Skift will host the inaugural Skift Live Tourism Summit on September 22, 2026, at North Javits in New York City, bringing together more than 80 senior leaders from the travel, tourism, hospitality, aviation, sports and entertainment sectors.
Presented by Live Nation, the closed-door strategy forum will focus on the growing role of live events in driving travel demand. The Summit will examine how concerts, festivals, sporting events and cultural moments are influencing where people travel, how they plan trips and how destinations can build longer-term value around these occasions.
According to Skift, live tourism differs from traditional tourism because travel is increasingly being organised around a specific moment rather than a destination. A concert, festival or sporting event can become the primary reason for a trip, with visitors then building their travel plans around the experience.
The Summit will look at how destinations and travel businesses can move beyond treating live events as individual calendar occasions and instead build strategies around the demand they generate.
Key discussions will explore how destinations can plan for sudden increases in visitor numbers, how cities and event organisers can share the economic value created by live events, and how a single event can potentially translate into repeat visitation.
Skift’s latest pre-read for the Summit outlines five key decisions for industry leaders, covering whether destinations should invest for temporary demand surges or build permanent capacity, how economic value should be shared between cities and promoters, how destinations can prepare for demand, how pricing can balance yield and accessibility, and how different stakeholders can coordinate more effectively.
The Summit will bring together senior executives from destination organisations, hospitality, aviation, sports, entertainment, travel platforms, venue operators, event organisers and the public sector. The format will focus on operator discussions, original Skift Research and curated roundtables rather than a traditional stage-led conference programme.
The event will also examine the wider economic impact of live tourism. Live events can generate demand across hotels, airlines, restaurants, retail and other parts of the visitor economy, making coordination between the travel and live entertainment industries increasingly important.
The afternoon Summit will lead into the opening night reception of Skift Global Forum, bringing together senior travel industry leaders in New York during one of the industry’s key annual gatherings.
With live events increasingly influencing travel decisions, the Skift Live Tourism Summit will put the focus on how the industry can turn event-driven travel demand into longer-term opportunities for destinations, businesses and communities.
