TBEX

What TBEX does

TBEX (Travel Blog Exchange) is a privately held conference and community company founded in 2009 and operated as TBEX LLC, headquartered in Ogden, Utah. It organizes the world's longest-running conference series dedicated exclusively to travel content creators and the destination marketing organizations (DMOs) and travel brands that work with them. Across 32 events, TBEX has aggregated 21,700 attendees, 1,860 speakers, and 90,200+ facilitated meetings, with each in-person conference typically selling 600-800 tickets at tiered early-bird pricing.

The core product is the in-person TBEX conference, delivered in regional editions across North America, Europe, Asia, and Summit America. The technology stack is deliberately lean and non-proprietary: RegFox for event registration, NMI.com for payment processing, a third-party speed networking platform for on-site creator-brand matchmaking, and standard web tools (Google Analytics, Search Console). Supplementary products include a $197 lifetime virtual ticket for recorded session access, the annual Travel Creator Awards, the Travel Matters Podcast, pre-conference day trips, and post-conference FAM (familiarization) trips, plus recently launched affiliate programs (Uncharted Tours, Lulu, Stay22, Travelpayouts, Awin) that extend creator monetization beyond the event window.

TBEX operates a hybrid event/community GTM targeting two primary segments: (1) travel content creators (bloggers, YouTubers, podcasters, photographers, social media influencers) who purchase individual tickets, and (2) travel brands and government DMOs that purchase tiered sponsorship packages for brand exposure and access to creators. Revenue is generated from three streams — tiered conference registration fees, virtual ticket sales, and direct sponsorship sales — with a lean 1-10 employee team and no disclosed institutional funding. The company has 16 years of operating history, a durable two-sided marketplace between creators and sponsors, and an expanding event calendar into Central Asia (Almaty 2026) and Türkiye (Izmir 2027).

Name

TBEX

Legal name

TBEX LLC

Website

https://tbexcon.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

TBEX is a privately held conference and community company, founded in 2009, that operates the world's longest-running event series for travel content creators and the DMOs and travel brands that sponsor them, monetizing via ticket sales, sponsorships, and virtual content.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Lake Elsinore

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Conference Registration Fees: TBEX generates revenue primarily through tiered conference registration fees. Pricing is tiered with early-bird discounts; full-price tickets are charged for later registrations. Typically around 600-800 tickets sold per event. On-site registration requires credit card payment only.
2. Virtual Ticket Sales: Post-event virtual tickets providing lifetime access to recorded session videos are sold for $197.00. This provides ongoing revenue from past events and reaches attendees who cannot travel.
3. Sponsorship and Partnership Revenue: TBEX sells sponsorship packages to DMOs, travel brands, tourism boards, and travel industry companies seeking to connect with travel creators. Packages include brand exposure, speed networking access, and custom sponsorship opportunities. Partners include Booking.com, TripAdvisor, Stay22, Travelpayouts, Awin, and destination marketing organizations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

TBEX (Travel Blog Exchange) operates multi-day regional conferences (North America, Asia, Europe, Summit America) that bring together travel content creators, destination marketing organizations (DMOs), and travel brands for networking, education, and business development. The company sells tiered in-person conference registration, lifetime-access virtual tickets to recorded sessions, custom sponsorship packages to travel brands and tourism boards, and facilitates structured speed networking between creators and sponsors.

Product overview

TBEX (Travel Blog Exchange) operates as a conference and events company offering in-person regional conferences and virtual content products. The core product is the TBEX In-Person Conferences (North America, Asia, Europe, Summit America) featuring educational sessions, speed networking, and FAM trips. Supporting products include Virtual Tickets for on-demand session recordings, the annual Travel Creator Awards, and the Travel Matters Podcast. The company also facilitates affiliate partnerships through Uncharted Tours for premium small-group tours and co-branded creator-led tour opportunities. TBEX serves travel creators, DMOs, and travel brands with networking, education, and monetization tools across 16 years of operations with 32 events and 21,700 attendees.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Travel Creator Awards: Annual awards program presented by TravelPay to celebrate the best in travel storytelling, recognizing bloggers, influencers, DMOs, and travel brands.
• Travel Matters Podcast

Products and services

• TBEX In-Person Conferences
• Virtual Tickets
• TBEX Sponsorship Packages
• Speed Networking
• Travel Creator Awards
• FAM Trips
• Pre-BEX Day Trips
• Uncharted Tours Affiliate Program

Quantifiable outcome

• 21,700+ total attendees across 32 events
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers17 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration8 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Destination Québec CitécoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025The official tourism organization for Québec City, Destination Québec Cité partnered with Stay22 for TBEX North America 2025 in Québec City. The collaboration made TBEX North America 2025 a hometown event for Stay22 (which is Montréal-based) while bringing local tourism promotion to the global travel creator community.
• Stay22coreGTM or Marketing PartnerStay22 is a Montréal-based affiliate technology platform for travel publishers and creators that TBEX recommends to its community. Stay22 helps publishers monetize accommodation links and offers tools including interactive maps, smart scripts, and booking intent detection. TBEX has partnered with Stay22 for multiple events, including TBEX North America 2025 in Québec City in partnership with Destination Québec Cité. TBEX earns affiliate commissions through Stay22 recommendations.
• AwincoreGTM or Marketing PartnerAwin is a global affiliate marketing network that TBEX recommends to its community of travel creators. Awin facilitates partnerships between advertisers and affiliates across various niches, including travel. TBEX includes Awin in its Resources section as a trusted monetization tool for travel businesses.
• TravelpayoutscoreGTM or Marketing PartnerTravelpayouts is a travel affiliate partnership platform connecting 300,000+ travel content creators with 90+ trusted travel brands including Booking.com, TripAdvisor, Viator, and GetYourGuide. TBEX features Travelpayouts as a recommended resource in its Resources section and on its blog. Travelpayouts is the presenting sponsor of the TBEX Travel Creator Awards. Has paid out $63M+ to affiliate partners.
• LuluminorGTM or Marketing PartnerLulu is a self-publishing platform that TBEX promotes to travel creators as a tool for publishing books, calendars, and travel journals. TBEX has published articles encouraging travel creators to publish books through Lulu as a monetization strategy, positioning Lulu as the preferred print-on-demand partner.
• Booking.comcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerMajor global online travel company and long-standing sponsor of TBEX events. Booking.com participates as a sponsor to connect with travel content creators who feature the platform in their content and affiliate marketing.
• TripAdvisorcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerMajor travel platform and long-standing TBEX sponsor. TripAdvisor supports TBEX events to engage with the travel creator community for content partnerships and brand exposure.
• Viator (by Tripadvisor)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerViator, a tours and activities platform by TripAdvisor, is a long-standing TBEX sponsor and partner. Viator participates in TBEX to connect with travel creators for affiliate marketing and content collaboration.
• GetYourGuidecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerGetYourGuide is a major tours and activities platform that partners with TBEX to connect with travel creators for affiliate marketing and destination content partnerships.
• Alaska AirlinesminorGTM or Marketing PartnerAlaska Airlines launched direct service to La Paz, Mexico, and collaborated with La Paz Tourism Trust (FITUPAZ) on creator experiences to promote the new route. Alaska Airlines has engaged the TBEX creator community through destination-focused campaigns.
• Uncharted TourscoreGTM or Marketing PartnerUncharted Tours operates a premium small-group tour affiliate program specifically targeting travel creators. TBEX features Uncharted Tours in its blog and promotes the affiliate program, which offers creators approximately $400 commission per booking (8% of $4,995 tour price). Tours are aligned with recent TBEX host destinations (Québec City, Charlevoix, Sligo, Leitrim). Creators can also design co-branded tours with Uncharted managing operations.
• La Paz Tourism Trust / FITUPAZcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerLa Paz Tourism Trust (FITUPAZ) is the official tourism organization for La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico. It is a sponsor of TBEX North America 2026 in Richmond, Virginia. The organization seeks to connect with travel creators focused on experiential travel, outdoor adventure, wildlife, food, culture, wellness, and sustainable tourism. Recent campaigns include a creator experience promoting Alaska Airlines' direct La Paz route.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Skift Forum: Skift Forum is a premium travel-industry executive conference focused on senior travel-industry decision-makers rather than creators. Comparable as a category-leading travel events business serving DMOs and brands, but at a much more enterprise / executive tier than TBEX's creator focus.
• Social Media Week: Social Media Week is a multi-city conference series for marketing professionals covering social media, content, and influencer marketing. Comparable as a marketing-education events business with sponsor packages, but horizontal (all industries) rather than TBEX's travel-vertical focus.
• Web Summit: Web Summit is a large-scale global tech conference with tiered attendee passes, heavy sponsorship monetization, and regional editions (Lisbon, Rio, Qatar). Comparable business model mechanics to TBEX but at vastly greater scale and broader (non-vertical) audience.
• INBOUND (HubSpot): INBOUND is HubSpot's annual marketing/sales conference combining education, networking, and brand sponsorships. Comparable as a content/marketing-education conference with sponsor monetization, but with a much broader B2B marketing audience rather than a travel-creator niche.
• Phocuswright Conference: Phocuswright is the established research-led travel industry conference (part of Phocuswright Inc.), serving travel brands, OTAs, and tech companies. Comparable as a long-running, travel-vertical B2B conference with high-tier sponsorship, but oriented to executives/analysts rather than content creators.

Direct peers

• BlogHer: BlogHer runs conferences and events for women content creators and influencers, with sponsor-driven monetization connecting brands to creators. Same direct peer model as TBEX: verticalized creator conference with sponsorship, networking, and education as core revenue streams.
• TravelCon: TravelCon was a direct competitor travel-creator conference run by Travel Media Association; TBEX is widely cited as the surviving market leader in this niche. Highly comparable on audience (travel creators + DMOs) and offering (education + networking + speed-meetings with brands).
• Mom 2.0 Summit: Mom 2.0 Summit is a niche influencer/creator conference that pairs bloggers and social media creators with brand sponsors in a similar structure to TBEX. Comparable scale (hundreds of attendees), similar sponsor-led business model, and similar role in a specific creator vertical.
• VidCon: VidCon is the foundational conference for online video creators (YouTube, TikTok, etc.), directly comparable to TBEX as a category-defining creator conference with tiered attendee passes, brand sponsorship packages, and an industry/community track alongside the fan track. Both serve creators + brands seeking partnerships.
• Playlist Live: Playlist Live is a creator/influencer conference with brand sponsorships and creator-brand networking. Comparable to TBEX as a vertically focused creator conference monetized via brand sponsorships and ticket sales; serves a different creator vertical (YouTube/digital talent) but follows the same playbook.

Market position

Competitive moat5 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/TBEXcon
• Instagraminstagram.com/tbexcon
• Xx.com/tbexevents
• YouTubeyoutube.com/tbexcon

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about TBEX