Ideas That Travel

U.S. Travel’s ESTO isn’t your average marketing conference—it’s the ultimate stage for destination marketers to innovate, inspire and lead. The call for content for the ESTO 2025 is now closed.

Mark Your Calendar: Call for Content Opens January 6 

U.S. Travel’s ESTO isn’t your average marketing conference—it’s the ultimate stage for destination marketers to innovate, inspire and lead.

At ESTO 2026, we’re shaping the future of destination marketing together. This is your chance to spark creativity, share transformative strategies and elevate the industry alongside peers and thought leaders. 

Ready to make your mark? We’re calling on passionate professionals to craft compelling content and join us in rewriting what’s possible for destinations. 

Key Dates to Know 

  • Call for Content Open: Tuesday, January 6 
  • Submission Deadline: Friday, January 30 
  • Acceptance Notifications: By the end of March  

Who Can Submit? 

  • Eligibility: Submissions are open to all U.S. Travel members and non-members. 
  • Guidelines for Partners: Ally members and partners are welcome, but sessions must focus on insights and solutions—not sales. Content should showcase real-world case studies that inspire action and must include at least one destination as part of the session. Sessions accepted through the call for content for our Ally members and partners do not count towards any sponsor fulfillment obligations.  
  • Submission Cap: U.S. Travel will only accept a maximum of 2 speakers from any one organization to speak in concurrent programming to ensure diversity of perspectives across our agenda. The main stage/featured sessions and sponsored content will be considered separately.

Session Content Expectations 

  • Provide three actionable takeaways for attendees. 
  • Ensure content is scalable for destinations of all sizes—large, medium, and small. 
  • All content must align with U.S. Travel’s ESTO theme, Ideas that Travel. 

Your proposal should align with one of these high-impact categories: 

Focus Areas for 2026

  • Destination Management  
  • Communications  
  • Innovation  
  • Insights  
  • Marketing  
  • Sales  
  • State-Focused 

What to Include in Your Proposal 

Make sure your submitted proposal addresses each of these items: 

  • Session Key Focus Area 
  • Session Description 
  • Proposed Speakers: Include name, title, company, bio, and headshot. 
  • Learning Objectives: Highlight key takeaways. 
  • Preferred Format

ESTO 2026 Content Submission FAQs

Ready to submit your content ideas and have additional questions? Review our FAQs below. If you have additional questions, reach out to U.S. Travel’s Content Team: [email protected].

Let’s create something extraordinary together. See you at ESTO 2026!

FAQ

Please see above under “What to Include in Your Proposal” for the requested information.

We estimate it will take approximately 15 minutes to complete the submission form. The amount of time it will take to answer certain questions will depend on how developed your submission idea is before beginning your submission.

We are so grateful to our speakers for both their time spent in preparation and their willingness to share their expertise. As an ESTO 2025 speaker, you will receive:

  • Complimentary registration so you can engage and network with attendees throughout the event.
  • Recognition for you and your organization as a thought leader.
  • A chance to provide learnings and new ideas to peers to address current and emerging challenges.
  • Access to exclusive, complimentary speaker coaching and resources to help bring your session to life./li>

Accepted speakers are responsible for their own travel arrangements and costs.

  • Be available to present in person at ESTO 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Monday, August 24, 2026 – Wednesday, August 26, 2026. The scheduled session time will be determined by June 2026.
  • Create fresh, unique, and relevant content for today’s destination marketers. We ask that presentations not be a repeated session from another conference.
  • Tailor content and delivery to address attendees and destinations of all sizes and ensure clear takeaways for attendees.
  • Attend speaker training and preparation meetings, be open to feedback, and meet all deadlines provided by U.S. Travel’s content team.
  • Refrain from selling or lead generation in content sessions. U.S. Travel Association offers several paid, sponsor-led sessions to feature your organization and showcase your solutions. If interested, please contact Shari Bailey at [email protected] for more information about sponsorship opportunities.

An advisory committee of travel industry leaders and U.S. Travel’s content team reviews submissions and makes recommendations to curate a program that balances topics, session formats, and speaker profiles.

The information you will provide in the submission form is critical to the selection process. The committee and U.S. Travel’s content team relies on this information to understand precisely what will be delivered to participants. U.S. Travel’s marketing team will also use this information to ensure optimal attendance at your session. Additionally, the speaker details requested in the submission form is essential to understanding their professional expertise and diversity of perspectives.

ESTO education sessions are not recorded.

Edits to your submission must be completed through the Speaker Dashboard by January 30, 2026.