ConX 2026 brings together C-level leaders from more than 50 countries | News
ConX 2026, the annual conference organized 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 more than 500 companies and 50 countries.
This year’s edition, which saw Huawei return as headline sponsor, recorded a 99% attendance rate and more than 2,000 high-intent B2B meetings, following an expansion of the dedicated networking space designed to maximize meaningful business interactions.
Held under the theme ‘Being Different: 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 technology is rapidly commoditizing.
The central takeaway from 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 companies 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 fundamentals of differentiation in an AI-driven ecosystem.
“In a world where AI makes everything average, the question is no longer which technology you use – but what makes you irreplaceable,” says Pedro Camara.
Luisa Camara highlighted ConX as a space designed for strategic exchange between 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 program and underlined that AI is becoming a foundational capability rather than a differentiator in itself.
Distribution: AI as a baseline, not a differentiator
During the “New Distribution Otherness” panel, 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 revealed that connectivity and technology are becoming core requirements, while differentiation is shifting to content quality, operational excellence, regional expertise and customer experience.
Speakers emphasized that visibility in AI-driven environments is becoming a key strategic challenge as traditional discovery models evolve.
Overall, the discussion reinforced that AI should be seen as an enabler of efficiency and not a replacement for human expertise, with relationships and market knowledge remaining critical success factors.
AI, investments and ecosystem transformation
In the Executive Interview ‘Ecosystem Play’, moderated by Leonardo Saroni, General Partner at TT2 TravelTech, and with Henry Briance, Senior Managing Director at Certares, the discussion focused on how AI is reshaping investment decisions and competitive dynamics in the travel ecosystem.
Briance said AI is now a core factor in virtually every investment decision, accelerating both innovation and consolidation in the sector. He acknowledged the ongoing disruption, but noted its long-term potential to improve customer experience and drive demand.
He emphasized that future differentiation will depend less on the technology itself and more on sustainable benefits such as trust, customer relationships and deep industry expertise.
Briance also urged executives to stay focused on clear value propositions, and carefully assess what to build, buy or collaborate based on true customer relevance.
AI changes traveler behavior
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, shifting from traditional search models to conversational, intent-driven interactions.
Speakers agreed that the 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 seen as an opportunity rather than a threat, provided organizations adapt their culture and delivery models accordingly.
Entrepreneurship and problem-driven innovation
The conference concluded with a keynote from Uri Levine, founder of Waze and Moovit, who emphasized the importance of building solutions based on real, shared customer problems.
He emphasized that successful entrepreneurship requires perseverance, long-term commitment and resilience through repeated failure, while warning against technology-led innovation without clear user value.
His message closely aligned 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 hotel distribution network. Built on an API-first, multi-cloud infrastructure, it connects more than 1,000 buyers and sellers in a scalable environment where hotel distribution is centralized and optimized.
Through FastX, its aggregation and orchestration engine, Travelgate standardizes hotel, room and meal plan data across partners, enabling faster and more reliable distribution at scale.
Today, the company processes more than 65,000 bookings and 15 billion searches per day, generating annual revenues of more than €5 billion.
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 more than 500 companies.
Since 2024, Travelgate has been part of Travelsoft Group, a leading SaaS travel company active under twelve brands in 90 countries.
