We’ve got our first speaker announcements for our inaugural TBEX Asia, to be held at the Queen Sirikit Convention Center in Bangkok, Thailand. It’s a great mix of new and returning speakers, and we think you’ll like this first peek at our TBEX Asia 2015 programming. The following speakers have been confirmed:

Diana Edelman

Diana Edelman is a travel writer. the voice behind d travels ’round and a responsible animal tourism expert. For more than two years she studied with renowned elephant conservationist Sangduen “Lek” Chailert at Elephant Nature Park/Save Elephant Foundation in Thailand. While there, she traveled SE Asia learning and observing elephants in captivity. She has been an outspoken advocate for elephants and has served as an expert on the topic for numerous print, radio, television and documentaries. Diana is also co-founder of the Responsible Travel & Tourism Collective (which includes a twice-weekly Twitter chat, #RTTC focusing on responsible tourism), a group of responsible tourism experts working with the travel industry to help raise awareness and shape the future of responsible tourism and responsible tourism initiatives.

Diana will be speaking on Responsible Tourism

Ethan Gelber

Ethan Gelber is a freelance writer, editor, communications strategist, content marketer and translator of more than 20 years and scores of projects focused on travel, culture and education. He specializes in responsible and sustainable travel practices, keeping things local, and quality and relevance in publishing and destination marketing. His written work, including as a Lonely Planet author, AFAR Ambassador, Huffington Post blogger and Open Places eco-columnist, has appeared (credited and uncredited) in dozens of magazines and websites. “Adventures Less Ordinary: How to Travel and Do Good“, an anthology he edited about volunteer and philanthropic travel, was recently released by Horizon Travel Press.

Ethan will be speaking on Responsible Tourism

Ian Ord

Having spent more than half his life on the road, Ian has developed an insatiable thirst for travel. His love for the road less travelled is complimented by his passion the planet, its people, and the place tourism will responsibly fit within that realm. Travel blogger for Where Sidewalks End, board member for the Responsible Travel & Tourism Collective (#RTTC) and the Professional Travel Bloggers Association (PTBA), chapter leader of the Bangkok Travel Massive, and founder of the boutique travel company: WSE Travel Inc. and the TRIP Foundation; Ian plays a very active role in helping bring global awareness, education and experience to those looking to travel responsibly.

Ian will be speaking on Responsible Tourism

Jeff Dobbins

Jeff Dobbins is a freelance writer, tour guide and publisher of Adventures in Culture. Before entering the blogosphere, Jeff had a career in the New York theater industry, working as a performer, lyricist, scriptwriter, press rep and manager of theaters on Broadway and in Lincoln Center. Jeff’s first blog, NYCxplorer, led to collaboration with Walks of New York in which he wrote and edited their blog, served as Social Media Manager, created tours and managed tour operations. Currently, in addition to freelance writing, Jeff is exploring and writing about global cultures, crafting private walking tours of New York City and developing video projects.

Jeff will be speaking on Finding a Revenue Model that Works for You

Mariellen Ward

Mariellen Ward is a professional travel writer and blogger based in Toronto and Delhi. Her award-winning blog Breathe Dream Go is one of the world’s leading travel blogs about India. She has been featured in India Today, BBC Travel, Conde Nast Traveller India and on many lists of top bloggers, and she writes for many online and offline publications. A significant travel influencer, Mariellen co-founded the Toronto and Delhi Travel Massives and founded the WeGoSolo online community for female solo travellers. Mariellen is a Kensington Tours Explorer-in-Residence. Canadian by birth, Mariellen considers India to be her “soul culture.”

Mariellen will be speaking about the state of Travel Blogging in Asia.

Natalie DiScala

Natalie DiScala is an editor and writer who has 15 years of experience as the Digital Editor of leading design magazine, Style at Home. An avid traveler who has been to 50+ countries, she is also the Editor of Oh! Travelissima, a website dedicated to luxury travel and style. Natalie is a frequent speaker at digital conferences, focusing largely on travel and social media strategy and she freelances for a number of publications, covering fashion, beauty, health, wellness, travel and design. Natalie also has a public relations background, having worked in the consumer marketing practice of a global PR firm.

Natalie will speaking on how to maximize your use of Pinterest.

Scott Eddy

Scott Eddy has a background in investment banking in Miami and New York, resigning after 10 years, and since then has been traveling overseas. He now consults with travel companies about strategies and developing relationships, including such clients as Marriott, Starwood, etc.

Scott will be speaking in our TBEX Business, our travel industry track.

Tammilee Tillison

Tammilee Tillison is a professional US blogger that resides in the state of Washington. Using her Masters of Business Administration degree, Tammilee has moved from the corporate world to the blogging world with smooth and accurate precision. Over the past 6 years her blog has grown and thrived in the competitive blogging world. Tammilee Tips receives over 500K page views a month and has readers in over 170 countries. Her social media outreach encompasses over 250K fans. Tammilee has a passion for food, travel and helping others.

Tammilee will be speaking on productivity tips.

Tim Leffel

Tim Leffel is an award-winning travel writer and editor who publishes multiple websites and blogs. He has spoken to large crowds at several previous TBEX events and is the author of five books including Travel Writing 2.0. He is frequently quoted in the media as a travel expert and has contributed to a wide variety of magazines and online publications.

Tim will be speaking on creating multiple revenue streams.

We’ll have another speaker announcement in a couple of days, and will have announcements about TBEX North America in Ft. Lauderdale coming up soon as well.