Planning the Biggest Travel Event of the Year: Behind-the-Scenes

What does it take to bring the travel industry’s top executives, disruptors, and thinkers together for candid, high-stakes conversations?

Skift’s VP of Editorial Events, Brian Quinn, and Founder & CEO, Rafat Ali, reveal how the Forum gets made — and why it keeps the industry coming back.

The next Skift Global Forum is set for September 16-18, 2025, at The Glasshouse in New York City, promising another edition of candid, high-caliber discussions for the industry’s sharpest minds.

“We don’t build panels. We build conversations,” says Rafat Ali. “Our job is to ask what others won’t and to do it with integrity.”

Brian Quinn puts it simply: “Skift’s events are about seeking truth and pushing the industry forward. It’s a physical manifestation of Skift’s insightful articles and in-depth research, and a moment to bring the industry together around what’s next.”

Skift Global Forum thrives on tension, curiosity, and candor. Sessions run 20–25 minutes, giving space for depth without dragging. The single-stage format ensures that every voice gets the full attention it deserves.

Speakers know the topics, but not the full questions Skift editors and research analysts will ask in advance. “That’s really important so that you don’t end up with a canned answer,” Quinn says.

This approach is often echoed by our philosophy, Rafat explains: “Our role is to get beyond the headlines and show the real forces shaping travel. We owe that to the audience and to the industry.”

What’s on the Agenda

At Skift Global Forum, every moment for attendees and speakers is well thought out. Even the speaker’s green room is designed to provide the best possible experience for leaders at the event.

It’s this combination of precision, hospitality, and journalistic integrity that sets the forum apart. Quinn says, “We define hospitality as treating people like they’re guests in your home. Up to the point of being on stage, we make sure they have everything they need.”

The goal? Create an environment where truth can surface, not just PR talking points.

Behind every speaker is weeks of preparation – research, briefings, calibration, and backup planning. And no, it doesn’t always go to plan. At Skift Global Forum East last year, a major airline CEO had his flight cancelled and ended up in a different city than the event. The solution: try to have him speak via video from his phone and project that on screen to the audience.

“We didn’t know if his interview was happening until five minutes before. We had only a brief moment to organize slides, get the tech team to link the video on screen, and inform our editor, who was ready to pivot mid-stride,” Brian recalls. “Then we went live in 90 seconds.”

For the audience? It was invisible. Seamless. And that’s the point. “We work tirelessly behind the curtain so the value on stage never wavers,” he says.

“If you don’t ask the tough questions, the audience notices and you lose credibility.”

Skift’s programming team designs sessions for what Quinn calls “the smartest person in the room.” And in an age of shrinking attention and AI summaries, live storytelling still matters.

“Live journalism is a different muscle than writing,” says Quinn. “You have one shot to get it right. And if you do, the room leans in.”

Rafat Ali has long emphasized this attention to content and curation: “If you are thoughtful about the people on stage and the questions you ask, the audience experiences something transformative. That’s what makes the Skift Global Forum distinct.”

This ensures every discussion is as insightful and challenging as the audience expects.

Skift Global Forum 2025 is raising the stakes with Executive Roundtables, a new format to foster smaller, high-level discussions among industry leaders. These intimate sessions complement the main stage, adding another layer to the Skift Live event’s reputation for candid conversations.

Rafat Ali’s vision continues to guide the event. “At Skift Global Forum, the industry is not just represented, it’s also challenged and inspired. Every conversation should leave people thinking differently.”

Skift Global Forum 2025 promises to be our best event yet, with CEOs from across travel and the globe joining us on stage and in the audience.

Behind the curtain is a team designing every moment with intention, from every question and pause to every space. The result is a Forum that feels smarter, sharper, and more real than any other event in travel.

If you’re ready to join the conversation that shapes what’s next in travel, Skift Global Forum 2025, September 16-18, is where you need to be.