Led by events industry stalwart Micaela Giacobbe—who’s spent more than 25 years at the forefront of innovation in the events industry—and a team with an equally impressive track record of creating, managing, and perfecting tailored events around the world, Journeys Global Group, known as Journeys, knows exactly what customers need.
With Journeys Global taking care of events, clients can rest assured they have an experienced, trusted team that knows what they’re doing—and they do it with passion and flair.
Here’s all you need to know about Journeys…
Who’s behind Journeys?
Journeys Founder and Managing Director, Micaela Giacobbe, is an award-winning creator of unique, perfectly tailored events, with a passion for connecting people and helping them build long-lasting business relationships.
After gaining her MBA at Oxford, Micaela spent 14 years as Head of Marketing and Communications at Reed Exhibitions, part of Reed Elsevier plc.
In 2014, she approached Jacobs Media Group with an idea to connect people in the luxury travel arena, and Connections was born. Micaela and her international team curated and hosted in-person and online events in more than 50 destinations across the world.
Over her 25-year career, Micaela has experienced, created, and implemented big exhibitions, networking events, one-to-one meetings, familiarisation trips, award ceremonies, group talks, business exchanges, and much more.
Key to Micaela’s success is her adaptability. For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, she swiftly refocused her business to host virtual socials, meetings, and talks, bringing in experts in crisis management, financial business planning, and people management to help organisations acclimatise, navigate through the pandemic, and plan for the future.
The Journeys Story
Micaela launched Journeys in April 2022 as a fully managed, tailored events solution, specialising in global engagement across the luxury travel sector. Now in its second year, Journeys continues to deliver world-class, niche events that foster meaningful connections between luxury travel suppliers and buyers, using the innovative Fam-Meet® formula. This unique approach blends business meetings with immersive local experiences, helping attendees build trust and lasting partnerships.
Journeys creates opportunities for professionals to connect through both in-person and online formats, ensuring seamless engagement tailored to their needs. As a leader in luxury travel events, we provide unforgettable experiences that bring together top travel agents, tour operators, and suppliers from around the world, creating a vibrant community of industry experts.
Partnering with Journeys means accessing exclusive opportunities to connect with new audiences and immerse in authentic stories and experiences. In just two years, Journeys has hosted a wide array of successful events, with many more planned to continue building bridges in the luxury travel community.
The Journeys Team
Working alongside Micaela is a team of well-traveled professionals who, like Micaela, bring a vast amount of experience and enthusiasm in the events arena:
- Events Director Alejandro Roca Rivera is a well-respected expert in the events world. Alex previously worked with Micaela at Connections, where he was Head of Buyer Relations and responsible for identifying, engaging, and recruiting the best luxury travel agents to attend the different shows of the portfolio, always based on the requirements and needs of the participating suppliers to ensure maximum ROI.
- Director of Business Development Craig Moyes is well-known and respected in the global events industry, having held previous roles at Montgomery Group and Informa, as well as Reed Travel Exhibitions (RTE), where he worked for over 10 years overseeing the group’s meetings and events portfolio and then the leisure travel portfolio across six continents, which included World Travel Market London, Arabian Travel Market Dubai, World Travel Market Latin America Sao Paulo, and World Travel Market Africa Cape Town.
- Account Director Nicoletta Pilardi has held key operations, sales, and marketing positions within the luxury hospitality market—including at The Dorchester and The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, opening new properties such as the first Bvlgari Hotels & Resorts in Milan and the St Regis Rome, plus running her own marketing business. Nicoletta has lived in London for over 25 years and during her professional career has attended industry events around the world, assisting hotels and private properties to be promoted into the international markets.
- Event Marketing Manager Charlotte Alderslade drives marketing initiatives, manages social media engagement, and supports the promotion of Journeys events. With her keen eye for detail and creative approach, Charlotte keeps the Journeys brand at the forefront of industry conversations.
- Events Executive Alessia Juarez is in her last year of studies at Oxford Brookes University, where she is pursuing a degree in International Business Management. She implements the social media strategy for Journeys Global Group, bringing her multilingual skills and global perspective to enhance the company’s online presence.
Why Journeys?
There are numerous ways in which Journeys stands out among competitors, such as our experience, extensive international database, and global reach. We specialise in specific buyer-supplier markets because we believe that is the way forward. We’re extremely knowledgeable—not only knowing the best people and destinations, but also sharing tips on how to get maximum return on networking opportunities or how to prepare for digital networking.
As well as our experienced team and attention to detail, other key differences are:
Buyers and sellers who attend Journeys’ bespoke events benefit from being able to make long-term, lasting professional partnerships in a truly innovative way by getting to know each other while enjoying authentic experiences.
Fam-Meet® is a new approach to doing business—a way for decision-makers to connect while experiencing the best a destination has to offer. Through fun activities that create bonds and conversation starters, everyone becomes good friends.
The result is long-term professional partners who haven’t just done business or promised to follow up a lead—they’ve shared unique and unforgettable experiences that bond them together for a lifetime.
Find out more about Fam-Meet® here.
Tribe Platform
After the event is over, attendees are encouraged to keep the conversation and relationship going by signing up to Journeys’ Tribe platform, where people who’ve met at a specific Journeys event can join a closed user group—making further interaction among attendees easy.
Find out more about Tribe here.
Sustainability
We care about sustainability. We don’t print event agendas—it’s all online. Our name tags are biodegradable. Journeys’ events are tailored to the territory. Our audience gets to experience the local region, meet local people, and eat local foods in season at local restaurants—bringing the local community to life in a sustainable way, with a focus on responsibility.
Find out more about Journeys’ sustainability commitment here.
Testimonials
Don’t just take our word for it. Here’s what our partners have to say about their experience with Journeys:
- “Journeys is a new breed of travel show, sharing unique experiences with colleagues amidst learning about each other. We are known as the founders now, truly a lesson in customer service, where Micaela, Alessia, Craig, and Alejandro flipped the table offering supporters way more than what was promised, surprising everyone and creating a community of excellence around it. Truly a breakthrough seen only before at another event that happened to be created by the same genius team that is now at the helm of Journeys." - Marcel Perkins, Latin Trails
- "The platform was easy to use and functioned well. The 30-minute conversations flew by!! Your partners were engaging, informative, and well-prepared. I learned a lot and had some wonderful conversations." - Faith Kuczaj, Nexion Travel Group
- "I wanted to thank you for including me in such a wonderful Journeys Digital event! Every single connection I made I will be able to work with. Your platform was fabulous and the quality of the suppliers outstanding. Thank you for bringing this all together." - Diane Cook, 7 Seas 2 See Travel
- "Just finished Journeys Digital! Very interesting meetings, already requests received and agents really interested in meeting suppliers. Thanks Micaela! Great job. And thanks to Alex and to the Journeys staff. See you in London! A big hug from Sicily." - Barbara Iurato, Eracle Travels
- "Here in Costa del Sol we loved working with Journeys. The Fam-Meet® new approach launched by Journeys ensures that buyers and suppliers establish trust and do business with the people that matter whilst at the same time it allows all delegates to LIVE the destination in a way that a trade event never could. I wish to work with Micaela and her team in the future." - Renee Kachler, Visit Costa del Sol
- "I am delighted for Journeys to have powered our first international event ‘Discover Ronda in Costa del Sol’ with over 20 MICE and Luxury senior executives from key source markets. Micaela and her team introduced a new way for decision makers to connect (Fam-Meet®) and do business whilst experiencing the best that a destination has to offer. I could not recommend Journeys enough.” - Miguel Guerrero, Ronda Tourism
- "I have known Micaela for almost 15 years and her personal way of bringing events to life is truly unique. Her passion and creativity stand out ensuring results are delivered, moreover, her background lends itself to all industries and sectors." - John Bevan, DNATA Travel Group
- "Thank you Journeys for the most impressive and helpful introduction to the Journeys Global Group. I have made many new contacts, and the caliber of suppliers and TA'S was great! Looking forward to continuing our relationship and spreading the word about Journeys to colleagues throughout the travel world. Many thanks to Alessia, Craig and Nicoletta for guiding us through the day." - Kate McGrath, Traveledge
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