Skift Global Forum East will return to Abu Dhabi on December 8-9, 2026, hosted by Experience Abu Dhabi, with organizers expecting more than 400 senior travel executives to debate whether the Gulf's five-year growth arc survives sustained regional conflict.

The fifth edition of the forum — and its second in Abu Dhabi — comes after the Iran-U.S. war forced every major travel organization operating in or through the region to reassess capital commitments, demand forecasts and traveler trust. Last year's Abu Dhabi edition drew 424 leaders from 279 companies across 21 countries, with 65% of attendees at director level or above. The 2026 agenda keeps that seniority bar intact: complimentary registration is open only to senior leaders across tourism authorities, hotels, airlines, online travel and distribution, capital and real estate, and travel technology, subject to approval. Standard passes are available to anyone who wants to buy one.

"This is where the region's next decisions get argued rather than announced," Skift wrote in announcing the program, framing the 2026 agenda around six questions the industry now has to settle.

What Is the Forum Asking the Industry to Decide?

• Where the capital supercycle goes next. Investors and asset owners face a timing call on Middle East hospitality: recommit capital now, wait for clarity, or redirect to lower-risk markets.
• Moving AI from pilot to revenue. Volatile demand has made efficiency gains more pressing. CEOs and COOs must choose between a single AI mandate or distributed deployment across revenue, service and distribution, and decide which governance keeps failures contained.
• Regenerating demand amid global tensions. The Q4 return of South and East Asian travelers is no longer a given. Airlines, destinations and government leaders must decide what pulls that demand back, and what the on-the-ground narrative needs to say.
• What happens after the mega-event. Operators and developers face the drop-off question: does sports and entertainment infrastructure build durable demand cycles, or repeat the post-event fade that has punished similar bets elsewhere?
• The 2028 hospitality supply mix. Executives and real estate allocators must read whether branded residences, short-term rentals and hybrid models are portfolio opportunity or margin threat before the next development cycle locks in.
• Resilience as the strategy. CFOs and strategy heads now have to plan for geopolitical, climate and source-market shocks arriving simultaneously rather than sequentially.

Why This Edition Matters for Sellers of Travel

The Gulf has been one of the few regional markets where hotel pipelines, airline capacity and tourism marketing budgets grew in tandem for half a decade. Capital compounded and visitor numbers climbed as destinations rose from the desert faster than peer regions could build.

That compounding has stalled. The conflict has shifted the practical question for hotel groups, airlines, tour operators and intermediaries from how fast the Gulf can grow to what stays standing after sustained disruption. For sellers of travel, the distribution consequences are direct: route maps, commission structures and contracting windows for 2027 and 2028 are being recalculated against a region that may no longer carry the same growth premium.

Experience Abu Dhabi's hosting role signals continued destination marketing investment. Whether that translates into maintained arrivals share for the emirate versus Dubai, Doha or Riyadh will be a measurable proxy for how much traveler confidence the Gulf holds heading into 2027.

How Does Registration Work?

Complimentary registration is reserved for senior leaders in tourism authorities and destinations, hotels, airlines and airports, online travel and distribution, capital and real estate, and travel technology, with approval required. Other attendees can buy a standard pass without going through approval.

Skift has positioned the December 8-9 gathering as a working session for the next twelve months of Gulf strategy — from capital allocation to AI deployment to demand regeneration — argued rather than announced in Abu Dhabi.