Las Vegas, Chicago, and Orlando took the top three spots, but the first surprise came in at #4.  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Read online 🌎 Surprises in New Destination Ranking U.S. News & World Report ranked the 30 best U.S. conference cities for 2026-2027. Las Vegas, Chicago, and Orlando took the top three spots, but the first surprise came in at #4.   Miguel Neves, Skift Meetings Editor-in-Chief June 25th, 2026 IN THIS EDITION London & Partners faces cuts, lands $9.4M anti-disinformation campaign. How The Annabelle Project is helping build the industry's next generation. U.S. News & World launches meeting destination ranking. Plus, the first JW Marriott All-Inclusive resort in Costa Rica, and Life Science Connect acquires CDMO Live and PharmaSource. Read on below.     RECOGNITION Deadline approaching - Submit your entry by July 1. The Skift IDEA Awards features five meetings and events categories: hotels, venues & convention centers, destination marketing organizations, event technology, and cruise lines. SECURE YOUR ENTRY         FEATURED STORIES London & Partners Faces Cuts, Lands $9.4M Anti-Disinformation Campaign By Miguel Neves The Mayor of London is investing millions to try and change how the city is perceived online. London & Partners will run the campaign despite being impacted by funding cuts that curtail its work in attracting business events. GET THE STORY Helping Build the Events Industry's Next Generation By Andrea Doyle The Annabelle Project isn't the events industry's first mentorship program, but it may be the first one paying deliberate attention to who the industry has been overlooking. GET THE STORY U.S. News & World Report’s Inaugural Meeting Destination Rankings: Here’s How Cities Stacked Up By Barbara Scofidio U.S. News & World Report has taken a stab at rating meeting destinations — and landed a few surprises. GET THE STORY         The Data Behind a More Meaningful Incentive Program ITA Group + Skift Meetings It’s not a five-star resort. Instead, it’s data. Learn how one of the most powerful meetings and incentives agencies collects attendee information to build experiences that create deeper connections that outlast the trip. GET THE STORY         FREE REPORT Our latest report uncovers how AI is transforming the event experience and provides crucial insights for anyone looking to invest in event tech today. What’s inside: A vision of a reimagined the ideal AI-powered event experience. A plain-language explainer on LLMs, agentic AI, and MCP. 130+ AI-native event tech tools mapped across event phases. Questions to ask and red flags to look out for buying event tech. This report was produced in partnership with MPI and is sponsored by Wordly. GET THE REPORT         Skift Meetings Toolkit Great events are built on strategy, innovation, and the right resources. The Skift Meetings Toolkit is your go-to hub for best practices in managing meetings and events. EXPLORE THE TOOLKIT         Thanks for being a regular reader. We are switching to a new email platform. Why? This change will allow for better delivery, and more engaging newsletters. Please take a moment to add this new email address to your contacts to ensure you continue receiving your newsletters without interruption. During this transition, these emails might land in your promotions or spam folder. To ensure you don’t miss out, please move this newsletter to your primary inbox.       DEFINING THE FUTURE OF TRAVEL. Update your email preferences or unsubscribe here © 2026 Skift 35 W 31st St. New York, New York 10001, United States Terms of Service

Who's actually on stage at Skift Global Forum

13+ confirmed speakers. 8 tracks. Roundtables that go deeper than the main stage. ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­  

Unsubscribe SEP 22-24   New York City   The Agenda Is Taking Shape. HERE'S WHAT YOU'RE GETTING GET MY TICKET The first wave of Skift Global Forum speakers is confirmed.  Who's Speaking Christopher Nassetta, President and CEO, Hilton Glenn Fogel, CEO and President, Booking Holdings Geoff Ballotti, President and CEO, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Ariane Gorin, CEO, Expedia Group Sébastien Bazin, Group Chairman & CEO, Accor Corneel Koster, CEO, Virgin Atlantic Bret Taylor, Chairman of the Board, OpenAI; Co-Founder, Sierra Ho Ren Yung, Deputy CEO, Banyan Group Mark Woodbury, Chairman and CEO, Universal Destinations & Experiences Steve Case, Chairman and CEO, Revolution Steve Singh, Executive Chairman and CEO, Spotnana Darrell Wade, Co-Founder and Chairman, Intrepid Travel Decius Valmorbida, President, Travel, Amadeus Mark Galardo, EVP Revenue & Network Planning and President, Cargo, Air Canada With more to be announced What You'll Be Discussing Eight tracks built around one theme: Travel's Great Recalibration. The conversations on the agenda include how AI is reshaping the traveler interface, what loyalty programs actually need to do to earn their place, how airlines are adapting to a reordered world, and where the next billion travelers are coming from. RESERVE MY SEAT Expert-Guided Roundtables Eleven roundtables cover the decisions the industry is actually wrestling with right now: who owns the customer when AI books the trip, where AI is generating real ROI versus hype, the future of hotel distribution, loyalty's role in rebuilding traveler trust, airline revenue in a premium-first world, how to manage destination overcrowding, what replaces legacy hospitality tech, how travel organizations evolve their teams in the AI age, what investors will and won't fund in travel tech, revenue strategy for an AI-enabled business, and how to move innovation from pilot to scale. Included with your ticket. Seats are limited, and registration opens first to the earliest registrants. RESERVE MY SEAT Defining the future of travel. Skift. 35 W 31st St., New York, NY, 10001, USA Follow Us: LinkedIn   |  X   |  Facebook   |  Whatsapp   |  Bluesky   |  Threads You received this because you are subscribed to Marketing Emails from Skift. For Gmail users: If you are using the tabbed inbox, Skift emails may be pushed to the 'Promotions' tab. To get updates from Skift direct to your primary inbox, drag and drop this email to that tab.