Travel Talk with Chris Harrison and Rick Steves

 

The Travel and Adventure Show, held at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, had an abundance of exhibitors and activities.  I got to meet with a hundreds of travel professionals, watched cultural performances, went scuba diving, listened to travel gurus Chris Harrison and Rick Steves speak and met some SeaWorld penguins.

 

Hundreds of booths sprawled throughout the enormous expo hall contained everything from luggage vendors to local hotels for those perfect staycations to visitors’ bureaus from half way around the world.  

 

Cultural performances on the Global Beats stage made for a festive flair and included traditional dances from Hawaii, the Philippines, Ireland, India and more.

 

I was thrilled to find out that this year’s speakers included Chris Harrison and Rick Steves.  Steves spoke about his adventures in Italy in depth for a full hour and promoted his books about Italy.

 

Harrison, most known for being the host of ABC’s The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, spoke about his experiences on the show.  He has traveled all over the world from visiting cities around the United States to heading abroad to Croatia, St. Lucia and China.  

 

Other topics Harrison discussed where technical aspects of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette TV shows.  Did you know that the first day of introductions with the 25 bachelors/bachelorettes takes place from sun up to sun down?  Also, the bachelors’ roses are held on their suits by magnets?  Harrison held a question and answer session where mostly fans of the show gave him praise.  Once he was finished, fans could get a photo with him along with getting his autograph.

 

Attendees of the travel show were also some of the first people to experience SeaWorld’s newest attraction, Antarctica: Empire of the Penguin, which opens in Orlando in March.  Their penguins Pete and Penny made appearances and you could have your picture taken with them.

 

Photos by Janelle Rominski.