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The world's travel and tourism industry reached near-complete shutdown this year. As suppliers dependent on tourism succeeding, we are all focused on how we can support the industry to get back on its feet.

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The year 2020 has been profoundly challenging, with cancellations mounting and weak bookings, amidst a seemingly never-ending climate of uncertainty and fear. But, the challenge faced by those selling to the tourism industry is rarely in the spotlight.

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This roundtable explores the future of travel marketing. Yes, you heard it right, this session is all about the future of travel marketing and what it means for vendors in that digital brand funnel who are so badly impacted by budget freezes, uncertainty and changing priorities. We've all experienced it, but here we're talking about it.

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In this session, we focus on your story - how you triumphed and gave back in that time of need, how your strategy has pivoted out of necessity, and where your business has sought opportunity, in search of resilience. This is where X. Festival gives back to the digital publishers, the programmatic powerhouses, the technology problem solvers and the brand strategists who drive tourism forward.

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In this session, we're inviting competitors to be brutally candid in coming forward to share their pandemic story. This is for everyone who stepped-up when clients found themselves in a tailspin, whose teams reached out with unwavering commitment to help, support and stand by the industry. Nine months into the pandemic, we ask, "how is that working out for you?" as we look to build consensus around strategy, future business prospects and where demand is coming from.

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This session is all about giving a voice to the industry and forming a common understanding as to the needs and opportunities to build a strong and resilient recovery together.

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PART 1 When the pandemic hit…

• What did you do for your customers?  When did you do it?  (Or for the Brands themselves, What did your partners do for you that helped?)
• Why did you take that approach?  
• If travel is not the sole focus of your business, how was your approach perceived internally? How did you overcome challenges?
• Were there insights that you were able to draw out across your customer base? How did your customers use these successfully?

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PART 2 Talking AdTech and MarTech

• Where are you seeing the demand from your customers?  How have those needs changed through the course of this year?
• How have you prepared for the industry-wide challenges to the programmatic status-quo?  How ready are you for the cookie-pocalypse?
• What are the biggest trends you're seeing with regard to data and insights?  Are insights as important as outcomes?
• What are your biggest challenges from a technology perspective?  

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PART 3 - Spotting opportunity and demand

• The response to the pandemic and recovery has varied dramatically country by country, region by region.  How have you changed your international approach?
• Across the board, there’s been a significant lift in home-country tourism - will past the pandemic?  What are the longer-term implications of this?
• How is your leadership team/board reacting - is the general trend risk aversion or investment in the future?
• Which areas are you excited about from a growth perspective?  Where do you plan to invest?