Travel Trends Podcast Summit V3 Reveals First Speakers

The Travel Trends Podcast today announced that its Virtual Summit V3 has expanded capacity to 2,500 free registrations, driven by overwhelming support from partners across the global travel industry.

Taking place October 28 & 29, 2026, the Travel Trends Podcast Virtual Summit V3 will bring together travel leaders, innovators, technology pioneers, destination marketers, advisors, operators, and hospitality professionals to explore the future of travel through this year’s theme: Beyond AI.

As artificial intelligence rapidly moves from experimentation to implementation, the travel industry is entering a new phase of transformation. While AI remains a critical topic, travel leaders are increasingly focused on broader questions around customer behavior, distribution, loyalty, sustainability, and the future business models that will define the next decade. The Summit’s Beyond AI theme is designed to explore these larger shifts and help organizations prepare for what comes next.

The announcement marks another milestone in the event’s growth. Since launching in 2024, the Travel Trends Summit has doubled attendance each year and has evolved into a global gathering of travel executives, entrepreneurs, investors, technologists, and destination leaders.

This year’s expansion to 2,500 free registrations reflects both the growing demand for meaningful conversations shaping the future of travel and the Travel Trends Podcast’s commitment to making the event as accessible as possible. While attendance was ticketed in previous years, strong partner support has enabled the Summit to remove barriers to participation and provide complimentary access to travel professionals from around the world.

The first wave of 30+ confirmed speakers includes leaders from some of the industry’s most influential organizations, including:

Chris Hemmeter, Co-founder and Managing Partner, Thayer Ventures
Shane O’Flaherty, Global Director, Travel & Hospitality, Microsoft
Janette Roush, Senior Vice President, Innovation & Chief AI Officer, Brand USA
Jake Peters, CTO & Co-Founder, Fora
Susan DeBottis, VP & GM, Lonely Planet
Stuart Greif, Chief Innovation Officer, Forbes Travel Guide

“We are incredibly grateful to our partners who made it possible for us to expand attendance,” said Dan Christian, Host and Founder of the Travel Trends Podcast. “The industry’s response has exceeded our expectations. Beyond AI isn’t just about technology, it’s about understanding how travel itself will evolve. The organizations that succeed over the next decade will be the ones that can connect innovation, customer experience, operations, and human insight into a cohesive strategy. That’s the conversation we’re bringing together at this year’s Summit.”

The Travel Trends Podcast would like to recognize the support and leadership of their partners including:

TourRadar, Kaptio, Fora, Travel AI, Railbookers, Propellic, Belvera Partners, Pinerary, Tripian, Deloitte, TripRecos, iWander, GuestOS, Arival and Phocuswright

Together, these organizations are helping create an accessible platform for meaningful conversations around innovation, technology, customer experience, distribution, sustainability, and the next era of travel transformation.

Attendees Can Expect
Visionary keynote presentations from travel leaders and innovators
Executive panel discussions on the future of travel
AI and emerging technology insights
Travel advisor, creator, and entrepreneur perspectives
Destination and tourism leadership sessions
Networking opportunities with travel professionals from around the world

The Summit is part of the Travel Trends Podcast’s ongoing exploration of how the travel industry moves beyond AI adoption and prepares for the next decade of transformation, growth, disruption, and opportunity.  Additional speakers and the full agenda will be shared in July.

Registration is now open, with 2,500 complimentary passes available.

For registration and the latest speaker announcements, visit: https://www.traveltrendspodcast.com/travel-trends-summit-2026