai papaya salad called somtum really stood out. Right after the demo they also held a salad making contest for attendees. It drew a lot of people and we unfortunately weren’t able to weasel our way in, but we did get to try a sample.
Ingredients include lime, green papaya, fresh bird chili, dried small shrimp, roasted peanuts, fish sauce, palm sugar, plum tomato, long bean and garlic. It also calls for a mortar and pestle.
The end result was delicious, healthy and very spicy.
AFAR Magazine. A new travel magazine that aims to convey “experiential travel” – a more authentic travel experience. Their booth was memorable because they were just plain nice. They were also eager to find out where our next adventure would be and anxious to offer whatever advice they could. They were handing out their current issue, which I have only had time to skim, but at first glance it looks promising. In fact, there is an article about the experiences of a woman from San Angel, Mexico, who works at a nonprofit that advises governments on economic, gender equality and human rights issues that I can’t wait to read.
Now I have remnants of the show spilling out of a plastic bag in my living room that I still have to sort through. I’m hoping I can find ideas and deals for my upcoming trip to Mexico for a friend’s destination wedding in July.
I’ve never attended a travel show
lucky you! I imagine the travel bug will bite me if I ever attend one hehe I love thai papaya salad btw. They sell it everywhere in little street carts in thailand. I wanna gooo again 
Oh, they would have had me hook, line and sinker with the penguins!!!!!!!!! Ahhhhh so cute!
Novia Scotia sounds like fun! They make a good tourism sales pitch at the Boston Christmas tree lighting every year.
you also might have remnants of my bag too…
…i’m not sure if i have it or if you grabbed it?
My ex-husband was Thai and my mother-in-law used to sit around with her girlfriends once a week making a ton of papaya salad, I profited from that OFTEN! Love the stuff! Just started reading AFAR myself, love the last issue which had an article on the Swiss wine industry, my old office used to be right next door! Your event sounds fun, and I know EXACTLY what you mean about it just making you want to visit MORE places!
Bummer, I missed the AFAR booth, it sounds like something I’d read. Didn’t you see the guy dressed like Jesus who was trying to get people to go to a religious theme park in Florida? That was my most memorable booth.
There were also some people outside handing out fliers warning people not to go to Mexico on vacation. The fliers had pictures of a bunch of people and boldly stated “These people did one thing that they weren’t planning on…they died!” Really creepy stuff there.
Sounds like such a fun event!!! I started following Afar on Twitter 2 weeks ago…next time I’m @ B&N I wanta check the mag out.
Love the Nova scotia idea!! Beautiful place too! And Thailand will always have a special place in my heart!!