AI-Powered, Data-Driven,
Multi-Platform Campaigns For
Digital Travel Marketing
8:30 Registration & Informal Networking
Opening Remarks
9:00 GIC Welcome & Morning Chair’s Opening Remarks
Ben McNally, Head of Sales, Treehouse Hotels
STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT FOR 2027 & BEYOND
KEYNOTE
9:10 Future-Proof Your Brand With Resilient, Opportunity-Led Strategies That Drive Demand In Today’s Digital Landscape & Position Your Business For Sustained Success
- Develop innovative, high-performing campaigns that capture attention, stimulate immediate demand to set your brand apart
- Orchestrate cohesive, cross-platform strategies that deliver short-term performance while strengthening long-term brand presence
- What economic, behavioural and cultural factors are shaping travel decisions and embed these insights into marketing strategies?
- Foster loyalty and longevity by creating a brand that resonates with today’s travellers while strategically positioning your business to capitalise on emerging market shifts and growth opportunities
Thalles Silveira, Head of Product Management, Air France KLM
CUSTOMER TRAVEL TRENDS
PANEL Q&A
9:30 Decode the Business-Critical Travel Trends Shaping 2027 & Beyond & Craft Marketing Strategies That Engage Destination-Focused Travellers
- As value-conscious travel continues to rise, how can brands develop digital campaigns that clearly communicate quality, transparency and exceptional experiences?
- Showcase the meaningful experiences travellers seek, positioning your brand as the gateway to memorable, story-worthy journeys
- How can teams measure success, balancing short-term performance with long-term impact, in an environment where customer behaviour is constantly evolving?
Cat Jordan, Communications Director, Travelzoo
Alessio Cantoro, Customer Acquisition Director, lastminute.com
Robert From, Chief Growth Officer, Rail Europe
Sophie Buxton, Head of Marketing, UK & Europe, Intrepid Travel
Gareth Knight, Digital Director, Wilderness
AMPLIFYING BRAND PRESENCE THROUGH SOCIAL ECOSYSTEMS
KEYNOTE
10:00 From Publishing to Indexing: Leverage Social to Build Brand Fame & Maximise Discoverability In The Age Of Search & AI
- How can brands harness publishing channels and indexing channels and maximise how both shape visibility and influence?
- Use owned and social channels strategically to distribute high-impact content that drives engagement, authority and shareability across digital communities
- Strengthen your presence across evolving indexing environments ensuring your brand is visible
- How to build sustainable content models to drive engagement as well as populate publishing and indexing environments
Josh Pizey, Global Head of Social, HX Expeditions
HIGH-IMPACT CONTENT: NARRATIVES THAT RESONATE
KEYNOTE
10.20Turn Storytelling Into Strategy By Creating Authentic, High-Impact Content That Inspires Action, Builds Emotional Connection & Drives Measurable Growth
- Develop content that does more than attract attention – blending inspiration with intent to move travellers from dreaming to booking
- Use authentic, insight-led narratives to deepen engagement, strengthen brand affinity and translate sentiment into measurable performance
- Position your brand as the gateway to genuine travel experiences by elevating relatable, experience-led content that builds trust and credibility
- Balance creativity with strategic clarity – ensuring your content feels human and personable without diluting brand positioning
Suzanne Korff, Director, Marketing & Communications (UK & EMEA), Princess Cruises
10:40 Morning Refreshment Break With Informal Networking
DATA-DRIVEN STRATEGIES: TURNING INSIGHT INTO IMPACT
KEYNOTE
11:10 Transform Traveller Data into Smarter Marketing, Demand and Performance Decisions
- Uncover traveller behaviour and intent signals across inspiration, booking, and travel—and turn insight into targeted marketing and demand shaping strategies
- Identify the right platforms, analytics frameworks, and travel data ecosystems to ensure marketing and technology investment drives measurable outcomes
- Balance personalisation with privacy, navigating evolving data protection expectations while building trust and relevance at scale
- Use AI powered analytics to identify high value audiences, predict demand patterns, optimise content and pricing strategies, and allocate budget in real time
Sarah Whiting, Senior Director Global Solutions Engineering, BCD Travel
11:30 Bonus Session; Reserved For Conference Partner
AI VALUE
PANEL Q&A
12:00 Harness Rapidly-Evolving AI Capabilities To Drive Efficiency, Integrate Tools Seamlessly & Future-Proof Marketing Strategies
- Leverage AI’s capabilities to empower your team and maintain agility in a rapidly evolving digital landscape
- Discover strategies to embed AI within existing marketing teams efficiently, maximising impact without inflating costs
- How can AI enhance SEO strategies and optimise campaigns and facilitate competitive advantage to ultimately drive bookings
- Blend new techniques into content generation whilst maintaining authentic human touch for optimised customer experiences
Tom Messett, Head of Customer Lifecycle Marketing, Haven
Lauren Voges, Manager, Partner & Industry Content Marketing, Booking.com
David Lee, Director of Innovation & Growth, Holiday Extras
Rufino Fernandez, Chief Operations Officer & Global Transformation Leader, NH Hotel Group
Paul Acheson, Group Director Sales & Marketing, Brittany Ferries
Justyna Benardska, Deputy Marketing Director, LOT Polish Airlines
INFLUENCER MARKETING: FROM INFLUENCE TO IMPACT
KEYNOTE
12:30 Harness the Power of Creators to Drive Credibility & Build Long-Term Brand Value Through Strategic, Win-Win Partnerships
- How can brands ensure they partner with creators who align with your brand values and audience intent, delivering high-impact, scroll-stopping content that builds awareness and drives action?
- Empower partners and loyal visitors to become authentic storytellers, blending paid campaigns with organic advocacy to extend reach and strengthen trust
- Aspirational narratives that capture the thrill of travel while grounding inspiration in real, relatable experiences that influence decisions and accelerate bookings
- Structure influencer partnerships around clear objectives, establish meaningful performance metrics, and translate UGC into measurable ROI
Kieran Shew, Managing Director, Trending Travel
12:50 Lunch & Informal Networking For Speakers, Delegates & Partners
INFORMAL PEER TO PEER DISCUSSIONS
13:20 DISCUSS CRUCIAL HOT TOPICS WITH INDUSTRY EXPERTS
A) Personalisation
Daniela Ridgwell, Team Lead CRM & Content Marketing UK, Holiday Pirates
B) Performance Marketing
Abhishek Choudhary, Senior Product Manager, Booking.com
C) Data Ethics
D) Customer Loyalty
13:50 Afternoon Chair’s Opening Remarks
Sukie Rapal, Head of Digital, Hays Travel
SMARTER CRM: USING AI TO POWER LIFECYCLE MARKETING
KEYNOTE
14:00 Transform Your CRM Into an Intelligent Growth Engine By Leveraging AI To Deliver Timely, Personalised & High-Impact Customer Experiences
- Move beyond static segmentation by using AI to identify high-value audiences, predict intent, and trigger dynamic, real-time engagement across the customer lifecycle
- Integrate AI into CRM workflows to automate campaign execution, optimise messaging, and deliver the right content at the right moment to drive conversion and retention
- Explore how brands can unify data across touchpoints to create a single customer view and enable seamless, personalised journeys from inspiration to post-trip advocacy?
- Use predictive analytics to anticipate traveller needs, reduce churn, and unlock opportunities for upsell, cross-sell, and repeat bookings
Marina Vogt, Head of CRM, Loveholidays
SOCIAL MEDIA: CHANNELS, CONTENT & TRENDS
PANEL Q&A
14:20 Grasp the Evolving Social Media Landscape By Leveraging Emerging Platforms, Crafting Innovative Content & Powerful Presence Across Multiple Channels
- Assess the latest channels and platform updates and trends to identify fresh opportunities, strategically position your brand, and amplify your message
- How can brands harness trend analysis tools to capture rising social movements and create timely, relevant content that meets trends and resonates with audiences
- Maximise TikTok’s role in your marketing strategy to reach and engage its dynamic, highly active audience
- Craft snappy, captivating content that sparks conversation, boosts engagement, and drives measurable ROI
- Turn UGC into a scalable growth engine by building trust, amplifying reach, and boosting engagement, all whilst prioritising ROI
Ola Quadrio, Head of Travel, Client Solutions, TikTok
Rebecca Severs, Director of Marketing, Treehouse Hotels
Amelia Slack, Marketing Associate, Travelzoo
Jessica Ellis, Head of Social Media & Influencers, Hurtigruten
Karla Zaldivar, Global Social Media Insights Manager, Booking.com
POLITICISATION OF TRAVEL IN AN INCREASINGLY POLITICISED WORLD
KEYNOTE
14:50 Explore How Political Narratives, Geopolitical Events & Shifting Public Sentiment Influence Travel Demand, Destination Choice & Brand Communication
- As global politics increasingly shapes how and where people travel, brands must navigate a more complex landscape of perception, reputation, and consumer values
- Discover how travel marketers can respond with agility, balancing sensitivity, transparency, and brand positioning, while maintaining trust with diverse audiences
- Learn practical insights on managing messaging, adapting campaigns in real time, and protecting brand equity when travel becomes part of wider political and cultural conversations
Seamus McCauley, Head of Public Affairs , Holiday Extras
15:10 Bonus Session; Reserved For Conference Partner
Conversational Commerce: Reimagining WhatsApp Business Messaging as a CRM Tool
KEYNOTE
15.40 Exclusive Session With Meta
Russell Pert, Group Vertical Director – Travel, FinServ, Tech & Telco, & Entertainment, Meta
16.00 Afternoon Refreshment Break With Informal Networking
CASE STUDY: “I Made An AI TV AD, What Was I Thinking?”
KEYNOTE
16:30 From Experiment to Execution: What Really Happens When You Use AI to Create a High-Impact Brand Campaign
- Go behind the scenes and understand the new production process, hearing what worked, what didn’t, and what we’d do differently and where we’re going next in our journey
- Explore where AI succeeds and where it still struggles, from speed and efficiency to creativity, quality, and brand storytelling
- Understand the importance of humanity in the production process, and why human insight, emotion, and creative direction remain critical for authentic, high-impact campaigns
- Key lessons for marketers looking to integrate AI without compromising brand integrity
Pete Durant, Interim Marketing Director, Secret Escapes
THE FUTURE OF SEO: NAVIGATING THE NEW SEARCH ECO-SYSTEM
PANEL Q&A
16:50 Adapt Your Search Strategy As AI, Social Discovery & Evolving Algorithms Transform How Travellers Find, Evaluate & Book
- As search behaviour rapidly evolves, explore how AI-generated results, social discovery platforms, and conversational search are reshaping how travellers research destinations and brands
- Optimise content and digital presence for the emerging search ecosystem – from traditional search engines to AI assistants, LLMs, and social search platforms
- Strengthen brand authority, credibility signals and structured content to ensure visibility in AI-powered results and recommendation engines
- Gain practical insights into balancing technical SEO foundations with creative, high-value content that performs
Sonia Mazzotta, SEO Lead, Thomas Cook
Michael Field, Head of Owned & Earned Media, Forge Holiday Group
Shirin Crew, SEO Content Executive, Holiday Extras
LEVERAGING AI: REAL, ACTIONABLE INSIGHTS
PERSPECTIVE 1 – KEYNOTE
17:20 Unlock The Strategies For Deploying AI Strategically, Responsibly & Commercially To Drive Measurable Outcomes
- Deploy AI-driven content, targeting and automation to deliver relevant, high-converting experiences across the traveller journey
- Integrate AI into media buying, search, CRM and content strategies to improve efficiency, reduce waste and maximise return on marketing investment
- Implement AI responsibly – ensuring transparency, data integrity, brand safety and organisational alignment
- Prioritise high-impact use cases you can activate now, while building the infrastructure and skills required for sustained competitive advantage
Rebecca Williams, Head of Product & Video, TUI
CASE STUDY: A KILLER PODCAST AD CAMPAIGN
KEYNOTE
17:40 Maximising Attention In Audio: How Strategic Podcast Advertising Drives Brand Impact & Business Growth
- Uncover why podcasting – advertising’s highest-attention channel – deserves greater weight in your media planning strategy and how to unlock its full potential.
- Learn how Explore Worldwide delivered an award-winning campaign that smashed their brand and business objectives.
- Integrate podcast advertising into a broader, performance-driven media mix to drive measurable results across both brand building and conversion metrics.
Jae Hopkins, Marketing Director, Explore Worldwide
18:00 Afternoon Chair’s Closing Remarks & Official Close of Conference
