Welcome to Boston for the 2024 CEO Summit. While here, you will experience many different parts of our city; both historical and modern - because Boston Never Gets Old. The Welcome Reception, hosted by Meet Boston, will be held at High Street Place (100 High Street), Boston's largest culinary destination. Set in the Financial District of Boston, you will feel a sense of luxury while indulging in top chef cuisines and overflowing cocktails. To make this experience extra memorable, expect a night of entertainment of music, espresso martinis, and more. Transportation to and from the Westin Copley will be provided. Busses will depart the Westin at 5:45 PM and will return to Westin at 8:00 PM. 

Maintaining your running/walking routine can be challenging when you’re traveling. To help you stay fit, Westin offers a running-related program that will take you throughout the historic city of Boston and past the sailboats and rowing shells that dot the Charles River. Both runners and walkers are welcome to attend! 
Location: Meet the run/walk concierges on the Westin 2nd floor Lobby.

Two Meet Boston Representatives, Johnny and Yuyi, will be at your service! They will be able to answer all questions about Boston, things to do, navigation around the city, history and more. They will also be handing out Walking Maps and Visitor Guidebooks for you to utilize if you wish to check out Boston on your own! These guides include; restaurants, pubs, bars, experiences, tours, and hotels all around the city. While checking in at the Registration Desk (4th Floor), feel free to peruse our Meet Boston Amenity Store! 

In her keynote address, Kirstin will use storytelling, humour, research, videos and practical examples to help CEOs not only reflect on their own modern leadership, but also engage everyone in their organisation to see themselves as leaders within their roles. This keynote is highly interactive with every attendee able to complete their own Head & Heart Leader Scale™ and receive a personalised report to help understand individual areas for focus. Kirstin will bring to the discussion her own experience as a CEO and board member with her expertise and research to ensure a thought provoking session for all.

Dr. Kirstin Ferguson

Keynote Speaker, Author & Leadership Expert

 

 

 

 

Join Julie and Chris as they discuss executive leadership, the future of the industry from how today's issues impact it and ways the industry can shape it and advise on maximizing future opportunities.

Julia Simpson

President & CEO

World Travel & Tourism Council

Chris Thompson, CDME

President & CEO

Brand USA

 

 

 

Travelers with disabilities represent a significant and largely untapped market segment for the tourism industry. Our panelists will share their experiences, insights, and success stories demonstrating why they got started with their accessibility journey and how the Accessibility Playbook has been an integral part of the design and implementation process, resulting in an enhanced visitor and resident experience.

Sophia Hyder Hock

Chief Inclusion Officer

Destinations International

 

Julie Pingston

President & CEO

Choose Lansing

Edward Harris

President & CEO

Visit Lancaster

Mark Jeffries (Moderator)

 

Join us for an inspiring overview of the Jack and Jill Foundation, and how they work with destination organizations like to bring joy, laughter and cherished moments to those battling late stage cancer.

Join Jim Halliday, President of the NB Development Group as he discusses the execution of the collaborative vision of New Balance and the community of Allston Brighton to transform Boston Landing into an exciting new and lively mixed-use district comprised of innovation, health ad wellness, living and 18-hour/7-Days retail and restaurants activity, as reflected in its anchor tenancies of New Balance, Boston Bruins, and Boston Celtics. Busses Loading 1:00pm-1:30pm

Jim Halliday

President

NB Development Group

 

 

 

 

Two Meet Boston Representatives, Johnny and Yuyi, will be at your service! They will be able to answer all questions about Boston, things to do, navigation around the city, history and more. They will also be handing out Walking Maps and Visitor Guidebooks for you to utilize if you wish to check out Boston on your own! These guides include; restaurants, pubs, bars, experiences, tours, and hotels all around the city. While checking in at the Registration Desk (4th Floor), feel free to puruse our Meet Boston Amenity Store! 

Join us for an inspiring and thought-provoking conversation with Chris Gardner, the man behind the best-selling autobiography and hit film "The Pursuit of Happyness." In this exclusive session, Chris Gardner will share his remarkable journey from homelessness to becoming a successful entrepreneur, philanthropist, and motivational speaker. Don't miss this rare opportunity to engage with Chris Gardner and gain invaluable insights into the power of resilience and the pursuit of happiness. Join us for an enlightening discussion that will ignite your spirit and propel you towards achieving your goals.

Ensuring safety and security in both urban and suburban areas is a multifaceted challenge that requires effective collaboration between law enforcement agencies, community stakeholders, and local governmental agencies. During this session, Hugh Clements will provide an overview of the strategies used by community policing agencies across the United States to address safety and security concerns in communities large and small. From crisis communications to interpreting data and statistics, participants will gain insights into the various approaches utilized to mitigate risks and foster safer environments. Additionally, the session will explore successful collaborations between law enforcement agencies and destination organizations to address crime and safety concerns, emphasizing the importance of proactive engagement and community partnership.

Colonel Hugh Clements, Jr.

Director, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services

US Department of Justice

 

 

 

 

AI promises a transformative shift in the travel industry, extending well beyond the conventional scopes of marketing, customer service, and operations. In this presentation, Paul English and Michael Burke discuss where the industry is headed and will showcase several demonstrations, offering insights on applying these advancements to elevate the industry. 

Paul English

Founder, Boston Venture Studio

Previously Co-Founder and CTO, Kayak

Mike Burke

Chief Technology Officer

Boston Venture Studio

 

 

 

AI represents a seismic shift in how consumers will access information and engage with the world, but this is only half of the opportunity. As an industry, tourism is faced with one consistent problem: delivering more with less. Discover the strategic edge AI can offer your destination by removing the mundane tasks burdening your team’s daily lives so they can truly focus on what’s important. Learn from real-world examples and gain insights into integrating AI tools that drive performance and operational efficiency.

Todd Brook

CEO & Managing Director

 Unchained

 

 

 

 

Join us for inspiring case studies presented by our industry partners.

Creating a Data Story to Speak to Stakeholders

The art of storytelling using data has evolved over the past several years, however, has the story we are telling evolved to support stakeholders in today’s environment? Join this session to unpack a proactive approach that will enable DMO executives to continue successfully communicating and “talk the talk” that is most important to their stakeholders and audiences.

• Vail Ross, Managing Director, 2Synergize

Destination Leadership - Don't Settle for a Seat at the Table; LEAD the Table with Foolproof Insights and Data

We are in a renaissance of destination data and now is the time to use it not to just manage our destinations but to lead them. Leaders  make extraordinary contributions to their communities — not by chairing boards or receiving awards — but by using data to move their communities into the next era of strategic action. Transforming data into meaningful next steps requires team members who apply data literacy and strategic planning skills to the unique needs of a place. Visit Lake Charles and Zartico's partnership has developed into a real-time use of actionable data presented to local politicians and stakeholders to change the community for the better. Justifying more product, adding sports venues, attracting major league sports franchises, and communicating with local merchants the potential increases and decreases of visitor volume. This session will provide you with the information you need to embrace a new leadership role, what data to use to tell your story and how to simplify your narrative into action for your community.

• Sarah Lehman, CEO, Zartico
• Kyle Edmiston, President and CEO of Visit Lake Charles

Join us for inspiring case studies presented by our industry partners.

Stewardship Superpowers: How to Overcome your Destination’s Greatest Challenges with Proven Solutions

Many destinations are unnecessarily struggling with destination stewardship. Leading change across an entire community cannot be done alone, overcoming resistance can feel impossible, and it isn’t easy to nurture alignment among diverse stakeholders. Solutions to our industry’s biggest problems are now being revealed, and the travel industry has the power to connect people and ideas to inspire an exciting path forward. Even more: destination organizations have superpowers that can help people make sense of the complexity. We’re inspiring storytellers. We’ve accumulated decades of relationship capital and trust within our communities. We represent the values of our destination and outlast political cycles. And together we connect the entire world. Join Rodney Payne and Leslie Bruce as they share how you can lead change by inspiring and enabling your stakeholders. 

• Rodney Payne, CEO, Destination Think
• Leslie Bruce, President & CEO, Banff & Lake Louise Tourism Bureau

Immersive Voice: Using Voice To Meet Travelers Where Travelers Are  

This session will showcase Tripadvisor’s Case Study & Key Learnings on a National Destination Using Alexa Voice and Fire TV. Understand how to involve your stakeholders, the spending power of voice users and market, and how to interact with and personalize voice to engage users and meet your KPI’s.

• Kristen Bonner, Principal Client Partner, Tripadvisor

Join us for inspiring case studies presented by our industry partners.

The Move from "Re" to "Me!" - A Leisure Traveler Evolution

Join Amir as he discusses the important mindset and motivation shift happening among leisure travelers that destinations need to account for in their marketing/messaging.

• Amir Eylon, President & CEO, Longwoods International

Innovating Together: Trust as the Foundation of Client-Agency Partnerships

Fostering a relationship of trust and understanding between agencies and clients is key to driving innovation. At the forefront of the AI revolution, MMGY Global and Visit Myrtle Beach set out to launch a campaign that would make a statement and reach new audiences. At a time when AI was a novel technology and its application was largely unknown, MMGY Global proposed an unorthodox idea that could have deterred many clients. Visit Myrtle Beach not only embraced this idea, they enhanced it. The idea – part ways with our agency of record and let the AI overloads take over. The outcomes were remarkable. This is a story about a strategic partnership built on trust, understanding and a deep drive to innovate.

• Katie Briscoe, CEO, MMGY Global
• Karen Riordan, President & CEO, Visit Myrtle Beach

Join us for inspiring case studies presented by our industry partners.

A Framework to Guide Community-Centered Stewardship Conversations

As destination organizations worldwide adapt to their new role as destination stewards, we have brought together leaders, practitioners and researchers from around the world to build a detailed, collective understanding of the dynamics and complexities of the tourism system and its impacts. We are committed to adopting a “by industry, for industry” approach to developing a global framework to guide destination organizations with a continuous improvement pathway to measure, monitor and improve stewardship capabilities and outcomes. We will explore the journey map that supports destination organizations in their evolving role as destination stewards and review the best practices and framework as it has been personalized to a destination’s specific priorities.

• Laura Libby, President of Destination Marketing, Miles Partnership

Future Proofing: Building an AI-Enabled Destination Organization

The AI terrain is one of constant evolution, and destination organizations must become AI-enabled to not just keep pace, but to set it. This session will focus on how destination organizations can forge new pathways for value creation for their communities and build an AI-enabled DMO. Join this fast- paced discussion about the pace of AI evolution, navigating unknowns, and transforming challenges into growth opportunities for your destination organization.

• Dan Janes, CEO, Madden Media

Location: America North

Join us for the CEO Roundtable discussions where industry leaders will come together in a safe space to explore the challenges, opportunities, and strategies shaping the industry today and into the future. In this dynamic and interactive session facilitated by experts, CEOs will discuss leadership, crime & safety, and advocacy hot topics. 

Location: America Center

Join our CEO Roundtable for an engaging discussion on leveraging North America's 2026 FIFA World Cup hosting. This event, in collaboration with DI, Brand USA, and host destinations, offers valuable insights and strategies to enhance the global event's impact. A unique opportunity for leaders to explore the benefits of this significant sporting event.

Location: Independence A

Calling all State Tourism Directors. Join us for a facilitated discussion tackling challenges and opportunities important to you. Share experiences, insights, and best practices with your state peers.

The Happy Hour is co-hosted by MMGY Global and is open to both CEO Summit and Mojo Summit attendees.