VirtualTourist.com's Next Social Extravaganza in Santorini, Greece; Member Meetings Reflect Change in Way People Travel

Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) May 10, 2007 -- An increasing number of today's travelers seek memorable social experiences on the road rather than just sightseeing, according to VirtualTourist.com, which announced its next member meeting on Santorini Island, Greece, June 1-3, 2007. The event, organized voluntarily by members of the online travel site, will encompass a weekend of fun activities, including local travel. It is expected to be the largest VirtualTourist weekend meeting to date.



This landmark gathering of VirtualTourist members, travelers who participate on the site to share travel tips with a wide range of other travelers internationally, is expected to draw attendees from all over Europe, including Lithuania, Hungary, Austria, Spain and Great Britain, and other locations including Egypt, the United States, Canada, Argentina and the Philippines.

"VirtualTourist paves the way for travelers to have a network of kind and caring friends on the ground rather than just your standard top-sites itinerary. At member meetings, old friends reunite and new friends get acquainted. They are all ages and from all walks of life, united by their shared love of travel," said Stephanie Johnson, director of member relations at VirtualTourist, who has attended 45 member meetings and will be attending the upcoming Santorini event.

In any given week, dozens of VirtualTourist meetings transpire in cities around the globe. Meetings range from small and informal, such as a few members getting together for a New York City food festival or a round of pints in London, to large-scale blowouts. The last larger meet-up, with about 40 members, was held in April in Perth, Australia.

Athens resident Galatea, whose VirtualTourist member name is sinequanon, is a co-organizer of the Santorini event and has attended many member meetings in Greece and abroad. "The furthest I traveled for a meeting was Marbella (Spain) in May 2006, and that got me so excited over the idea that I proposed to organize the next European meeting in Greece."

Janet Hellis (member name janetanne), another organizer of the Santorini meeting, fondly remembers her first meeting, also in Greece. It was "the first time I had met people that I had never met, but already knew. It was an amazing feeling…. Meeting new friends from other countries enables you to have a connection and a bond that will strengthen your future travels and create bonds of peace and friendship," she said.

The Santorini weekend will include a range of meet-and-greet activities and social gatherings that will be announced to participants shortly before the event. For many attendees, the party will start before the actual weekend with a five-day island-hopping cruise taking in the Eastern Cyclades.

About VirtualTourist.com
VirtualTourist.com is the largest online travel community in the world and a premier resource for travelers seeking an insider perspective on travel information, from Las Vegas hotels to New York City restaurants. On VirtualTourist, real people share real advice on places they've traveled as well as their hometowns; they research and plan trips, and they interact with other avid travelers via travel forums and email. VirtualTourist boasts more than 1.4 million travel reviews and 2.7 million photos on more than 25,000 destinations worldwide. Unbiased, user-generated content on Hotels, Attractions, Local Customs, Tourist Traps and much more is posted entirely by VirtualTourist's more than 875,000 registered members from over 220 countries and territories, and the site's Trip Planner feature allows users to create custom print-and-go travel guides. Among VirtualTourist's awards and accolades: ''Sites that Changed Our World,'' The Guardian; ''Favorite Website,'' Newsweek; ''35 Best Travel Sites,'' Travel + Leisure.

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