A Summit With A Purpose

The Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity has announced that the second annual Purposeful Travel Summit will be held from Feb. 7 to Feb. 9, 2024.

It will bring together tourism professionals, academics, students, and industry for conversations on future trends in tourism, shifting perspectives on how and why we travel, and how we can be more purposeful in our approach to marketing and attracting visitors.

Joe Pavelka, Purposeful Travel Summit programmer, said that “travel is about much more than the destination. Travel is about seeking transformative experiences. We want to learn about culture, history and the people who make up the places we visit, and when we travel in an intentional and mindful way, we also learn about ourselves. Ideally, we come home prepared to contribute to making the world around us a better place.”

Featured speakers at the Summit will include:

• Ian Yeoman, Futurist and Professor of Innovation, is one of the only futurologists focusing on tourism and travel and will share his knowledge of global tourism trends.
• Alex Bainbridge, a provocative industry leader and the founder of Autoura; a Robotaxi and artificial intelligence tourism platform will be speaking on who or what will be guiding visitors in the near future.
• JoAnna Haugen, founder of Rooted Storytelling, will address how we decolonize tourism, by addressing the link between what is promoted and what is sold.

The summit is open to all who are interested in and impacted by travel and tourism, including essential tourism collaborators such as local governments, non-governmental organizations, industry professionals, academics, and community members.

The format will be a combination of presentations, working group sessions, aesthetic processes and facilitated conversations. Presenters and delegates alike will have the opportunity to share ideas and solutions through intentionally designed interactive engagements.

The Purposeful Travel Summit will take place at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity on Feb. 8 and Feb. 9, 2024, with pre-summit activities on Feb. 7. Registration for the Summit will open in September 2023.

And for those interested in being involved as a presenter or collaborator, contact summits@banffcentre.ca .