IPW 18: Denver, Colorado – The Guide for Media/Journalist

IPW is one of the largest North American travel trade shows in the United States. Basically, it is a business appointment-based show that brings everyone together. This includes U.S. travel organizations from across the country who represents all categories of the industry. It also includes International and domestic leisure buyers. Moreover, domestic and international media.

There are a lot of activities, bookings and registrations prior to the actual convention. Especially for a rookie who is attending IPW for the 1st time, you maybe a little overwhelm. For example, you probably wonder, “What are the events and activities that you have to attend at IPW?” For buyers or travel agents, they have their own agenda. But if you are an International Journalist just like me, check out my summary below so you get a better idea of the agenda/itinerary going to be at every IPW.

Generally, IPW is a 4 days and 3 nights convention. It officially starts on the Sunday and all the way til Wednesday evening. Some people prefers to fly in early on a Saturday so they get settled down and be all ready for IPW.

Agenda/Itinerary:

1. Saturday – Pre IPW Tour (OPTIONAL)
2. Sunday – IPW Brunch & IPW Sunday Pre-Tour (MANDATORY)
3. Monday – Media Market Place Appointments (MANDATORY)
4. Tuesday and Wednesday – Destinations Presentations; Luncheons and After Parties (OPTIONAL)
5. Wednesday Evening – Closing Ceremony (OPTIONAL)
6. Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday – Post IPW Tour (OPTIONAL)

MoVernie Recommendations:

• The official kick off of IPW begins on Sunday when every journalist has to attend the mandatory IPW Brunch as well as the Sunday Pre IPW Tour that you had registered prior to flying into the host city. I highly recommend you to attend both mandatory sessions as the brunch provides a networking opportunity, a cool experience and you got to eat anyways.
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• All the Sunday Pre IPW Tours are on a first come first serve basis but I can assure you that every tour is interesting and fun to do. Of course, if you can select a tour that you really enjoy, that’s icing on the cake. For IPW18, I chose the Denver Beer Trail Tour where the tour bus brought us to a number of craft beer breweries. We got to see how each brewery prepared their own beer and of course, we got to taste a number of beer flights. Trust me, so much beer that you can’t finish them all. Denver is well-known for its beer production and it’s crisp clean water supply from the mountains, hence my decision to sign up for this beer tour.
• Personally, I recommend anyone to fly in 1 day or 2 days prior to the official IPW coz in case there is any flight delay or cancellation that you have time to make up for it. More importantly, you can settle in to the host city, walk around, relax and be prepared for the next few days of jam packed action.
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• Whether you want to sign up for the optional Saturday Pre IPW Tour is up to you. There are some tours that overlap between the Saturday and Sunday tours but if you want to join, it’s really optional. Some people like to just check in the hotel and chill at the swimming pool or getting ready for the IPW appointments. Some likes to roam the city in free style. It’s really up to you on this one. I am indifferent on the Pre IPW Tour vs Roaming FreeStyle.
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• Monday Media Marketplace is a MUST. It’s mandatory, so I suggest you don’t stay up too late the night prior. You need every ounce of your energy to function mentally and physically. You need to be able to interact, talk to the destination staff and you need to be on alert of where all the appointment stations are located.
• Tuesday and Wednesday, there are special presentations from specific destinations that offers updates and latest news about their cities. I highly recommend you to show up to these presentations as they are entertaining, most often, they have videos or live entertainment to complement their presentations.
• Luncheon. Lunch is being served on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at the convention. Every day at lunch, there will be live performances, and this isn’t your ordinary live performances. The destination who sponsors these live performances brought in celebrities or well-known people to perform. There was Neyo who performed at IPW17. There were Broadway performers who showcased their latest new shows from New York. They flew in just to perform for us. My followers often asked me “This is a lunch? What type of lucheon are you attending that has Neyo performing?”. You sure don’t want to miss any of these good shows.
• Wednesday Evening: The closing ceremony at IPW is always a memorable one. Imagine you had worked very hard gathering INFO, generate content, attended business meetings and media marketplace, it’s time to relax, reward yourself with a finale. The host city always throw a good party. For example, last year at IPW17, the closing ceremony was held at Nationals Park, home of the baseball team, the Washington Nationals. We got to go to the dug out, did some batting practice, food and drinks, live concert and my favourite part? The fireworks blasted in the clear night sky! This past IPW18, hometown One Republic, the popular band performed at the iconic Red Rocks Amphitheatre. An outdoor concert stage up in the mountain. It was super memorable!
• Post IPW Tour: It really depends if you have enough time to stay behind to attend the Post IPW Tour. Some prefers to fly home right after IPW is completed as they are home sick or have projects and meetings to do. While some don’t mind staying for another 4 days and 3 nights on a bus tour to other areas that are outside of the host city. For example, the Post IPW Tour that I selected went to the Colorado Springs; Mesa Verde and Durango. It was super fun! If you love adventures and is not in a hurry to leave IPW, I highly recommend you to sign up for the Post IPW Tour.

Alrighty, I hope you find the summary of the IPW Agenda for journalists and my MoVernie recommendations helpful. If you have any other suggestions that I may have missed or you want to add, feel free to reach out to me at MoVernieTVShow@gmail.com

Once again, I would like to thank the U.S. Travel Associations IPW for having me and I hope this trend continues as there are so much to explore in the United States and it definitely helps me meeting all the important people and at the same time opening up new opportunities for me.

Want to know more about my press trip experience and adventures during my visit at IPW 18, Denver, Colorado? Follow my journey on Instagram (@RealMoVernie) and Twitter (@MoVernie).

The incredible IPW 18 experience was provided by U.S. Travel Association’s IPW. However, as always, the opinions expressed in this post is entirely my own.