Travel Massive Sofia Kicked-Off Their First Event in June

Travel Massive is now in Sofia, too! The kick-off event was held on June 27th and gathered together more than 70 travel industry professionals and tourism enthusiasts in the Bulgarian capital.

Photo: The Magic of Traveling

Travel bloggers, entrepreneurs, tour operators, startup founders, Airbnb hosts and many others got to know each talking about the travel scene in Sofia and the world, sharing ideas and chatting about their passion.

The Travel Massive Sofia kick-off took place at the garden of SOHO coworking space in the heart of the city. It started with a short introduction of what Travel Massive actually is, what the values of the community lay and why Sofia needs its inspiring tourism professionals to collaborate together.

Special guests and supporters included Travel Massive Thessaloniki and Northern Greece chapter leaders – Maria Athanasopoulou and Chrissa Krassa, who shared their experience and wished the new community to be united and grow together.

Travel Massive Thessaloniki and Northern Greece chapter leaders/Photo: The Magic of Traveling

Part of the event was also a panel discussion with inspiring travel professionals with different backgrounds who shared their views on the topics of “The generation of Travel & Tourism”. Among the panelists were:

• Alexander Sumin – Co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer at ClaimCompass: getting passengers money when their flights are delayed or canceled.
• Alexander Karadjian – Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of SpeediFly a social travel platform providing highly personalized travel recommendations.
• Kristian Mitov – Co-founder of Free Sofia Tour / Сдружение 365 / 365 Association, Co-founder of Sofia Event House Ltd.
• Matthias Zeitler – Co-founder at Coworking Bansko in the beautiful Pirin mountains, a home for location independent people that prefer to work together than alone.
• Maria Stoyanova – Travel Blogger at Travelling Buzz,  Co-founder of the Bulgarian Travel Bloggers Association, and Travel Massive Sofia chapter leader.

Panelists (Bistra, Alex, Matthias, Kris, Alex and Maria) answering attendees’ questions/Photo: The Magic of Traveling

Photo: The Magic of Traveling

With the help of the moderator Bistra Yakimova, also a travel blogger, the panelists formed a discussion around the topics of the travel scene in Sofia, building a community, the connection between digital nomads and tourism, the challenges and opportunities in the industry, and much more. After the panel, all attendees gathered together for a networking chat over some drinks and snacks. People met and talked, shared their ideas with others, discussed different collaboration opportunities, and had a great time.

Special thanks go to SOHO coworking space for supporting the first event, and the partners – Villa Melnik Wine Cellar, Bar Friday and Sun and Moon Bakery, for providing the drinks and snacks. The Travel Bloggers Association in Bulgaria – ASTOM, also showed support with several members joining the event and spreading the word about Travel Massive Sofia.

Photo: The Magic of Traveling

This was first of series of Travel Massive networking gatherings that will take place in Sofia. After the great kick-off event, the community already had some great ideas for future topics and discussions. Join Travel Massive Sofia Facebook group to be part of the travel & tourism community in Sofia and get updates for future events.

Author Bio: Maria Stoyanova is the Travel Massive Sofia Chapter Leader and Travel Blogger at www.travellingbuzz.com and PR & Communication Strategist at www.bigberry.eu.