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GENEVA —Destination leaders from more than 52 countries gathered in Geneva, Switzerland, September 22–24 for the 2026 Destinations International Global Leaders Forum, where artificial intelligence, tourism resilience, global connectivity and the changing role of destination organizations dominated discussions.
A central message from the three-day forum was that destinations can no longer measure success solely through visitor arrivals, hotel nights and tourism spending. As AI changes how travelers discover places and geopolitical, economic and climate pressures affect global travel, destination organizations are increasingly being called on to demonstrate broader value — from attracting investment and talent to strengthening communities, building resilience and coordinating public- and private-sector partners.
The invitation-only event was the second edition of Destinations International’s Global Leaders Forum, following its launch in Dublin in 2025.
From visitor numbers to destination value
The discussions reflected a broader shift underway in destination management: from primarily attracting visitors to considering how tourism organizations contribute to the economic and social health of the places they represent.
Visitor arrivals, hotel nights and tourism spending remain important measures, but participants argued that destination organizations increasingly need to account for their influence on investment, talent attraction, innovation, connectivity and community development.
“The conversations in Geneva underscored how quickly the environment around destinations is changing,” Destinations International President and CEO Don Welsh said. “Destination organizations have an opportunity to lead that change, but doing so requires us to think more broadly about the value we create, the stakeholders we serve and the influence we bring to our communities.”
AI changes how travelers discover destinations
Artificial intelligence featured prominently in discussions about the changing relationship between destinations and prospective travelers.
For years, tourism boards invested heavily in websites, search marketing, social media and other channels designed to influence travelers directly. Generative AI adds another intermediary: travelers can increasingly ask an AI service where to go, what to do and which destination suits their needs without necessarily visiting a destination organization’s website first.
For tourism organizations, that creates a new challenge around the destination’s digital “front door.” The question is no longer only whether a destination ranks highly in conventional search results, but how accurately and persuasively it is represented by AI-driven discovery and recommendation systems.
That puts new importance on authoritative destination information, structured content and a strong digital presence across the sources AI systems may use to understand a place.
Resilience increasingly means adaptation
Another theme was a changing definition of destination resilience.
Rather than viewing resilience simply as the ability to restore tourism to pre-crisis conditions, discussions in Geneva focused on destinations’ ability to adapt when economic, political, environmental or technological conditions change.
That has particular implications for connectivity. Airlines and destinations have traditionally treated air access as a commercial development issue, but route networks are also influenced by government policy, infrastructure constraints, geopolitical tensions and climate considerations.
Travel demand may remain strong overall while shifting substantially between individual markets and destinations, requiring tourism organizations to pay closer attention to where demand originates, how travelers make decisions and which relationships influence access to their markets.
The forum’s emphasis on resilience also put greater weight on relationships built before a crisis occurs. Destination organizations rarely control all the forces affecting a place, meaning their effectiveness can depend on their ability to convene governments, businesses, community organizations and other stakeholders.
Geneva provided a fitting setting for that discussion. Its longstanding role as a center for diplomacy and international cooperation illustrates how trust and relationships built over decades can become a form of destination soft power.
CERN offers a model for collaboration across borders
Participants also visited CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, on the Franco-Swiss border.
Founded in 1954, CERN brings scientists and institutions from around the world together around a shared research mission. For destination executives, the parallel was less about particle physics than organizational leadership: complex challenges can require governments, institutions and people with different priorities and backgrounds to work toward a common objective.
That message is particularly relevant to tourism, where issues ranging from aviation access and climate resilience to workforce development and major-event management frequently cross organizational and national boundaries.
“No destination has all the answers,” Destinations International Chief Operating Officer Gretchen Hall said. “Geneva reminded us that some of the best ideas emerge when we bring different experiences and perspectives together.”
Hall also credited Geneva Tourism & Conventions Foundation CEO Adrien Genier and his team with giving delegates an opportunity to experience the city’s institutions and culture of international cooperation firsthand.
Vancouver turns World Cup goal nets into a tourism legacy
One of the more tangible examples of the changing destination role came from Vancouver and its experience hosting matches during the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Destination Vancouver transformed football goal nets into hammocks as part of its “Recouver in Vancouver” initiative, connecting the global sporting event with the destination’s broader urban-rejuvenation positioning.
At the Geneva forum, Destination Vancouver President and CEO Royce Chwin presented Genier with one of the hammocks.
The Swiss connection was particularly appropriate. Switzerland played three World Cup matches at BC Place in Vancouver during its run to the quarter-finals, including matches against Canada, Algeria and Colombia.
The hammock project offered a small but concrete example of a larger point discussed in Geneva: the value of a major event does not have to end when spectators leave.
Destinations can use event infrastructure, stories and associations to reinforce their identity, create new visitor experiences and extend an event’s legacy beyond its closing date.
Leadership through influence rather than authority
Underlying many of the discussions was another change in how destination organizations view leadership.
Tourism organizations generally do not control airports, airlines, infrastructure, immigration policy, major private employers or many of the other factors that shape a destination’s competitiveness.
Their ability to effect change therefore increasingly depends on influence: convening partners, building trust, coordinating competing interests and demonstrating how tourism and the visitor economy contribute to shared objectives.
That moves destination management considerably beyond destination marketing.
It also helps explain why investment, talent, innovation, quality of life and community sentiment are becoming part of conversations that were once dominated by arrivals and hotel occupancy.
Global Leaders Forum heads to Vancouver in 2027
The Geneva gathering followed the inaugural Destinations International Global Leaders Forum in Dublin in 2025 and reflects the association’s efforts to deepen connections among destination leaders internationally.
The third Global Leaders Forum will take place in Vancouver, British Columbia, in 2027, with dates expected to be announced separately.
After examining resilience, AI and international collaboration in Geneva, the move to Vancouver will give destination leaders an opportunity to study a city emerging from one of tourism’s largest global events.
The broader question is likely to remain the same: if destination organizations are no longer judged solely by how many people they persuade to visit, what should success look like?
Increasingly, the industry conversation encompasses not just visitors and spending, but resilience, reputation, connectivity, community value and a destination organization’s ability to bring disparate interests together.
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