Travel writers heading to Shipshewana in 2024
Jun. 20—SHIPSHEWANA — The fifth annual Midwest Travel Network Conference will take place in Shipshewana next spring.
The announcement was made Saturday at this year's conference in Kansas City, Kansas, and it is the first time the event will take place in Indiana, June 13-15, 2024.
The conference will include 150 travel writers, influencers, tourism partners, content creators and speakers from the Midwest. The event allows participants to learn, connect and share stories through media platforms. There will be speakers and educational sessions at the events, along with vendors from businesses in the Midwest.
Multiple places in the Midwest were considered for this event, but Lisa Trudell, co-owner of the Midwest Travel Network, was impressed by the amount of support in the area.
"All the pieces we were looking for in a host destination were met in Shipshewana," she said. "We are so excited to share the news that we're headed to Shipshewana in 2024 and to get everyone else excited too."
Sonya Nash, executive director at the LaGrange County Convention and Visitors Bureau, attended the conference this year in Kansas. She said people were excited about Shipshewana and seeing Amish culture, most people not having heard of the area before. She said the event will be good for making LaGrange County a "premiere tourist destination."
The event is put on by the Midwest Travel Network, an organization of journalists, travel writers, bloggers, authors and travel influencers who share news and travel locations in the Midwest. The company was founded in 2013, and it has become a community that connects destination professionals and content creators from all over the area.
"The whole emphasis of [the Midwest Travel Network] is to celebrate communities, people, stories, businesses off of major highways and elevate why people should travel in the Midwest," Nash said.
The Midwest Travel Network tries to keep things fresh by having different sessions and speakers each year. Nash said there were local ones in Kansas, so she expects speakers from around the area for Shipshewana.
At the event, attendees will have opportunities to meet owners of local businesses while they craft posts about local places, including Trading Post Outfitters, Cook's Bison Ranch, Pumpkinvine Trail, Shawna Rae's, Jo Jo's Pretzels and more.
Nash said each blogger had cool stories to tell and a persona that fit them from the "hip grandma" to the "loyal tourist." When these writers and influencers visit Shipshewana, they'll be able to see Silver Star Leather, an Amish-owned business that makes leather goods by hand, and visit the biggest flea market in the Midwest.
"We just have some great stories that align with the mission of the Midwest Travel Network and align with what these folks need," Nash said. "They need content to write about, and I've got people to give them content."
Those interested in attending the event can register online at midwesttravelnetwork.com.
Two types of tickets are available: Content Creator Attendee Ticket and CVB/DMO Attendee Ticket. The early bird tickets cost $30 less, but the early rates only last until March 8, 2024. Rooms will be available at the Farmstead Inn or the Blue Gate Garden Inn for guests planning to visit.
