Have you heard about TravCon and considered going? Whether you are attending TravCon for the first time, or you are a seasoned attendee, here is the ultimate guide for attending TravCon.
What is TravCon?
The Traveler’s Conference (TravCon) is the best travel healthcare event of the year. If you are a traveling healthcare professionals, such as a nurse, therapist, tech, etc., you need to attend TravCon. It’s a conference filled with education, resources, and inspiration for traveling healthcare professionals. More than anything, it’s a celebration of travelers. You get completely spoiled at TravCon via the events, food, and swag from the amazing exhibitors.
Aside from being the premier event for traveling healthcare professionals, TravCon is also like a family reunion. I’ve been a traveling therapist for over 10 years and have met so many friends along the way. When I say goodbye to those friends, I never know if I will see them again. In comes TravCon! I can text all of my friends and let them know to meet me at TravCon; and they come! TravCon is where I feel like I’m surrounded by my people. It’s so easy to make friends there because everybody lives such a similar lifestyle.
If you are coming to TravCon for the first time, or 10th time, here are some tips to help you get the most out of the conference.
1. Don’t skip Breakfast
Breakfast and lunch are included in your cost of registration, so do not sleep in and miss it! Breakfast is served for the hour before seminars and speakers begin, making it easy to eat before courses. Grab a coffee to go to save yourself the high price of food and drinks for purchase in Vegas hotels. Nutrition is important during TravCon because you will be busy and burning a lot of calories running around the convention center.
2. Attend educational seminars
This may seem like a no brainer – you are going to a conference so you are there to attend workshops. However, I will be the first to admit that I have been guilty of skipping seminars to relax or catch up with friends. The seminars at TravCon talk about everything travel healthcare related from tax issues, working with recruiters and lifestyle concerns. They are the educational fundamentals of the conference and offer a gold mind of information as well as CEU’s.
I learn something new every year that I attend TravCon and love the variety of courses that they have. The topics are a bit non conventional for your normal conference, but make sense for us.
3. Join TravCon Specific Groups
Facebook is full of groups dedicated to travelers going to TravCon. I highly recommend joining these groups before TravCon. You can connect with people before the event and find friends before you land. In these groups, you can also learn about events that are happening outside of the conference and around Vegas.
4. Go to Sponsored/Outside Events
Technically TravCon is held during the day from Sunday through Wednesday. Outside of the actual conference, there are a multitude of sponsored and unofficial events occurring before, during and after the conference. Individual travelers, as well as agencies host events outside of the conference including happy hours, dinners, tours of Vegas, hikes, etc.
Some of the events are inclusive to all members of the conference and are well advertised. Other events are exclusive to travelers who work for certain companies and may be by invite only.
Personally, I was slow to learn about the sponsored events at TravCon and was happy to my fellow travelers who kept me in the loop about events.
How do you find out about outside events at TravCon?
- Facebook Groups (as mentioned above) tend to list events
- Ask your agency (s): if you work for or have ties to agencies that are going to TravCon they may have exclusive events for their travelers
- Look for info at the exhibit hall: Usually if a company is hosting an event they will advertise it at their exhibit hall booth. They may give you a code or card to enter the event.
5. Arrive Early and Enjoy Las Vegas
As this conference grows, so has the outside activities that surround it. Many travelers arrive days and some even a week early to explore Vegas with like minded people. There is so much to see and explore in Vegas.
I compiled some of my favorite Las Vegas attractions here: Essential Las Vegas Attractions.
6. Walk the Exhibit Hall and Engage with Companies
The exhibit hall at TravCon has hundreds of booths for different agencies and companies that are relevant to the travel healthcare industry. It can be loud and a bit of a sensory overload, but very educational if you devote time to it. You may be tempted to “grab and go” aka get the free swag that a booth is offering and leave. However, I encourage you to talk to the representatives at the booths and ask them questions that are relevant to you.
Consider bringing business cards or a QR code of your information if you want to distribute it to vendors. Since there are so many agencies, consider writing notes to yourself as you go about different companies so you can remember later.
7. Have Fun!
In the midst of going to seminars, the exhibit hall, and catching up with friends, have lots of fun! TravCon is seriously a blast and I think you have to work hard not to have fun at the conference. Go and enjoy yourself!
