Phocuswright has unveiled the program for Phocuswright Europe 2026, based on the strategic and operational shifts reshaping the travel industry.
Senior leaders across the global travel ecosystem will convene to compare approaches, challenge assumptions and get a clearer take on where the market is headed.
From the CEOs navigating a new era of distribution amid artificial intelligence developments to the travel brands figuring out new customer acquisition dynamics, the program reflects the pressure on companies to rethink how they compete, collaborate and differentiate themselves.
“Travel is moving out of the experimentation phase and into real deployment, and that’s creating a different kind of pressure on leadership teams,” said Pete Comeau, managing director of Phocuswright. “The conversations have shifted from what’s possible to what’s working—across AI, distribution, payments and identity. This program is built around that shift.”
The program includes:
- Senior executives from across the travel ecosystem, including Trip.com, Thayer Investment Partners, Microsoft, Revolut and Hostelworld.
- One-on-one interviews with industry leaders including James Waters, CBO of Booking.com, who will discuss AI’s growing influence on distribution, and Dara Brady, CMO at Ryanair, on the airline’s evolving commercial and marketing playbook.
- A series of executive panels and discussions focused on where real change is happening across the industry, including:
-Agentic commerce and AI-driven decision-making, exploring how the path from discovery to booking is compressing
-Social and creator-led ecosystems gaining influence in travel discovery
-Loyalty’s next phase, as personalization, payments and platforms begin to converge
-Digital identity moving into implementation, and what that means for trust, control and the traveler relationship
-How travel demand is being reshaped, from overtourism and sustainability pressures to more proactive destination management
Further sessions will focus on AI in practice, the travel startup and investment landscape and insights from Phocuswright's latest research on the European traveler.
Phocuswright Europe, taking place in Barcelona from June 15, is designed as a working forum for industry leaders to better understand where the market is heading as technological and structural change accelerates. The conference serves as a forum for leaders to share strategies, evaluate emerging trends and identify opportunities for growth.
Phocuswright Europe 2026
Join us in Barcelona from June 15 to 17 to hear executive interviews and panel sessions with speakers from companies including Booking.com, Ryanair, Revolut and Microsoft.