Skift Global Forum 2025: The Big Ideas You’ll Hear on Stage This Week

Skift Global Forum, happening September 16–18, New York City, is where the industry comes to take a hard look at the next five years and to make the future a little more evenly distributed.

Across airlines, hospitality, online travel, destinations, cruises, food culture, and investing, this year’s through-lines are unmistakable: agentic AI moving from hype to workflows, distribution models in flux, luxury getting a reset, destinations shifting from marketing to stewardship, and talent becoming a true boardroom priority.

We’ll explore all of these ideas throughout incisive on-stage interviews and our event theme: Travel 2030: People, Platforms, and New Paths Forward.

If you haven’t seen the full agenda, check it out in the app or on the SGF site here. Here are just a few themes to follow throughout the event:

As generative AI moves from theoretical to real world applications, how will companies keep up with consumers? Will agentic AI take over customer service and prove to be a better interface for travel? Will the “tyranny of the search box,” as Skift CEO/founder Rafat Ali has dubbed it, finally be coming to an end?

Sessions to check out:

• Sept. 16: Booking Holdings CEO Glenn Fogel and Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky on AI’s role in reshaping travel.
• Sept. 17: Skift Research + McKinsey panel with Kayak CEO Steve Hafner and Marriott’s Drew Pinto.
• Sept. 18: Expedia CEO Ariane Gorin’s interview with Rafat Ali and later, we’ll hear from Sierra.AI co-founder Bret Taylor on the rise of agents.

The U.S. market is sending mixed signals: high-end travelers remain resilient while middle-market demand weakens under affordability pressures. At the same time, premium and luxury travel remains strong. Airlines and hospitality brands alike are grappling with shifting consumer expectations, the future of loyalty, and how to stay ahead of evolving travel behaviors in a politically charged environment where affordability is becoming a national debate.

Sessions to check out:

• Sept. 17: Frontier Airlines CEO Barry Biffle on the future of domestic air travel.
• Sept. 17: IHG CEO Elie Maalouf on leading through change and balancing global growth with customer needs.
• Sept. 18: TSA Deputy Administrator Adam Stahl on streamlining the U.S. travel experience.

Luxury is being rewritten. The new luxury traveler values transformation over ego, purpose over price, and wellbeing over wealth signaling. Brands are under pressure to deliver authenticity, climate accountability, and innovation across every tier of the market. Expect sharp conversations on how wellness, sustainability, and values are no longer side notes but central to business models.

Sessions to check out:

• Sept 17: Revolution and AOL founder Steve Case will share his big bet on why the future of high-end tourism lies in community connections.
• Sept. 17: Six Senses founder Neil Jacobs and Sensei CEO Alexandra Walterspiel on the future of wellness and mindful luxury.
• Sept. 17: Intrepid CEO James Thornton on scaling sustainability while staying profitable.

We’ll explore how destinations face both opportunity and responsibility in shaping the next era of travel. From big trends around live tourism, to exciting new uses of data and AI, driving new alternatives to overtourism, and also understanding travel’s role in impacting people and cultures: the many changes happening across destinations and tourism will be a consistent theme throughout the Forum.

Sessions to check out:

• Sept. 17: “Live Tourism 2.0” with Formula 1, Sphere Entertainment, and LVCVA will unpack the strategies and evolution of this rapidly growing trend.
• Sept. 18: Destination panel with leaders from Canada and Catalonia on AI, data, and managing flows.
• Sept. 18: Youtuber Abu Finiin will share his views on identity and the stories we tell in travel.
• Sept. 18: Andrew Zimmern on food, culture, and sustainability as a lens for travel.

Skift Global Forum 2025 is more than a conference. It’s where the industry’s sharpest minds and most powerful voices wrestle with the questions that will define the decade ahead. From AI agents to affordability, luxury resets to destination stewardship, the discussions at this year’s Forum will help travel leaders not just anticipate the future, but be a part of the strategies actively shaping it.