RICHMOND, Va. — Between the lunch and dinner rush Wednesday afternoon, The Mantu restaurant in Carytown welcomed a small but influential group into its dining room.
Almost before the plates landed on the table, phones were in hand to capture delicately crafted photographs and videos.
The group was in town for the TBEX North America travel blogger and travel creator conference, hosted in Richmond this week.
"So we're here for the TBEX North America travel blogger, travel creator conference," said Megan Indoe, a TBEX attendee.
Indoe and Scott Herder are from New York City, but to the thousands of people who follow their travel stories online, they are known as Bobo and Chichi. The couple has been documenting their travels around the globe since 2013, including a trip to Richmond just a few months back.
They described what the Travel Blog Exchange, or TBEX, conference is all about.
"Tourism and content creating around tourism. So not only do we learn skills from each other, but we get to learn more about the region and the area," Indoe said.
The group's guide around Carytown was Erin Beard with Discover Richmond Tours.
She brought them to several restaurants, stopped at street art and shared local history along the way.
Beard said her goal aligns with those attending the conference — to show off Richmond in exciting and unique ways and encourage people to visit.
"We get a lot of people on tours who love taking photos and things like that, but this is a whole other level," Beard said. "It's fun. The food has to get passed around first for everyone to take their photo but they're going to have great content and hopefully get people to come out here. I keep getting notifications of new followers so I'm very excited to go see what they've put together."
At the next stop, Home Sweet Home, the Herders shared what they like about Richmond.
"Richmond kind of has everything you'd want in a big city but it still has a smaller feel that's really manageable and easy to get around so it has great food, great arts and culture, great museums," Scott Herder said.
Indoe said Richmond's relationship with its history also stood out.
"We really appreciate how Richmond, at the intersection of so many pivotal moments in U.S. history, how they confront history here," Indoe said.
The couple also expressed a fondness for Richmond's famous feline residents.
"And also the cats. The cats, yeah," Herder said.
"There's a lot of famous cats here that we really like. We have to go meet Francine," Indoe said. "We have to go this trip. We have to meet Francine. She's a national treasure."
Watch: Community comes together to celebrate Francine
For anyone considering a travel creator lifestyle, the couple offered straightforward advice.
"So just start being active in your own area, and start expanding on that, especially if you did want to turn it into a career because then you're already learning what works and what doesn't work and you don't have to invest that much. You can start by just falling in love with your own neighborhood," Herder said.
The TBEX North America Conference wraps up Friday in Richmond.
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