Shaping New England's Future: Travel, Tourism, & Hospitality

We’re not just exploring today’s business landscape—we’re spotlighting the bold ideas shaping tomorrow. Step into the future. Make your mark.

Main Stage – 11:00 AM

Main Stage – 12:00 PM

As travel, commerce, and visitor behavior increasingly cross municipal and state lines, approaches to leadership need to evolve.

This panel brings together public officials and regional leaders to explore how decision-making must evolve in a connected region, from aligning incentives and infrastructure to reducing friction and enabling collaboration across boundaries.

The conversation focuses on real-world choices leaders face and what it takes to drive regional momentum that benefits communities, businesses, and residents alike.

Room 2 – 12:50 PM 

People underestimate how arts, heritage, and storytelling drive visitation, loyalty, and long-term regional growth. These leaders will share how cultural experiences shape destination identity and translate into real economic impact.

Room 3 – 12:50 PM

This conversation focuses on how sports, live entertainment, and outdoor attractions drive multi-day visitation. We’ll explore how flow, capacity, and experience design turn single events into longer stays and greater regional impact.

Main Stage – 1:45 PM

Today’s travelers expect trips that feel seamless, even as journeys span multiple destinations and systems. Delivering that experience requires closer coordination across transportation, hospitality, and infrastructure.

This panel explores how technology and partnerships are improving the modern travel experience — from reducing friction to improving reliability and personalization across regions.

Topics include:
– How traveler expectations have evolved and what that means operationally
– Using technology to reduce friction across transportation, lodging, and experiences
– Coordinating across partners during peak travel periods and major events
– Balancing personalization with scale in modern tourism
– What destinations and operators must prioritize to remain competitive

Room 2 – 1:45 PM

The indelible moments from any trip may be large or small, but they’re always human. A great meal, a warm welcome, a story that brings a place to life.

This panel explores how culture, talent, and storytelling drive tourism growth by creating emotional connection and loyalty. Leaders from media, hospitality, and experiential brands will discuss how authenticity turns destinations into places visitors return to and recommend.

A conversation about the human side of what makes regions stay top-of-mind.

Room 3 – 1:45 PM

Every trip begins with a choice.

Travelers don’t just pick destinations. They weigh ease of access, experiences, atmosphere, and the moments they imagine having once they arrive.

This panel explores what truly drives people to choose New England for their trips today. From transportation and first impressions to hospitality, attractions, and the experiences that turn visits into longer stays and return trips.

Tourism leaders will share how traveler expectations are evolving, where friction still exists in the journey, and what makes a destination feel effortless, exciting, and worth recommending.

The conversation focuses on the real-world factors that shape visitor behavior and how aligning across the travel experience strengthens regional tourism growth.

Main Stage – 2:40 PM

In this fast-paced Lightning Perspectives session, leaders from media, hospitality, marketing, and the creator economy will each share one overlooked truth about New England on the main stage. The experiences, stories, or assets people consistently underestimate, and why those blind spots matter for the region’s future.

From cultural perception to visitor behavior, these rapid-fire perspectives are designed to surface fresh thinking, challenge assumptions, and spark new ways of positioning New England as a connected, compelling destination.

Room 2 – 3:00 PM

Today’s travelers are choosing destinations for experiences, not just accommodations. We’ll explore how wellness, leisure, and curated experiences drive longer stays and stronger economic growth. Hospitality and tourism leaders will share practical ways to design full-stay experiences that increase guest satisfaction and multi-day visitation.

Room 3 – 3:00 PM

Experts will discuss how regional partnerships move from idea to execution. They will cover topics such as legal structure, shared incentives, timelines, and the real-world challenges that make or break collaboration.

Main Stage – 3:30 PM 

Major destinations do more than attract visitors; they create momentum for entire regions.

This panel explores how anchor venues like resorts, stadiums, attractions, and entertainment destinations drive demand, investment, and extended stays beyond their own walls. Leaders will share how large destinations lift surrounding communities and fuel regional growth through collaboration and experience design.

This panel takes a practical look at how anchors become engines for regional tourism.

Room 2 – 3:30 PM

New England visitors don’t experience our destinations in isolation. They move across cities, states, and experiences in a single trip. Regions that succeed recognize this shift and design for it.

Collaboration, not competition, is becoming the defining advantage in modern tourism.

This panel explores how destinations can move beyond standalone promotion to become shared platforms for growth. Leaders will discuss how cross-border collaboration — from coordinated storytelling to shared infrastructure and transportation — drives longer stays, deeper engagement, and stronger regional impact.

Room 3 – 3:30 PM

The destinations people love visiting are usually the places where locals love living.

This panel explores the Host Economy; how investing in residents, small businesses, and community life creates vibrant destinations that naturally attract visitors. Leaders from chambers, hospitality, and food industries will share how supporting local culture and entrepreneurs drives sustainable tourism growth.

This conversation looks at how putting residents first fuels sustainable tourism growth that benefits both locals and visitors.

Main Stage – 4:25 PM

Some of the most powerful regional ideas come not from formal strategies, but from people and industries colliding.

This panel explores how partnerships across culture, tourism, commerce, and community sectors are driving innovation and shared regional momentum. Leaders will discuss how intentional collaboration turns individual assets into stronger, more connected destinations.

We’ll look at ditching siloes for strategically designing for overlap.

Main Stage – 5:10 PM

This closing session brings together leaders from across the day’s conversations to reflect on key insights, shared challenges, and opportunities for regional collaboration.

Through live discussion and audience engagement, this panel explores how New England gains the most by working across borders and the actions that can move ideas into real-world partnerships.

This dynamic synthesis is designed to turn conversation into momentum.