2026 Travel & Hospitality Conference Guide for Pros
One of the biggest lessons from a decade of entrepreneurship and nearly 20 years in the travel industry? You can be brilliant, but if you’re not in the right rooms, it’s impossible to grow and uncover opportunities.
This is my working list of 2026 travel, hospitality, and media events that are worth showing up for—from advisor-focused trade shows and luxury consortium weeks to PR, data, and tech conferences. Use it to map out your year, layer in pitch trips, and make sure you’re investing in the rooms that actually move your business forward. Each event can be expensive to attend depending on if you’re a sponsor, supplier or other that requires a significant financial investment before you get into staffing and travel costs.
Here are 30 travel industry events and conferences worth showing up for in date order, plan accordingly:
TravMedia International Media Marketplace (IMM North America)
Website: https://travmedia.com/immnorthamerica
When: January 21–22, 2026
Where: Javits Center, New York City, USA
Audience: Travel media, PR agencies, tourism boards, hotels, tour operators
Why Attend: Two days of structured meetings with vetted media plus trend sessions. Ideal if you want guaranteed face time with editors, writers, and creators in one NYC hit.
Skift Travel Megatrends – New York
Website: https://live.skift.com/events/skift-travel-megatrends-new-york
When: January 22, 2026
Where: New York City, USA
Audience: Travel brand leaders, strategists, marketing and product heads, media
Why Attend: A one-day “state of the industry” download on the macro forces shaping travel in the year ahead. Great to align your 2026 strategy and content angles with Skift’s big-picture thinking.
Independent Lodging Congress (ILC) – INDIE Confab San Juan
Website: https://ilcongress.com
When: February 11–12, 2026
Where: Hotel El Convento, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Audience: Independent hotel and restaurant owners, developers, designers, architects, investors, hospitality tech and branding partners
Why Attend: A tightly curated indie-hospitality gathering focused on placemaking, adaptive reuse, and next-gen guest experience, with a strong “community + giving back” ethos (including a Big Brothers Big Sisters auction). Great room if you want to be around creative independents rather than big-box brands, and talk honestly about how to build character-rich hotels and neighborhoods on your own terms.
ITB Berlin
Website: https://www.itb.com
When: March 3–5, 2026
Where: Messe Berlin, Berlin, Germany
Audience: Global B2B travel industry across every sector
Why Attend: The huge one. If you need broad trade relationships—OTAs, DMOs, tour operators, tech, airlines—this is your best single stop.
ASTA River Cruise Expo
Website: https://www.astarivercruiseexpo.org
When: March 11–15, 2026
Where: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Audience: Travel advisors and suppliers in river/small-ship cruising
Why Attend: Ship inspections, training, and appointments all in one compact event. Perfect if river and small-ship cruising is part of your sales focus.
We Are Africa 2026
Website: https://www.weareafricatravel.com
When: May 4–8, 2026
Where: DHL Stadium, Cape Town, South Africa
Audience: High-end African travel brands, luxury tour operators and DMCs, hosted buyers, and top international press
Why Attend: One of the most vibrant gatherings in African luxury travel, designed to “rebrand” the continent for the global market. Expect tightly curated meetings, big networking moments, and plenty of inspiration across conservation, culture, and design-forward stays. A must if Africa is a core pillar of your business.
REMOTE Latin America – Immersion 2026 (Boquete, Panama)
Website: https://remote.la/events/remote-immersion-2026
When: May 4–8, 2026
Where: Boquete, Panama
Audience: Buyers (travel advisors) and small-scale, independent, positive-impact tourism partners across Latin America
Why Attend: REMOTE Immersion is deliberately intimate and place-based. Half your time is in one-on-one meetings with independently owned lodges, hotels, and local operators; the other half is spent out in the landscape and communities of the host destination, so you actually feel the place you’re selling to clients.
Advisor Spotlight:
“I had the privilege of attending REMOTE Latin America in 2024 when it was hosted in Puyehue, Chile. This show is unique as it's hosted in a different remote location every year. This is not your typical show, where you speed date partners for 3 days and then leave. It's true destination immersion and connection to like-minded industry partners.
While half your day is spent meeting with family or locally owned businesses, lodges, hotels, and operators, the other half is spent going out into the local communities to experience the landscape and culture of the host destination. It's a natural way to keep networking with everyone you meet on a deeper level, while also learning about a destination for your clients. You get a true sense of authenticity. It was by far my favorite show I've attended to date.”
— Annie Jones, Owner & Luxury Travel Advisor, Telos Travel, follow at @telostravel
Africa’s Travel Indaba
Website: https://www.indaba-southafrica.co.za
When: May 11–14, 2026
Where: Durban, South Africa
Audience: Africa-focused tourism boards, safari camps, lodges, DMCs, buyers, media
Why Attend: The key African leisure show. Essential for refreshing your safari, beach, and cultural partners across the continent.
IPW (U.S. Travel Association)
Website: https://www.ipw.com
When: May 17–21, 2026
Where: Greater Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA
Audience: International buyers and media, U.S. destinations, attractions, hotels, airlines
Why Attend: The inbound USA marketplace. Ideal if you represent U.S. product or want to understand how international visitors are being sold the U.S.
Women in Travel Summit (WITS) – Travel Creator Summit
Website: https://witsummit.com/chattanooga
When: May 29–31, 2026
Where: The Chattanoogan Hotel (Curio Collection), Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA
Audience: Women and gender-diverse travel creators, founders, tourism partners, PR/marketing
Why Attend: Community-forward, practical education and brand connections. Great for strengthening your creator side and building collabs.
L.E/Miami
Website: https://lemiami.com
When: June 1–4, 2026
Where: South Beach, Miami, Florida, USA
Audience: Design-led hotels, luxury lifestyle brands, high-end travel advisors, DMCs, media
Why Attend: High-energy, highly curated show for contemporary luxury. Ideal if your brand skews design, “cool luxury,” and lifestyle.
PRSA Travel & Tourism Conference
Website: https://www.prsa.org (Travel & Tourism Section)
When: June 7–10, 2026
Where: Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
Audience: Travel PR and communications pros, tourism boards, agencies, journalists
Why Attend: The main U.S. travel PR conference. Media panels, practical sessions, and structured networking make this a strong “invest in relationships” trip.
HSMAI Commercial Strategy Conference
Website: https://commercial.hsmai.org
When: June 16–17, 2026
Where: San Antonio, Texas, USA
Audience: Hotel commercial leaders: revenue, sales, marketing, distribution
Why Attend: Where hospitality’s commercial disciplines converge. Excellent if you want to talk budgets, tech, RevPAR/TRevPAR, and cross-functional strategy with serious hotel people.
TBEX North America
Website: https://tbexcon.com/tbex-north-america-2026
When: June 23–26, 2026
Where: Richmond, Virginia, USA
Audience: Travel bloggers, influencers, digital storytellers, sponsors, destinations
Why Attend: Long-running content creator conference with strong hosted tours. Good for relationship-building with DMOs and fellow creators.
Travel + Leisure World’s Best Summit
Website: https://worldsbestsummit.com
When: July 14–15, 2026
Where: New York City, USA
Audience: Senior travel brand execs, hotel and airline leaders, tourism boards, PR/marketing
Why Attend: A polished trends-and-leadership summit tied to T+L’s World’s Best franchise. High-value if you’re playing in big-brand, big-budget territory.
GBTA Convention
Website: https://convention.gbta.org
When: August 3–5, 2026
Where: Chicago, Illinois, USA
Audience: Corporate travel managers, TMCs, airlines, hotels, tech providers, meetings pros
Why Attend: The flagship business travel convention. Go if you’re touching corporate, meetings, or want to see where managed travel budgets are going.
Hotel Data Conference (CoStar / STR)
Website: https://www.hoteldataconference.com (also listed via CoStar/IDeaS)
When: August 5–7, 2026
Where: Grand Hyatt Nashville, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
Audience: Revenue leaders, asset managers, owners, analysts, consultants, brand execs
Why Attend: Deep dive into hotel performance data, forecasts, and trends. Great if you want to sound frighteningly smart about pipelines, ADR, and demand curves.
Virtuoso Travel Week
Website: https://virtuosomeetings.virtuoso.com
When: August 2026, Las Vegas (exact 2026 dates TBA; typically mid-August)
Where: Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Audience: Virtuoso luxury advisors, preferred partners (hotels, cruise lines, DMCs), select media
Why Attend: The core relationship week if Virtuoso is central to your advisory work. Think days of speed meetings, hosted events, and high-intensity networking.
Outdoor Writers Association of America (OWAA) Annual Conference
Website: https://owaa.org/2026-conference
When: August 22–24, 2026
Where: Monona Terrace, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
Audience: Outdoor/adventure writers, photographers, broadcasters, brands, destinations
Why Attend: Niche but powerful for outdoor storytelling and adventure travel relationships.
PURE Life Experiences
Website: https://purelifeexperiences.com
When: September 7–10, 2026
Where: Palais des Congrès, Marrakech, Morocco
Audience: UHNW-focused experiential advisors, lodges, camps, DMCs, select media
Why Attend: Ultra-curated experiential luxury show with a strong sustainability and “transformational travel” ethos.
IMM LUX 2026 – International Media Marketplace Luxury (TravMedia)
Website: https://travmedia.com/immlux/
When: September 2026 (exact dates TBA)
Where: Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Audience: Luxury travel brands (hotels, resorts, cruise, destinations) and top-tier travel/lifestyle media
Why Attend: TravMedia’s luxe spin on IMM, designed specifically for high-end brands and editors. Expect a concentrated few days of pre-scheduled meetings, press conferences, and a dedicated Luxury Summit—all geared toward generating deep coverage and long-term relationships in the luxury space.
Adventure Travel World Summit (ATWS) – Adventure Travel Trade Association
Website: https://adventuretravel.biz (ATWS 2026 Quebec City page)
When: September 13–18, 2026
Where: Québec City, Canada
Audience: Adventure tour operators, lodges, DMOs, gear brands, media
Why Attend: The big global meet-up for adventure and sustainable tourism. Amazing for pre/post adventure trips and deep networking with values-driven operators.
Skift Global Forum
Website: https://live.skift.com/skift-global-forum
When: September 22–24, 2026
Where: New York City, USA
Audience: Senior execs across airlines, hotels, OTAs, destinations, investors, media
Why Attend: High-level strategy conversations about the future of travel. Less appointments, more “who’s on stage and who’s in the room.”
Arival 360 – Spokane
Website: https://arival.travel
When: October 13–16, 2026
Where: Spokane, Washington, USA
Audience: Tours, activities, attractions, experiences, and the tech that powers them
Why Attend: If you care about “things to do” (tours, experiences, attractions), this is the event. Great for DMCs, experience builders, and experience-heavy DMOs.
SATW Annual Conference (Society of American Travel Writers)
Website: https://www.satw.org/events
When: October 2026 (exact dates TBA – four-day event)
Where: Lake Junaluska Conference & Retreat Center, Haywood County, North Carolina, USA
Audience: Professional travel writers, photographers, editors, broadcasters, content creators
Why Attend: Highly vetted media membership and structured opportunities for hosted tours and editor connections.
The Hospitality Show
Website: https://www.thehospitalityshow.com
When: November 2–4, 2026
Where: Miami Beach Convention Center, Miami Beach, Florida, USA
Audience: Hotel owners, operators, brand leaders, tech and operations vendors
Why Attend: AHLA + Questex’s operations-and-tech focused show. Excellent if you want to stay sharp on what’s next in hotel ops, automation, and guest experience.
The Phocuswright Conference
Website: https://www.phocuswrightconference.com
When: November 17–19, 2026
Where: Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA
Audience: Travel tech founders, investors, senior execs, analysts, media
Why Attend: Travel tech and distribution’s power summit. If you’re interested in where booking, payments, and platforms are headed, this is worth the bandwidth.
ILTM Cannes
Website: https://www.iltm.com/cannes
When: November 30 – December 3, 2026
Where: Palais des Festivals et des Congrès, Cannes, France
Audience: Ultra-luxury hotels, DMCs, cruise lines, top luxury advisors, select media
Why Attend: The flagship global luxury travel show. Pure UHNW relationship-building and marquee branding.
INSPIRE Luxury Hospitality Conference (ILHA) – USA
Website: https://inspire.ilha.org
When: December 2026 (exact dates TBA; recent editions held Dec 10–11 in Las Vegas)
Where: Las Vegas, Nevada, USA (Resorts World in recent years)
Audience: Luxury hotel owners, asset managers, brand leaders, GMs, vendors, consultants
Why Attend: ILHA’s flagship for luxury hospitality. Strong for deal-making, owner/asset-manager conversations, and tracking where luxury hotel product is going.
Where will you be headed in 2026? Drop me a line or set up a 1:1 consultation on where I think you should be and how you show up.
