Skift Transatlantic Summit in Ireland Examines AI, Geopolitics and the Future of Europe–North America Travel

More than 130 tourism leaders gathered near Dublin to explore connectivity, shifting traveller behaviour and the policy challenges facing the transatlantic market.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• More than 130 senior tourism leaders met at the second Skift Transatlantic Summit in Ireland on 15 October 2026.
• The agenda examined geopolitics, artificial intelligence and changing traveller preferences across the transatlantic market.
• Senior Irish and European Commission policymakers participated alongside destination, airline and travel technology leaders.
• Discussions addressed regional connectivity, sustainable tourism, visitor spending and support for smaller tourism businesses.

Travel leaders from Europe and North America met on Ireland’s coast on 15 October to consider how geopolitical uncertainty, artificial intelligence and changing consumer behaviour are altering one of the world’s most important international tourism markets. The second Skift Transatlantic Summit, organised with the European Travel Commission (ETC) and hosted by Tourism Ireland, brought together more than 130 senior industry participants under the theme “Travel in a Fractured World.”

Held at Portmarnock Resort & Jameson Golf Links near Dublin, the gathering connected destinations, airlines, technology providers and policymakers around questions that increasingly cross sector boundaries. These included how changing political relationships influence travel decisions, how AI changes the way holidaymakers discover destinations, and how transport networks can help visitors reach places beyond established gateways.

Transatlantic travel faces a changing decision landscape

The programme examined the gap between travellers’ intentions and actual spending, as well as the pressure on destinations to compete for attention as AI-based tools change online travel research and distribution. Sessions also addressed younger travellers, regional tourism demand, seasonality and how major airport hubs and connections with rail networks influence itineraries.

Rather than viewing the transatlantic relationship solely through passenger volumes, speakers and panellists explored how tourism organisations can direct spending toward smaller businesses and less-visited communities. Another theme was the role of live events and experiences in motivating trips, alongside the need to manage visitor flows and local benefits.

Policy and cross-border cooperation

Peter Burke, Ireland’s Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, and Maja Bakran Marcich, Deputy Director-General for Mobility and Transport at the European Commission, were among the policymakers participating. Their involvement placed questions of connectivity, regulation and industry coordination alongside commercial discussions about travel demand and technology.

The ETC described the summit as an opportunity for closer cooperation as European tourism stakeholders consider the Commission’s forthcoming Sustainable Tourism Strategy and the wider European policy agenda. Eduardo Santander, the ETC’s chief executive, also appeared on the event programme alongside Dylan Ratigan in a closing discussion of the transatlantic travel relationship.

Industry cooperation beyond the main travel gateways

The day’s agenda brought together representatives of Aer Lingus, Rail Europe, Rome2Rio, national tourism boards and other travel businesses to discuss more connected journeys and regional dispersal. Representatives of Atout France and Sojern explored the practical implications of AI for destination marketing, while other sessions examined investment, traveller behaviour and the place of smaller tourism operators in the visitor economy.

This was the second edition of the summit, following its 2025 debut in New York. The 2026 edition was supported by Allianz, Expedia Group, Explore Fingal, the Bicester Collection, Mastercard, Rome2Rio and Trip.com Group, reflecting the range of organisations engaged in the European–North American travel market.

For travellers, the underlying issues are tangible: which destinations are easy to reach, how unfamiliar places are discovered, and whether tourism spending reaches communities outside the best-known cities. For the industry, the Portmarnock discussions offered a forum for comparing responses to those challenges across both sides of the Atlantic.