Travel Trends Summit returns Oct. 28-29 with AI, marketing and leadership focus

Travel Trends Summit V3 will bring global travel leaders together for a free virtual event on Oct. 28-29, 2026, with sessions on AI, distribution, marketing and leadership. Speakers from Microsoft, Brand USA, Phocuswright, Fora and Amex GBT will examine how travel companies can adapt as AI changes discovery, booking and brand visibility.

Why it matters: - AI is changing how travelers discover and book trips, which is putting pressure on travel brands to rethink customer acquisition, distribution and growth. - The summit is aiming to show travel companies how to stay visible and bookable as AI becomes a bigger part of the travel funnel. - The event is free and virtual, which broadens access for journalists and industry professionals tracking the shift.

What happened: - Travel Trends Summit V3 returns Oct. 28-29, 2026, as a free virtual event themed “Beyond AI.” - The program brings together speakers from Microsoft, Brand USA, Phocuswright, Fora and Amex GBT, along with other travel and tech organizations. - Dan Christian, founder and host of the Travel Trends Podcast, framed the summit as a two-day look at both AI-native travel technology and the human side of travel leadership. - Journalists covering travel, hospitality, technology, marketing and business are invited to register free of charge.

The details: - Day 1, titled “Beyond the Hype – The New Travel Stack,” focuses on technology and distribution, including Phocuswright research, AI, discovery and booking. - TourRadar CEO Travis Pittman will lead a session on turning AI recommendations into bookings, titled “Readable, Believable, Bookable: What Every Travel Company Needs to Get Right, However Travelers Book.” - Other Day 1 speakers include Railbookers, Travelweek, Host Agency Reviews, Tripian, Nezasa and Bókun. - Fora Co-Founder and CTO/CPO Jake Peters will join Dan Christian for “Humans in the Loop: Empowering Travel Entrepreneurs with AI.” - Peters said Fora’s integrated AI agent, Via, has changed how many advisors work since launch three months ago. - Day 2, titled “Beyond the Tools – The Human Advantage,” covers marketing, brands, communities, investment and leadership. - Propellic CEO Brennen Bliss will discuss AI-powered discovery in “The Post-Search Marketer: Winning Attention When AI Chooses for the Traveler.” - Marketing speakers include WeRoad, Travel Massive, the Adventure Travel Trade Association and Intrepid. - Leadership speakers include Thayer Ventures, G Adventures, Forbes Travel Guide, Microsoft and Deloitte Consulting. - Janette Roush, SVP of Innovation and Chief AI Officer at Brand USA, will moderate “Beyond AI: Who Owns the Future of Travel? What Will Define the Next Year?” with Amber Halliday, Christian Watts and Jeff Casullo. - TravelAI, Arival and Lonely Planet will appear on the closing panel. - Susan DeBottis, VP and GM at Lonely Planet, said travelers still rely on human connection and on-the-ground expertise to move from interest to booking. - The summit says the sessions are only a selection from the wider two-day program. - Registration information is available through the summit announcement.

Between the lines: - The agenda shows a split in the industry conversation: one track is focused on machine-led discovery and booking, while the other is focused on trust, content, communities and leadership. - The comments from speakers point to a near-term race over whether travel companies can make their content and booking paths usable by both people and AI agents. - The summit also reflects a broader industry bet that AI will reshape distribution, but will not replace the need for trusted brands and human expertise.

What's next: - The summit will run Oct. 28-29, 2026. - Attendees can register free and follow the sessions most relevant to travel, hospitality, technology, marketing and business coverage. - The conversations are expected to offer a preview of how travel companies may adjust to AI-driven discovery over the next year.

The bottom line: - Travel Trends Summit V3 is positioning itself as a guide to the industry’s next phase: AI-powered distribution on one side, and human trust and expertise on the other.**