If you’re a conference-goer of any sort, you won’t need me to tell you that this is a busy time of year to be trekking from city to city, and either peddling your wares or taking in the sessions specific to your industry. The same can be said for the travel industry and as a result, I found myself at two back to back summits.

I shared a bit with you last #traveltuesday about my visit to Vegas for the EyeforTravel Travel Distribution Summit, and now I want to bring you closer to home: MY home.

From the glitz and glam of the Vegas strip to the serenity of the Halifax Harbor and East Coast musicians busking on the waterfront, it was lovely to be ‘home.’ If you have never visited Atlantic Canada, I suggest adding it to your bucket list. The hospitality of the East Coast is unlike any you will find elsewhere (maybe I’m a little biased). I appreciate the beauty and the wonder that Atlantic Canada has to offer and was thrilled at the opportunity to head just next door to Halifax, Nova Scotia for the Altitudes East conference.

Altitudes East was a fantastic congregation of aviation industry folks from airlines, airports, tourism boards, governments and more. Dr. Mario Iacobacci of AECOM kicked off the conference by sharing on Air Travel in multimodal systems and discussed the benefits of mobility hubs within an airport. Until this keynote session, I had not considered the conditions of our highways and how the ease and comfort of traveling by land is in fact competition with air travel. This is not at all unlike the many ways social media paths are crossing as travelers and travel industry people alike are trying to find the right path to connect.

In true ‘down east’ fashion, we supped on seafood, spent time near the water, and sang along to feel-good music. The big pink bus that took us to the Lunenburg  fisheries museum for a evening of entertainment and all you can eat lobster brought us together as we shared stories, strategies and songs. Thankfully, www.anna.aero was on hand to journal the whole event and snapped several great photos of the event.

Sessions on everything from green travel to the future of air cargo brought friends, old and new, together over common interest and industry. Perhaps the most exciting presentation for me, however, was the one by Shashank Nigam of Simpliflying. Event organizers later told me that this year was the first year that Altitudes East incorporated a keynote – or a discussion of any kind – about social media and aviation. Shashank shared his thoughts on CRM – Cult Relationship Management. You can have a look at the presentation here from an earlier speaking engagement, but the prezi alone does not tell the whole story that he shared.

One of my favorite moments of the session on social media, was when three different faces were shown on the big screen. Shashank chose a seemingly random attendee, asked if they knew this person on the screen, and then suggested they research and learn about who he or she was. It was later learned that the three faces that were shown to us at the beginning, were in fact the foursquare ‘mayor’ of the airport where the respective attendee worked. He implored us to truly know the ‘cult’ and stressed the importance of engaging with them and listening to them.

It could be said that this conference was less ‘social’ than the one just days before in sunny Las Vegas, but I beg to differ. Despite the smaller numbers of Twitter users, and the decreased chatter about all things social media, people were eager to hear about what I do and share their thoughts on what they know thus far about social media.  Those face-to-face connections that are formed as an extension of social media outreach and engagement are priceless. Who knows, maybe the next Altitudes East will see a larger crowd of engaged social media. The entire tweeting community of #altitudeseast even posed for a picture while aboard the big pink bus!

Aren’t we a handsome bunch? Small but mighty!

It’s easy to get caught up in ‘big’ and ‘broad’ and number of followers or the effect of buzz, but never forget: even a tiny pebble can make an impressionable ripple that has longstanding results.

As a small community gathering and sharing a global vision, I dare say the impact was mighty. In fact, as the conference was closed out, Jerry Staples of the Halifax Stanfield International Airport said it best:

How have you networked successfully in your own backyard? Do you have a big ripple-small pond story to share? Perhaps you were at the Altitudes East conference and would like to share your thoughts and experiences? Please share with us below!

Jenn Seeley is a Community Engagement Specialist in the worlds of travel, transport, leisure and entertainment. She loves #traveltuesday and would love to tweet with you at @jenn_seeley.

Tags: travel