Abu Dhabi, 8 and 9 December
Skift Global Forum East returns to Abu Dhabi on 8 and 9 December 2026. Experience Abu Dhabi, the destination brand of the Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi, hosts the event. This is the fifth edition and the second to run in the city.
The 2025 edition drew 424 attendees from 279 companies across 21 countries. The organiser reports that 65 percent of those attendees held director level roles or above.
The six decisions on the agenda
The programme is built on six decisions. They cover capital allocation to Middle East hospitality, artificial intelligence moving from pilot to revenue, demand regeneration, demand after a mega-event, the 2028 hospitality supply mix and resilience planning.
The first asks investors and asset owners whether to recommit capital now, wait for a clearer picture, or move to markets carrying less risk.
The second asks chief executives and chief operating officers whether to run artificial intelligence under one mandate, or build it into revenue, service and distribution.
The third covers the fourth-quarter return of South and East Asian travellers, and what airlines, destinations and governments can do to pull that demand back.
The fourth covers the drop-off question for destinations that built around sports and entertainment infrastructure.
The fifth reads branded residences, short-term rentals and hybrid models against the next development cycle.
The sixth puts geopolitical, climate and source-market shocks into one operating plan.
The question the edition sets
Skift states that the Iran-U.S. war turned the region’s growth story into an open question. Skift reports that few leaders have settled how the Gulf’s trajectory and traveller trust hold under sustained conflict.
Skift also surfaces three related questions: whether artificial intelligence is moving from pilot to revenue in hotel operations, what has happened to demand in destinations built around mega-events, and which pressures Gulf hospitality operators should rank highest over the next three years.
Registration terms
Registration is complimentary, subject to approval, for senior leaders across tourism authorities and destinations, hotels, airlines and airports, online travel and distribution, capital and real estate, and travel technology.
Anyone outside those groups can buy a standard pass with no approval step. Skift describes the room as curated, and the approval step governs who sits in it.