By Jenni Bridgman.
Post Christmas celebrations and indulgence, short days with little sunlight: January and early February are most people’s least favourite months. We all know that returning to work after the festivities is not easy.
But not for me – despite being faced with three consumer shows over three consecutive weeks (and weekends)! I was strangely looking forward to it. It’s one of my favourite parts of my job. I’m lucky enough to represent two incredible destinations and I can spend hours talking about why people should visit both. Couple that with thousands of visitors actually wanting to hear me talk about my clients; I’m in my element.
First up was five days in Manchester and the northern leg of Destinations. Was it going to snow, would the visitors shy away because it was threatening to snow? It did snow on the final day, but not much. Four days later I was on a plane to Dublin, a city which I have struggled to ‘get’. But with Holiday World, I found an area of the city I quite liked. Maybe it was down to the handful of lovely restaurants and cafes near the exhibition hall, or maybe it was because the visitors to the show were charming and enthusiastic!
The final stop was Destinations London, the busiest of all three shows. This is where the title doesn’t quite fit the experience because I was lucky enough to have a colleague to save my voice from disappearing completely, and step in to cover the weekend for me. I was still there to set up the booths and share my love for Utah and The Real America region over two of the four days
A shout out must also go to my fellow consumer show travellers. We may all represent different destinations, but we’re on the road together. We’re tired together. We laugh together. We share stories together. And most of all we share each other’s company; on flights, trains and during the evening. The people I work with, within KBC and the industry, are one of the reasons I love my job (gush!).
Don’t get me wrong. I always enjoy returning home and snuggling up on my sofa with a nice cup of tea when the shows are over. But I’m already looking forward to next January!