ConX 2026 brings together C-level leaders from over 50 countries | News
ConX 2026, the annual conference hosted by Travelgate and part of the Travelsoft Group, has further consolidated its position as one of the most influential gatherings in global travel distribution, bringing together more than 1,000 C-level executives, founders and senior decision-makers from over 500 companies and 50 countries.
This year’s edition, where Huawei returned as main sponsor, recorded a 99% show-up rate and more than 2,000 high-intent B2B meetings, following an expansion of the dedicated networking space designed to maximise meaningful business interactions.
Held under the theme “Otherness: Where difference becomes strategy and AI makes everyone average” and moderated by Gemma Greenwood, Director at Content Inc., ConX 2026 explored how differentiation is becoming the defining competitive advantage in an industry where AI is rapidly commoditising technology.
The central conclusion across all sessions was clear: while artificial intelligence will transform every layer of travel distribution, long-term competitive advantage will depend on human insight, customer understanding, trusted partnerships and the ability to solve real industry problems.
Leadership opening: focus on what makes businesses irreplaceable
Opening the event, Travelgate CEO Pedro Camara and Chief Commercial Officer Luisa Camara set the tone for the day, urging leaders to look beyond technology and focus on the foundations of differentiation in an AI-driven ecosystem.
“In a world where AI is making everything average, the question is no longer what technology you use — it is what makes you irreplaceable,” said Pedro Camara.
Luisa Camara emphasised ConX as a space designed for strategic exchange among senior leaders. “The conversations that happen at ConX don’t happen anywhere else. When you bring the right people together, away from the noise, the quality of thinking changes.”
The message resonated throughout the programme, reinforcing that AI is becoming a baseline capability rather than a differentiator in itself.
Distribution: AI as a baseline, not a differentiator
During the panel “New Distribution Otherness”, moderated by Elodie Leunen, CEO of Fastpayhotels, industry leaders discussed how artificial intelligence is reshaping hotel distribution while reinforcing the importance of differentiation in an increasingly automated ecosystem.
The discussion noted that connectivity and technology are becoming baseline requirements, while differentiation is shifting towards content quality, operational excellence, regional expertise and customer experience.
Speakers highlighted that visibility in AI-driven environments is emerging as a key strategic challenge, as traditional discovery models evolve.
Overall, the discussion reinforced that AI should be viewed as an enabler of efficiency rather than a substitute for human expertise, with relationships and market knowledge remaining critical success factors.
AI, investment and ecosystem transformation
In the Executive Interview “Ecosystem Play”, moderated by Leonardo Saroni, General Partner at TT2 TravelTech, and featuring Henry Briance, Senior Managing Director at Certares, the discussion focused on how AI is reshaping investment decisions and competitive dynamics across the travel ecosystem.
Briance said AI is now a core factor in virtually every investment decision, accelerating both innovation and consolidation across the sector. While acknowledging ongoing disruption, he pointed to its long-term potential to improve customer experience and stimulate demand.
He emphasised that future differentiation will depend less on technology itself and more on durable advantages such as trust, customer relationships and deep industry expertise.
Briance also urged executives to stay focused on clear value propositions, and to carefully assess what should be built, bought or partnered based on real customer relevance.
AI is reshaping traveller behaviour
The panel “Creating Value/Otherness in an AI-Normalized World”, moderated by Alex Gisbert, Managing Director at XEA, explored how AI is transforming discovery and booking journeys, with a shift from traditional search models to conversational, intent-driven interactions.
Speakers agreed that companies that succeed will be those that use AI to enhance their existing strengths rather than replace them. There was broad consensus that AI is increasingly being seen as an opportunity rather than a threat, provided organisations adapt their culture and execution models accordingly.
Entrepreneurship and problem-driven innovation
The conference concluded with a keynote from Uri Levine, founder of Waze and Moovit, who reinforced the importance of building solutions based on real, shared customer problems.
He emphasised that successful entrepreneurship requires persistence, long-term commitment and resilience through repeated failure, while warning against technology-led innovation without clear user value.
His message aligned closely with the broader theme of the event: AI and data accelerate execution, but meaningful innovation still depends on solving real human needs.
About Travelgate
Founded in 2012 and headquartered in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, Travelgate is the global network for hotel distribution. Built on API-first, multicloud infrastructure, it connects more than 1,000 Buyers and Sellers into a scalable environment where hotel distribution is centralised and optimised.
Through FastX, its aggregation and orchestration engine, Travelgate standardises hotel, room and meal plan data across partners, enabling faster and more reliable distribution at scale.
Today, the company processes over 65,000 bookings and 15 billion searches per day, representing more than €5 billion in annual turnover.
Travelgate also founded ConX and AfterX, two of the travel industry’s leading events, bringing together senior leaders from across the global travel ecosystem. This year’s edition gathered over 500 companies.
Since 2024, Travelgate has been part of Travelsoft Group, a leading travel SaaS company operating across 90 countries under twelve brands.
