The North American Travel Journalists Association (NATJA) will be holding its 8th Annual Conference at the Atlantis Casino Resort Spa in Reno, NV from May 11-14, 2010.

NATJA Conference

The NATJA conference offers a good opportunity for journalists, editors, broadcasters, and travel industry professionals to meet face-to-face and build bridges with important contacts.

You’ll also be able to attend professional business development seminars, acquire story leads, enjoy press trips before and after the conference and have fun in Reno.

Before the conference begins on May 11, a couple of days  (May 9-10) have been set aside for a Reno River Festival press trip and a photography workshop for journalists.

You’ll be taken step-by-step through the process, from shooting a destination to submitting an article, with Virginia City and Carson City as test subjects.

The focus of this year’s conference is going to be on “getting published, getting promoted and getting paid.” Since that doesn’t include the small bit about writing, it has to be assumed that we are now in a buyer’s market, with travel journalists in need of help getting published and adapting to the impact of new media.  

Featured speakers for the NATJA conference include:-

Peter C. Yesawich - CEO, Ypartnership
Christopher P. Baker – Cuba expert, guidebook writer and Lowell Thomas 2008 travel journalist of the year
Lee Foster – Award winning travel writer and photographer
Peter Rose – Featured NATJA journalist

You can see the full schedule here, with highlights listed below:-

Day one - May 11, begins with Peter Rose’s tips for the media on Publishing in Today’s Market, followed by a seminar on Successful Use of Social Media for CVBs. The evening’s highlight is the annual awards presentation, and a featured speech by Peter C. Yesawich, CEO Ypartnership.

Day two - May 12, offers plenty of value with seminars like Tripling the value of your work with photography and video, and Measuring the value of your PR and marketing. Christopher Baker will the featured speaker, talking about Cuba and other new markets.

Day three – May 13, has some exciting stuff lined up, including the green Marketplace where travel journalists and industry professionals can meet one-on-one, exchange information, pitch story ideas, and develop personal contacts. There’s also a seminar on Blogging and Social Networking.

May 14 & 15 are set aside for a North Lake Tahoe press trip and a video for writers workshop.  

For more details and registration info, visit http://natja.org/conference/2010/.

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