INNOVATING FOR THE LONG-TERM
Built to Last: Executive Summit—a private, invite-only forum senior leaders shaping the destination experiences industry. (Applications will also be taken.)
Arival’s inaugural European Executive Summit challenges us to rethink the systems and assumptions that have shaped our in-destination industry to date, and to collaborate on new opportunities that create enduring value for travelers, businesses, and communities alike. This is not another conference. It’s a call to action for experiences leaders ready to shape what comes next.
No slides. No panels. No passive listening.
Instead, you will explore, compete, collaborate, and create. You will leave with peer-built solutions, new alliances, and a fundamentally different way of thinking about what comes next.
Attendees of the Arival DC Executive Summit in 2025 said it was one of the most valuable conference sessions that had ever experienced. Valencia is designed to surpass it.
Executive Summit
Monday, 27 April 2026
The Valencia Conference Centre
Connect with leaders, share ideas, and shape the future.

Who’s In The Room
The Executive Summit brings together the decision makers who are shaping the future of tours, activities, and attractions—operators, OTAs, tech companies, investors, innovators and visionaries. Expect an intimate setting designed for real, peer-to-peer collaboration.
Amigo Tours • Arctic Adventures • ASI Reisen • Automate.travel • Babylon Tours • BeMyGuest • Best of Switzerland Tours • BlackDog Advertising • Bustravel Iceland • Carpe Diem Tours • CityEyes/Eyes of Rome • City Wonders • CIVITATIS • Crown Tours • Eating Europe • Enjoy Rome • Guest Focus • Headout • Insightful International • Ireland Wild Escapes • Klook Travel Technology • LivTours • Magnicity • Meeting the French • Much Better Adventures • NICOM TOURS • OCTO • Overland Small Group Tours • Palisis • Prague City Adventures • Pursuit • Rabbies Tours • Routes AI • Through Eternity Tours • TourOptima • TourRadar • Travel Trends Podcast • Tripadvisor • Tur.com • TUI Musement • Ventrata • VOX GROUP • Walks & Devour
The Executive Summit, In Their Own Words
“What stood out about the Arival Executive Summit was the openness and trust among our industry’s builders. It was an invaluable chance to connect deeply with peers across the ecosystem and to explore how, together, we can keep elevating the traveler experience.”

“I absolutely loved my time at Arival, especially the Executive Summit. It was one of the most valuable industry gatherings I’ve attended all year. The intimate, senior-level format created the perfect environment for honest presentations, round table discussions , and real collaboration among leaders shaping the future of tours, activities, and experiences.“

“The executive summit, and especially the roundtable discussions, were the most effective sessions I’ve been a part of across all Arival conferences. High quality discussions that yielded real and actionable insights for us.“



What Makes The Executive Summit Unique?
The Room is the Resource:
The intelligence you need is already in the room. The format unlocks it.
Intimate & Impactful:
With only carefully selected participants, every conversation matters.
It is not a conference:
Every minute is designed for active participation, strategic depth, and deep collaboration.
Closed-door Environment:
Candid, off-record discussions among peers—no media, no sales, only authentic insights and open exchange
Designed for Decision-Makers:
A space for bold vision and strategies
Laser-Focused on Our Sector:
The only executive gathering dedicated solely to travel experiences

Program Overview
Built to Last - Designing Europe’s Future for Experiences
Our sector sits at a crossroads. Demand for experiences is strong, yet operators, attractions, destinations and the growing industry that serves them faces rising pressures: rapid technological change, climate and overcrowding, platform dominance, accelerating competition, uneven access to top sites, haphazard regulation, talent shortages, operational inconsistency and fragmentation, shifting guest expectations and so much more.
The Summit invites leaders to step back from short-term tactics and confront the bigger questions shaping the industry: what kind of future are we building, and how do we build something that lasts?

Marc Mekki is one of Europe’s most experienced facilitators in innovation, creative leadership, and systems thinking. He has worked with organisations ranging from global airlines and national tourism boards to technology companies and government agencies, designing and leading experiences that challenge leaders to think and act differently. His approach is direct, immersive, and deliberately unconventional. He designs formats where leaders build, play, compete, and create, because the best strategic thinking happens when people step outside the patterns they already know.
Agenda
VENUE
The Executive Summit takes place at the Palacio de Congresos de Valencia, a modern architectural landmark located right next to the Meliá Valencia Hotel—and the same venue that will host Arival 360 | Valencia. It’s the perfect setting for high-level dialogue, collaboration, and connection.







