👋 Apply to lead Bucharest Travel Massive (240 members)
Bring this community together by hosting a Travel Massive meetup to connect with local members.
Bucharest Travel Massive
Bucharest Travel Massive brings together the people building travel in Romania.
Romania has a booming, genuinely innovative travel industry, but it works in silos and gets almost none of the recognition it deserves. We think that is a shame, and we want to change it. This chapter exists to give the Romanian travel industry a collective voice, to get people into the same room, and to shout a little louder about what is being built here.
Expect regular meetups: evening sessions with strong speakers followed by drinks, hands-on workshops, and events tied to the industry calendar, starting around TTR, the Romanian Tourism Fair, when the whole industry comes to Bucharest.
The chapter is led by Thomas Bangert and Katina Moldovan, co-founders of Travecta and long-time travel-industry operators based in Romania.
Whoever you are, if you touch the Romanian travel industry in any way, you belong here. Operators, agencies, hotels, tourism boards, tech, media, creators, students, freelancers, the whole ecosystem. Join the chapter, come to an event, and help us put Romanian travel on the map.
Community
Comments
Hi everyone,
TTR, the Romanian Tourism Fair (targuldeturism.ro/en/), is back at Romexpo from 19 to 22 November. That week, most of the Romanian travel industry is in Bucharest anyway, plus a good number of visitors from abroad. Katina and I think it's the right moment to get Bucharest Travel Massive back in a room together, for the first time in a few years.
Before we book anything, we want to hear from you. Date, venue and format are all still open, so your answers will decide what this looks like.
Three quick questions. Just reply below, a few words is plenty:
Would you come? Yes, maybe, or probably not this time.
What would you enjoy most?
A) A speaker or short panel, then drinks
B) A hands-on workshop
C) Networking drinks, no programme
What timing suits you better?
During fair week, 19 to 22 November
The week after, 23 to 27 November
So a reply can be as short as "Yes, A, 1". If you'd bring a colleague, tell us that too, it helps us find the right size of venue.
Alexandra, Iulia, Ciprian, Mostafa, Amit and JoAnna, you've all introduced yourselves here over the past few weeks, so we'd love to hear from you first. Iulia, you were at the last meet-up, and Amit, you helped run the first two, so if you remember what worked well, please share it. JoAnna and Mostafa, you're both newer to the Bucharest scene, and we'd really like to know what would make an evening worth your time.
If you know someone in Romanian travel who belongs in this thread, send them the link. Operators, agencies, hotels, DMCs, tech, media, creators, students, everyone is welcome.
We'll share what we hear and confirm the plan in early October.
Thomas and Katina
Thanks Thomas for getting this started.
Yes, A, fair week
A short panel followed by networking drinks sounds ideal to me. It gives the evening a bit of context and direction while still leaving room for people to connect.
Noted, thank you, will have to wait for others to respond before making a decision.
Yes, C, fair week
I choose C instead A because I assume the place you'll choose it will not be a conference room so not really suitable for a "panel format".
Noted, thank you, will have to wait for others to respond before making a decision.
yes, A, 1 (during fair week)
Noted, thank you, will have to wait for others to respond before making a decision.
Hi everyone! I'm Alexandra, communication and advertising professional, now following a career change into hospitality and tourism.
I've started traveling in 2016, when I went all alone in the US, with the Work & Travel program. That was just the beginning as, since then, I lived in other 2 countries, discovered incredible people and places and fell in love more and more with this nomad life.
I have an Instagram account which I want to grow into a proper travel documentary, where I present life as it is and destinations simply as they are.
I am utterly excited to join this community, and hope to see you live soon 💛
Hi Alexandra, welcome, and thank you for such a warm introduction. Going from Work and Travel to guiding and filming your own trips is a lovely path, and exactly the kind of story this chapter should hear more of. We're planning our first meet-up for TTR week in November and I've just posted a few quick questions in the thread above, so please add your answer. We'll also need someone with a good eye to capture the evening, if that ever appeals.
Thomas
Hi everyone! I'm Julia. I run JuliaSomething.com, an English-language travel blog for UK/US audiences that I've been building for about 17 years, and full-time for the last couple of years. I'm based in Bucharest and travel full-time covering off-the-beaten-path, slow, dog-friendly trips across Europe.
Fun fact: I'm in that photo from the Travel Massive Bucharest meetup about 5 years ago. It's great to see the community still going and growing. Looking forward to connecting with more of the Romanian travel crowd here!
Hi Julia, glad to see you back here. We're organising a meet-up very soon - hopefully latest around TTR in Bucharest. Would be great to meet you and many others there!
Iulia, I've just posted a few quick questions about our TTR meet-up in the thread above. You're one of the few people who was at the last one, so your answer counts double.
Hi everyone,
My name is Ciprian Drăgoi, and I’m the founder of netSIM.ro
We work closely with travel agencies, tour operators, and retail networks to integrate connectivity directly into the traveler's journey, making it a value-added service for end-users and an effortless revenue stream for partners.
I’m excited to be part of this community, connect with fellow travel business professionals, explore strategic partnerships, and exchange insights on where the industry is heading.
Looking forward to connecting with you!
Hi, Ciprian!
It's a pleasure meeting you.
Welcome to the community and hope to see you at the next Travels massive event!
Ciprian, we're planning our first meet-up for TTR week in November. I've posted a few quick questions in the thread above, would be great to have your answer.
Hi everyone, Katina here 👋
Jumping in as co-lead to Travel Massive- Bucharest chapter to say a proper hello. I'm thrilled to be doing this alongside Thomas Bangert, and I can't wait to actually meet you all in person.
Romania's travel scene is full of brilliant, ambitious people who rarely end up in the same room. Let's change that. I'd especially love to see more women from across travel and tourism join us.
See you at the first meetup.
Katina
Hello Bucharest Travel Massive !
I'm Thomas Bangert, the new leader of this chapter, and I'm co-leading it with Katina Moldovan, who many of you will know. First things first: it's great to meet you, and we're genuinely excited to be here.
Let me be honest about where we're starting. This chapter has been quiet for a little while. We'd like to change that, and we can't do it alone.
Here's why it matters to us. Romania has a booming, genuinely innovative travel industry, and it gets almost none of the recognition it deserves. We work in silos, and we think that's a shame. Travel Massive gives us a way to get out of those silos, into the same room, and to build a collective voice for the industry being created right here.
By day Katina and I are co-founders of Travecta, where we build the infrastructure that connects local DMCs and operators to the world's big travel platforms. Leading this chapter is the human version of the same idea: connecting the people who build travel in Romania.
So here's the plan, and the ask.
The plan: we're reviving the chapter with regular meetups, evening sessions with strong speakers and drinks, hands-on workshops, and events tied to the industry calendar. Our first proper event is aimed at November, around TTR, the Romanian Tourism Fair, when the whole industry is in Bucharest.
The ask: post in the Travel Massive Bucharest section and introduce yourself. Tell us who you are, what you do in travel, and what you'd want to get out of this community. Whoever you are, operator, DMC, OTA, hotelier, tourism board, travel-tech, marketer, creator, student, if you touch Romanian travel in any way, you belong here.
And Katina, as one of the board members of the WTTA (Women in Transport and Tourism Association) would especially love to see more women from across travel and tourism join us.
Let's put Romanian travel on the map, together. More very soon.
Thomas
Congratulations, Thomas! Excited to join the Bucharest Travel Massive community, and even more excited to see such a clear vision for where it's can go.
I'm Mostafa. For the past few years I've been building products in the travel industry, working closely with OTAs, hotels, and hotel distribution. I recently moved to Romania because I genuinely believe this market has huge untapped potential. Seeing your post made me feel even more confident that this is the right place to build my next chapter.
I'm looking forward to meeting people who are shaping the future of travel here, exchanging ideas, and hopefully contributing to the community however I can. Looking forward to meeting everyone at the first event!
Welcome to the community, Mostafa, glad to have you here!
Mostafa, the first meet-up is taking shape for TTR week in November. A few quick questions are in the thread above, and as someone new to the city, your view on what would make it worth coming is really useful.
Thanks Thomas! Just replied in the thread above. Looking forward to it, and happy to help out with organising or anything else you might need.
Amazing, thank you. Every little helps, so yes, maybe let's have a chat on how you could get involved?
Hi everyone, I'm Amit, founder of Luxe Romania and Bucharest Bachelors, both operating since 2016.
Over the past 10 years we've welcomed more than 15,000 international visitors to Romania, from bachelor parties and celebrations to corporate and incentive groups.
I was one of the logistics and evening activity partners for the first two Bucharest Travel Massive events, so it's great to see the chapter becoming active again.
Looking forward to meeting everyone and building some new connections.
Hey Amit, great to meet you and thanks for the background info, very interesting. So much so that I would suggest a quick chat, if you're available? You can catch me on thomas@travecta.tech. Please let me know when you're free.
Thanks and all the best.
Thomas
Hi Thomas, I hope you are well. Just wanted to check I had the correct email for you? thomas@travecta.tech , I emailed last week but am unsure if you have received it. I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you - Amit
Hi Amit, the email address is correct, but I don't recall the email. I will check and let you know. Sorry about that. Thanks, Thomas
Thanks for the introduction nudge, Thomas.
I am JoAnna, an American who has been living in Romania for several years.
I am the founder of a purpose-driven communications consultancy, learning lab, and solutions platform at the intersection of social impact, storytelling, and sustainable and regenerative tourism practices. Through my work at Rooted, I encourage reimagining tourism by amplifying community-led solutions, championing sustainable approaches, and shifting both narratives and systems so travel can contribute to a more joyful, just, and regenerative world.
I work with destinations, travel brands, tour operators, media and travel writers, and tourism professionals from around the world to unlock the power of strategic storytelling and tourism communications that shine a light on responsible tourism and destination stewardship. I don't currently have any clients in Romania, nor am I working on any projects based here, but I'm always eager to meet colleagues working in the travel and tourism space.
Hi JoAnna, welcome, and sorry for the slow reply. It's lovely to have you here - it's been a while since we met at the event in Agadir. Community-led storytelling is something the Romanian travel industry badly needs; there are so many good people doing interesting work here who rarely get heard outside their own region. We're planning our first meet-up around TTR in November and I've just posted a few quick questions in the thread above. I'd really value your take.
Thomas