In October 2026, the European Travel Commission (ETC) gathered tourism leaders from both sides of the Atlantic to reflect on the changing face of travel between Europe and North America, under the theme ‘Travel in a Fractured World’.
Following the great success of the 2025 edition, ETC and Skift organised the second Transatlantic Summit, this time hosted by Tourism Ireland. The event brought together more than 130 senior leaders from destinations, airlines and travel technology, to examine how shifting geopolitics, the emergence of AI and evolving traveller preferences are changing tourism along the world’s busiest travel corridor.
The summit was also joined by policymakers, including Ireland’s Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, Peter Burke, and the European Commission’s Deputy Director-General for Mobility and Transport, Maja Bakran Marcich. These key decision-makers outlined the importance of high-level coordination between industry players, particularly in the context of the Irish Presidency of the European Council and the Commission’s upcoming Sustainable Tourism Strategy.
The 2026 Transatlantic Summit was sponsored by Allianz, Expedia Group, Explore Fingal, the Bicester Collection, Mastercard, Rome2Rio and Trip.com Group. The programme continued ETC’s strong cooperation with key partners and stakeholders in one of Europe’s most important international travel markets.
