Hundreds of travel influencers are taking over Richmond this week
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If this sign were still around, we'd see it a lot on socials this week. Photo: Courtesy of Richmond Region Tourism
Hundreds of travel content creators from across the globe converge on Richmond this week for the world's largest trade conference of travel influencers.
Why it matters: Locals can expect to see a lot #travel #content about #RVA popping up in their feeds this week and possibly beyond.
State of play: TBEX North America 2026 (or #TBEX if you prefer) will be at the Richmond Convention Center Tuesday, June 23- Friday, June 26 the result of years of work by Richmond Region Tourism to land the coveted group here, per a news release.
- While much of the conference will take place inside, attendees are also expected to see the local sights — and share their experiences on their socials, blogs, podcasts and YouTube channels.
Fun fact: Some attendees arrived early and have already found lots to love in Richmond restaurants, historic sites, fitness studios and boat rides.
Zoom in: Richmond tourism started working to bring the conference to town in 2022, but a few things happened that helped them secure TBEX for this year, per a news release:
- America's 250th anniversary and Richmond's role in its commemoration.
- The newish Tourism Improvement District — that's the 2% fee that visitors pay on hotel stays since 2023 — which helps fund tourism initiatives like landing big conferences.
- And Bill Martin, the longtime director of the Valentine museum who was killed by a driver while crossing the street in December.
Heartwarming moment: TBEX organizers were doing a site visit at Quirk Hotel in September 2023 as part of their selection process when Martin happened to walk into the lobby, per Richmond tourism.
- Martin being Martin jumped into the conversation and shared why Richmond would be the "ideal host destination."
- His surprise pitch turned out to be key to closing the deal, per Richmond tourism, and his contribution to the region's successful bid will always be part of the the story.
What we're watching: For legions of travel influencers taking over the city for the next few days.
- They should be posting under the event hashtag #TBEXRichmondVA, a spokesperson for Richmond tourism tells Axios.