Skift Take

Over the past five years of running Skift, I’ve seen clearly that the largest consumer and tech changes converge in travel, and what’s happening here has lessons for the world beyond the industry.

Four years into creating Skift Global Forum, it is now the most prestigious executive conference in all of travel.

As our company turned five this year, we have expanded the franchise from the single global flagship Forum in New York City, to a European edition earlier in spring in London. We have already planned out our conference schedule for 2018, and we can’t wait to to unveil it to you all soon! (Hint: more conferences!)

We have come a long way. It took about six months to pull off our first conference, in 2014.

When I first started thinking about creating a different type of conference in the travel industry, in March 2014, this is what I wrote out as rough notes:

Skift’s Global Forum is the first conference focused on the top strategists, marketers, technologists and creatives in travel, the people defining the Future of Travel in 2014 and beyond. Skift is changing how the travel industry looks at itself and how it projects itself to the world. Our Global Forum will take that mission to a live event, and help you understand the changing megatrends in travel across sectors, across geographies, and across functional silos in travel industry.”

Secure Your Spot at the Hottest Event in Travel of 2017

“We are the world’s largest industry, high time we have a Global Forum that starts acting like it.”

Those few key phrases above that were meant for the Forum ended up changing our company positioning since then. It crystallized Skift’s audience: marketers, strategists, and technologists. It gave us the intersections at which Skift covers the future of travel: tech, marketing, user experience, and design. It gave us marching orders: show the larger world the creative promise of the world’s largest industry. And it gave us our biggest clarion call: “Travel is the world’s largest industry. Lets start acting like it!”

The Forum isn’t a just a line of business for us. It is the distillation of everything we work for.

This isn’t a freakin’ trade conference, as we gently say it.

We have lined up one of the biggest gatherings of CEOs and founders in the travel industry, ever. CEOs of Expedia, Inc., Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., Marriott International, Inc., InterContinental Hotels Group, The Priceline Group, Hilton, TripAdvisor, Wyndham Hotel Group, Delta Air Lines, Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board, Union Square Hospitality Group, Vacasa, Apple Leisure Group, Teague, and Lindblad Expeditions, along with top executives from Facebook, Airbnb, La Quinta Inns & Suites, ProColombia, Lufthansa Group, Carnival Cruise Line, AMAN, Tourism Australia, JetBlue Technology Ventures, and others are all coming to New York City.

The CEOs and leaders from across the industry who are stepping onto the stage are not there to make a sales pitch for their company; they are coming to share their visions of the future of travel. These are the leaders who understand the larger context in which travel operates.

Over the past five years of running Skift, I’ve seen clearly the largest consumer and tech changes converge in travel, and what’s happening here has lessons for the world beyond the industry. The speakers and the people attending the Forum understand this, and are best prepared for what’s happening next in travel.

There won’t be a live video stream of the event this year, so be sure to secure your spot at the live event!

Register Now

We couldn’t bring our event to life every year without the support of our incredible sponsors: AccentureAdobeAIGAmadeus AirlinesAmerican ExpressAway Luggage, BCF AgencyButtonCriteoFareportalHobo BagsHotelTonightITP, KDSLuggage HeroMapboxProColombiaSimulmediaSmartlingSojern, Spring Place, TastemadeTradecraftThe Points GuyTravelsify, and Visit Jordan.

To become a sponsor or for any other questions you may have, email [email protected].

smartphone

The Daily Newsletter

Our daily coverage of the global travel industry. Written by editors and analysts from across Skift’s brands.

Have a confidential tip for Skift? Get in touch

Tags: sgf2017, skift global forum

Up Next

Loading next stories