Hotel Europe: The future of travel & technology

Begin the day with an immersive showcase exploring how AI, innovation and entrepreneurship are continuing to shape the future of travel.

Through a series of interactive installations, guests will encounter practical examples of how technology supports businesses of all sizes, strengthens local ecosystems and contributes to Europe’s competitiveness.

Designed to spark conversation and connection, the experience sets the tone for a day focused on innovation, growth and leadership.

Europe has set out an ambitious digital agenda, but turning innovation aspiration into lasting economic growth remains a challenge.

As AI, platform technologies and global competition reshape markets, Europe faces growing pressure to strengthen its digital competitiveness and help home-grown businesses scale.

With decades of applied machine-learning and AI expertise under its belt, Booking.com is convening a conversation with the most influential stakeholders in the European ecosystem. What barriers still hold back growth and investment? And what will it take for Europe to turn digital ambition into global leadership?

Europe has long been a source of innovation, yet too often breakthrough ideas are commercialised elsewhere. As global competition intensifies, the challenge is not generating talent or technology, but creating the conditions for businesses to scale, attract investment and compete internationally.

The Netherlands has emerged as one of Europe's strongest examples of how innovation can translate into economic growth and global competitiveness. What lessons can Europe draw from its success? And what reforms are needed to ensure the next generation of global technology leaders are built and remain in Europe?

The day concludes with a Dutch-themed reception that brings together policymakers, business leaders and stakeholders in a more informal setting.

With a distinctly European flavour, the reception is designed to deepen relationships, continue the conversation and reflect the roots of one of Europe’s most successful home-grown technology companies.

AI is evolving rapidly, but are you making the most of it in your daily work? Inspired by the SME AI Accelerator delivered across Europe, this 90-minute, hands-on session will help policy professionals strengthen their AI literacy and use today’s models and agents more effectively. Through practical exercises and real policy use cases, participants will learn how to better prompt tools and set up agents to support and automate routine tasks such as policy monitoring, document analysis or reporting. The session is designed to be practical, accessible without prior background and immediately useful for participants.

SMEs are the backbone of Europe’s, yet many are struggling to keep pace with rapid advances in digitalisation and artificial intelligence. This is particularly true in the tourism sector. Drawing on lessons from the SME AI Accelerator delivered across six European countries, this panel will explore what helps—or prevents—small businesses from adopting AI in practice. Which approaches proved most effective? Where do skills, awareness and capacity gaps persist? And what policy interventions, partnerships and support mechanisms are needed to accelerate responsible AI adoption, strengthen competitiveness and ensure that Europe’s tourism SMEs are not left behind?

Tourism is one of Europe’s largest economic sectors, yet its contribution to regional development, SME growth and local resilience is often overlooked. As the EU looks to strengthen competitiveness, the key question is not only how much tourism delivers, but how its benefits are distributed. Grounding the discussion in the experience of local tourism actors can bring that value to life for Brussels stakeholders and highlight the role of smart public-private collaboration in supporting sustainable growth. How can Europe ensure tourism continues to create tangible value for communities and SMEs? And what policy frameworks are needed to strengthen its contribution to regional development and competitiveness?