Highlights from the Inaugural Millennial Travel Forum in Barbados

Barbados dominated the social media pages of some of the top Millennial agents in the field this past weekend as the first-ever Millennial Travel Forum (MTF) was hosted on the luxurious Caribbean island from December 12 - 16.

travAlliancemedia's inaugural event saw 15 Millennial travel experts tour the island of Barbados and chronicle the forum on Instagram and other social media platforms with the goal of using 'likes' and 'shares' to generate business to the forum's host destination.

Throughout the four-day affair, the advisors stayed at The House by Elegant Hotels, Treasure Beach by Elegant Hotels and the Waves Hotel & Spa by Elegant Hotel hosted the agents.

"The Millennial Travel Forum officially launched last week with the mission to create a high level of engagement between top selling agents, the destination and various suppliers," said Mark Murphy, president and CEO of travAlliancemedia. "Congratulations to the team at Barbados for recognizing the unique aspect of this event and being our first destination sponsor. These forums are about driving business from the real influencers in the travel industry: travel agents."

The Millennial agents who attended posted a slew of social media posts each day and night of the event. The advisors engaged all of their followers and created conversations around the destination and participating suppliers.

"In my business, I see purpose-driven, small group travel as a significant trend amongst Millennials," said Cathleen Richards, an advisor with Curated by Cath, an affiliate of SmartFlyer. "Thanks to the structure of the forum, we not only discussed this trend, we participated in it as well."

In fact, some advisors reported business leads before they even left Barbados.

"There was such engagement, such gracious guests and a whirlwind of insightful feedback," said Petra Roach, U.S. director for the Barbados Tourism Marketing, Inc. (BTMI). "Millennials represent the consumer market of the future, so it is imperative to build authority to win with that market, especially in a completely digitally-integrated world. And we've now got 15 of the best to help us do that. Who better to influence Millennials than Millennials themselves?"

Social media video capsules, captured from each participant, took the social media exposure to an entirely new level by personalizing and creating stories around the agent's experience on location.

"These top Millennial minds in travel, who were active the entire time using #MTFBarbados on their various social media channels, shared their insights and showcased the destination and participating suppliers to tens of thousands of followers," said Murphy. "travAlliancemedia amplified those posts across hundreds of thousands of followers across our various brands, creating significant interest in travel to Barbados, not just 'likes' and 'shares.' In the days, weeks and months ahead, you'll see plenty more on Barbados, including custom video content shot on location, featured editorials and additional insights from those in attendance."

This first-person perspective has significant value during and after the visit because they are not only professionally shot on location by travAlliancemedia's video production company, but pieces are also shared on location, using a 4th wall camera approach.

"To start with, the entire experience has been documented with a professional film crew which will allow us to professionally market the destination, activities and hotels for months to come," said Daniela Harrison, an advisor with Avenues of the World Travel in Flagstaff, Arizona.

The Tamarind by Elegant Hotels was the site of the forum's main event, a filmed roundtable discussion to run live on Facebook. Agents took turns sharing the best piece of advice for selling Barbados based on what they had just experienced.

"I love having the opportunity to meet with local tourism leaders to discuss the best ways to attract the luxury LGBTQ clientele and MTF Barbados did just that," said Michael Shane Stephens, Curated Global Travel. "We had the opportunity to experience the local culture first-hand and know that they are starting to make the right moves to welcome the international LGBTQ community with open arms."

If you were unable to join the discussion live, click on the video below to see what you missed.

The event officially kicked off with a welcoming dinner at Treasure Beach hotel's new Tapestry Restaurant, where chef Javon Cummins served up everything from a delicious pork belly to fresh clams. The following morning, the agents immersed themselves in Barbados' history and culture by visiting the home where George Washington stayed as part of his only trip outside of what is now known as the mainland U.S.; touring one of the Caribbean's oldest synagogues and, of course, dining at some of Barbados' best and hottest restaurants.

"The itinerary was structured as if we were traveling as a group of friends, not as travel advisors," said Harrison. "It actually allowed us to experience the destination as our clients will experience it, therefore, giving us more insight into all Barbados has to offer, and the diverse areas of interest the destination can support.

"Lastly, the trip structure allowed us to not only network with each other, but to really brainstorm ideas, talk about problem areas we're facing back in the office and motivating each other for a great end of the year push in sales. It truly combined the best components of a conference, a fam trip and a destination immersion. I can't wait for the next one."

The event's first official lunch introduced the advisors to La Cabane, a new, beach bar and restaurant that opened on Batts Rock beach on the West Coast that opened about three months ago and offers a chill, rustic, beach vibe steps away from the water. Although La Cabane, and Barbados in general, offers so much more than just seafood, this is definitely a place where the grilled lobster tails are a must.

On Friday morning, it was time to showcase one of Barbados' many sports tourism offerings. The advisors made their way to Bushy Park Barbados, a leading circuit-racing facility in the English-speaking Caribbean. Advisors took part in go-kart races to get the adrenaline pumping for another day of site seeing.

For a chic, sexy, beach club experience, advisors took part in a post-roundtable celebration on Saturday afternoon at the new Nikki Beach Barbados. Following Nikki Beach, the final dinner of the forum was held at Sea Breeze Beach House on the deck, overlooking the ocean.

Other notable meals during the forum included a dinner set to the music of a live violinist at The Waves; a sunset dinner on Seaduced Luxury Catamaran and a live cooking demonstration by Damian Leach, the head chef and co-owner of Cocktail Kitchen, which offers dining on the rooftop and main floor patios overlooking the energetic St. Lawrence Gap.

The Millennial advisors ventured to scenic Bathsheba on the Atlantic Coastline to sample delicious bites from Leach's kitchen. The agents moved onto Catch 22 restaurant, where owner Terrance Haynes served up some treats with picturesque St. Lucy serving as the backdrop.

Other trip highlights included a stop to iconic, luxury resort, Sandy Lane Hotel, and a tour of St. Nicholas Abbey for a history lesson before tasting some of the best rum on the island.

"I'm certain all of the advisors would agree that we proved the model - by traveling together with like-minded colleagues, we gained so much more from our Barbados experience than we could ever have anticipated beforehand," said Richards. "I consider myself very lucky to be one of the advisors chosen to participate in the inaugural forum. I came away with new perspectives not only of Barbados, but of the future of the travel industry."

Follow the Agents of MTF: Barbados

If you missed it, be sure to follow all 15 Millennial agents who chronicled (and continue to post about) the event. Also, use #MTFBarbados on Instagram to check out some of the best social media postings from the four-day forum.

MTF: Barbados Agents' Instagram Handles

- Marisa Costa, AMIKO and Protravel International @marisagoesglobal/@helloamiko
- Daniela Harrison, Avenues of the World Travel @avenuesoftheworld / @traveltheworldwithdaniela
- Caitlyn Gambino, Aum Journeys @aumjourneys
- Jennifer Carr, The Tropical Travelers @tropicaltravelerjenn
- Avery Harris, Viking Travel @avery.vt
- Michael Shane Stephens, Curated Global Travel @themichaelshane
- Hannah Schremp, FROSCH @wherentheworldishannah
- Paul Stroncek, Dreamlines @travelmanager_paul
- Caroline Bracewell, Protravel, Inc. @Fivestarnomad_caroline
- Brian Moses, HE Travel @brian_moses
- Stephen Scott, Travel Hub 365 and Protravel International @travelhub365
- Maggie Crockett, Sanders Travel Centre @onthemovewithmaggie / @magsmaggie
- Meredith Donaldson, World Citizen Trave @worldcitizentravel
- Bailie White, BE The Travel @bethetravelgram
- Cathleen Richards, SmartFlyer @curatedbycath

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