Travel Show: Some came to dream, some to sample cultures

The Los Angeles Times Travel Show ended Sunday after two days of international booths, performances, tour operators and speakers at the L.A. Convention Center. Attendees on Sunday shared why they came, which may be reason to attend next year’s show, set for Jan. 18 and 19.

The Ecuador booth was a big hit for Stella Mandell, who enjoyed talking to representatives and watching the dancers. “We like to travel, so this is the highlight of our year to come to the show and learn about new traveling places to go to. It was worth coming out here for the day.”

Chris Lubba liked Guam and Yap, part of the Caroline Islands, while another attendee thought Taiwan and Turkey were “kind of cool.” (Taiwan had an impressive booth right at the front of the entrance.)

Greg Stephen was driving by and decided to make a stop at the Travel Show. He was happy with his visit but wished there had been a Hong Kong booth. Argentina and Uruguay were missed by Monica White, who would have liked to have seen more South American countries.

While some looked for travel ideas, others came to get a taste of foreign cultures. “I’m too broke to actually go to these places so I thought I’d come down and look at the travel brochures at least,” said Stuart Rubin, who comes every year and has traveled around the country and Canada. He thought Spain’s booth had an appealing sales pitch: “They claim that they are Europe’s most affordable location.”

Mark Beard enjoyed the “More for Your Money – Budget Tips for Savvy Travelers” panel. Moises and Marilyn Lemus’ thought the show was interesting, but weren’t particularly swayed to choose a destination yet.