Skift Forums: A Look Back at Some of Our Favorite Stage Discussions of 2024

Skift’s live events consistently convene some of the most influential voices across travel sectors. It can be hard work to craft each discussion, but our dedicated editorial and research teams deftly unearth the topics and subtle signals that leaders are following as they often are tasked with pondering: what comes next?  

We’ve collected a few standout moments from Skift’s 2024 events globally that underscore key insights shaping the future of travel, tell important stories, and give us a bigger picture view on why this industry is so vital globally. If you missed these or even if you caught them in person, watch again and get inspired for the year ahead:

November: Skift Global Forum East – Dubai
Speaker: Paul Griffiths, CEO, Dubai Airports

Dubai Airports is renowned for being one of the world’s most important hubs and as a super-connector, they have unique problems to solve, as well. Here, CEO Paul Griffiths shared his forward-looking view for why he believes the technology one might see in a Tom Cruise film could help seamlessly integrate airport security and operations in the future, enhancing the traveler experience. Dubai is never short on ambition, and Griffiths’ call to action struck a chord in the audience for those seeking to stay ahead of technology’s outsized impact on our travel future.

November: Skift Aviation Forum – Dallas
Speaker: Ashab Rizvi, Skift Research Analyst

Putting the Ultra-Low-Cost Carrier debate for airlines into perspective, our own Skift Research analyst Ashab Rizvi addressed the financial and operational challenges facing budget airlines, how they can adapt, why they matter in the overall airline ecosystem, and if we’re witnessing a fundamental shift in the model. Sure, it’s always great to hear what CEOs from American Airlines, Southwest, etc. have to say on stage at our Forums, but even if you’re not an AVgeek, this is an excellent dive into the competitive world of LCCs.

September: Skift Global Forum – New York City
Speaker: Zita Cobb, Founder & CEO, Shorefast & Fogo Island Inn

What can one hotel on an island in Canada teach us about travel’s future? Well, as it turns out, a lot. Zita Cobb’s session at SGF challenged the audience to ask what local communities need first, then balance tourism and capital to create projects that matter. Cobb’s interview reveals the models and future concepts she feels will achieve the transformative power of travel and a better future for tourism and hospitality, not just what will drive the bottom line for a few big companies.

September: Skift Global Forum – New York City
Speaker: Stephen Satterfield, Founder, Whetstone Media

Many of us seek out great food when we travel. But do we know where it comes from and how it got there? Stephen Satterfield’s work as founder of Whetstone Media and host of Netflix’s High on the Hog encourages us to explore the deep relationship between food, migration, and cultural connection. In this talk, he challenged the industry to harness food narratives as a medium for enriching travel experiences and better understanding people, similar to Rafat’s post this month on the flattening of food cultures and the missed opportunity for tourism boards.

September: Skift Meetings Forum – New York City
Speaker: Seth Godin, Entrepreneur, Best-selling Author, and Speaker

We were thrilled to welcome renowned author, entrepreneur, and teacher Seth Godin to share his views on “Making Events That Matter” with our audience of global event planners. Known for his influential books like Purple Cow, Tribes, and This is Marketing, Godin shared stories and important reminders on why event producers gather communities and the power of that role in our world. Even if you are not an event professional, this talk offers incredible reminders to look past conventional thinking and reinforces the idea that it is possible to change people’s lives, if we do the work that matters.

June: Short-Term Rental Summit – New York City
Speaker: Carl Shepherd, Co-Founder, HomeAway

Few have seen the arc of the short term rental industry as fully as HomeAway co-founder Carl Shepherd. As a pioneer in vacation rentals, Shepherd shares his perspectives on market competition, why “standardization is the enemy of true vacation rentals”, and of course his thoughts on Airbnb.

June: Skift Data + AI Summit – New York City
Speaker: Marc Zornes, Co-Founder & CEO, Winnow

Generative AI has the power to reshape many tasks throughout travel, and often it’s greatest impact is behind the scenes. Winnow Co-Founder and CEO Marc Zornes’ gives us a window into how his company uses technology to track, analyze and cut food waste in real time for hotels, cruises, and even IKEA. With so much talk about sustainability in travel, it’s great to see real world action and examples powered by AI and data.

March: Skift India Summit 2024 – New Delhi
Speaker: Eric Garcetti, U.S. Ambassador to India

For our inaugural summit in India, we were delighted to have the former LA mayor and now U.S. Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti join us on stage with Rafat Ali to dive into a big picture view on U.S.-India relations and their implications for travel and business. One thing was clear: there is a tremendous amount of interest and room for growth when it comes to cross-border collaboration and building a deeper connection between the U.S. and India.

January: Megatrends 2024 – New York City
Speaker: Katalina Mayorga, CEO, El Camino Travel

Each January, we kick off the year with the trends that will reshape the industry in the year ahead, and for El Camino Travel Founder and CEO, Katalina Mayorga her emphasis on authentic, transformative experiences still resonate today. ’s session at Megatrends 2024 offered bold predictions for the year ahead in travel. Mayorga’s data driven approach to survey her community of women who are passionate about travel and culture led her to rethink their trips recommendation engine and leveraging generative AI to uncover unique experiences that defines their brand mission.

Looking Ahead to 2025

We are incredibly grateful to all of the over 190 speakers that joined us this year to share their ideas and have so much planned as we look ahead to 2025. Check out live.skift.com to sign up for our Megatrends events in New York City and London in January, our India Summit returning to New Delhi in March, and of course our marquee event of the year, Skift Global Forum, happening September 16-18 in New York City. Get your passes today to hear these sessions live and connect with fellow decision-makers from across the globe.