Q & A with John Golicz, the founder of theTravel & Adventure Show

The Chicago Travel & Adventure show is coming to the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont January 23-24, 2016.  I had the chance to do a Q & A with John Golicz the founder of the Travel & Adventure show series to find out just what a visitor could gain by attending.

“There will be about 400 different exhibitors with multiple booths,” Golicz said.  He added that theses booths will be staffed by 1500 experienced local and international experts that fly into Chicago to help visitors plan their vacation.

Because they represent areas where they live or are experts on Golicz said, “They understand the destination and can provide information you can’t hear anywhere else.”

Chicago is just one of seven shows that take place during the first quarter of the year. When I interviewed John Golicz, he was in Las Angeles.  There are travels shows in Chicago, Dallas, Washington D.C., the San Francisco Bay area and Philadelpia.

I was curious how the Travel & Adventure shows began.  Golicz said, “About 14 years ago I had been doing business to business events for years.  I love to travel and I am a boating enthusiast.  I looked for a travel show and couldn’t find one.”

When Golicz could not find a travel show to answer his questions about the best places to go and how to get there and where to stay, he decided to provide his own.  “The first show was in New York,” he said.  “26,000 people came and it was 5 below zero.  It was very exciting.”

When so many people came out for the first show in all types of weather, Golicz knew he had a winner and the upcoming Chicago show may be just what you need to find your special destination in the upcoming year.  Golicz said over time the exhibitors have become friends and going to the shows is like old home week.  He looks forward to welcoming visitors to the Chicago show where they can learn details of the places they may have imagined, or find out about places they had never thought about.

The travel shows are very successful.  “About 74% of those attending will find a trip and book it within a month and they keep coming back,” Golicz said about the success of the shows.

Along with exhibitors and tourist boards ready to provide details of their destinations, there will also be speakers.  Many of the speakers are celebrities, authors of guide books or the family that travel like nomads around the world.  There is music, a tasting with chefs cooking and serving and travel tips to top it all off.

Before heading out to a show head to the website http://travelshows.com/shows/chicago and explore it because Golicz warned the show goes very quickly and you want to plan your time wisely.  “You can download the app if your want,” Golicz shared.  “Plan your day, wear comfy shoes and travel the world.”

That is what I plan to do, maybe I will see you there!