The 2026 Summit of the Americas takes place March 28-31 at the Rosen Shingle Creek in Orlando, Florida. Hosted by the International Association of Airport and Duty Free Stores (IAADFS), the Summit attracts a diverse audience from the travel retail community for networking, education, and to foster valuable business relationships.
We look forward to seeing you in Orlando in March!
The Summit brings together travel retail operators, global and regional brands, distributors, service providers, and key stakeholders for focused discussions, education, and relationship-building in an increasingly competitive market. Designed around the realities of today’s travel retail landscape, the Summit delivers timely insights on sustainability, evolving traveller behaviour, omnichannel engagement, and growth opportunities across categories — including food and beverage.
With built-in networking at every stage of the event, attendees gain direct access to decision-makers and meaningful opportunities to build partnerships that influence listings, visibility, and long-term performance. Most companies and attendees are from the Americas and Caribbean, but the Summit attracts an audience from more than 60 countries worldwide.
The exhibit area will be open full days on Sunday, March 29 and Monday, March 30, with Tuesday, March 31 being a half day. In addition to an exhibit hall that consistently receives praise for its strong business atmosphere and high-quality buyer attendees, the Summit provides three evening networking receptions that offer valuable opportunities for attendees to relax, network, and sometimes conduct business discussions in a more casual atmosphere.
The 2026 Summit of the Americas will feature multiple informative education sessions, including:
- A keynote session on sustainability featuring Kreol Arakulath of Kreol Group
- A session examining the geopolitical shifts in the Americas and associated impacts on airports and the overall travel sector, with John Price of Americas Market Place Intelligence, Matt Cornelius from ACI North America, and Rafael Echevarne of ACI Latin America Caribbean
- An insightful panel session led by Peter Mohn and Anna Marchesini from m1nd-set that focuses on decoding generational trends in airport food and beverage and travel retail
- A dynamic and interactive session led by Lisa Bauer of Starboard Group and Pat Molloy of Harding+ that delves into the cruise retail sector and how to succeed in this space
- A session moderated by Dermot Davitt of The Moodie Davitt Report that will feature representatives from Avolta and Lagardere discussing the new trilogy – duty free, travel retail, and food and beverage, and how they approach managing these three distinct aspects of their business
The Summit of the Americas offers an important opportunity to bring together buyers, suppliers, and other industry stakeholders – and it does so much more. The Summit is the primary funding source to support the association’s advocacy and government relations programs on behalf of IAADFS members and the industry as a whole. Revenue generated from the Summit is reinvested by the association into advocacy efforts to protect and advance the interests of the industry.
IAADFS appreciates the support of the many companies that contribute to the Summit as exhibitors, sponsors, and attendees – your support permits IAADFS to continue advocating on behalf of association members and the industry overall.
