From 30 September to 2 October, the seaside city of Brighton played host to our annual EMEA Summit. The theme for this year’s gathering was “Pride in Place,” a motif that examined how diverse destinations are engaging with stakeholders and working to define the places they represent while generating pride among those who visit, live, and work in these same spaces.
We could offer a quick rehash of the event’s key takeaways or a round-up of summit’s main themes, but we won’t do that; instead, we want our attendees to do the talking, to let them offer up the insights they gleaned from this year’s event. And so — without further preamble — here’s an eyewitness account of the key themes of EMEA Summit 2025 from those who were there.
Takeaway 1: The power of pride in place
This year’s event opened with an inspiring welcome from Charlotte Barrow of Visit Brighton, who handed proceedings over to Frank Cuypers, co-founder of Place Generation. In his stirring keynote address, Frank asked attendees to actively consider their approach to place making and place marketing.
In a post following the event, he observed that, “Pride is practice and practice becomes pride.” Indeed, for many of our attendees, the philosophies set forward by Frank and Elke Dens — Frank’s colleague and Place Generation co-founder — provided rich background for further flourishing discussions on place and the true power of tourism.
“Keynote speaker Frank Cuypers inspired attendees with his hallmark place making philosophy, urging destination marketers to lead with values and authentically reflect the voices of local residents.”
For Carla Redhead of Marketing Manchester, this year’s theme was summed up by a single quote from Frank, in which he stated, “Ask not what your place can do for tourism, but what tourism can do for your place.”
Takeaway 2: Inspirational, actionable content
Frank’s keynote address gave way to two more days of interactive workshops and roundtable discussions, plus breakout sessions galore. In these spaces, a variety of topical themes — such as Local Visitor Economy Partnership (LVEP) solutions, the power of influencers and user-generated content (UGC), as well as the needs of next generation visitors — were explored at length in more intimate settings, ensuring attendees left Brighton with actionable advice.
“What an incredible three days of inspiring talks, inspirational speakers, energising panels, thought-provoking roundtable discussions, and a brain full of tips, ideas, and innovation. As always, I can’t wait to get started on applying all I’ve learned to our digital channels.”
– Laura Valentine, Visit West
For Lisa Kowalkowski of Visit Chelteham/Marketing Cheltenham — who also took part in a popular panel discussion on destination marketing trends — this year’s event proved to be “three inspiring days spent in the vibrant seaside city of Brighton alongside passionate and innovative destination marketers from across Europe. I’ve come away energised with fresh ideas to promote Regency Cheltenham, thanks to an excellent programme of speakers, educational sessions, and roundtable discussions.”
For some — like Jill Harlow of Visit Isle of Wight — “fascinating talks about marketing trends and technology” were especially insightful, while for others — like Madrid Convention Bureau — it was the chance to discover “new trends in destinations, digitisation, and accessibility,” that made their time in Brighton so special.
Takeaway 3: Connections to spark inspiration
But for so many of our attendees, this year’s event proved to be a forum for the exchange of knowledge and insight, a place where ideas and thoughts were openly and enthusiastically shared. Speaking on behalf of Staffordshire & Stoke-on-Trent Local Visitor Economy Partnership (LVEP), Kim Hill noted this was an opportunity to conduct “networking with many other destinations and industry leading experts,” while simultaneously “championing our area.”
For Frances Plant of City of Lincoln Council, EMEA Summit 2025 represented “a fantastic opportunity to connect with colleagues from across the sector, all united by a shared passion for the destinations we work in”; while Visit Brighton’s Charlotte Barrow added, “It was lovely to have face-to-face chats with people I've worked with for years as well as chatting to people I'm looking forward to working with in the future.” Gavin McKenna of Visit Belfast, Cotswolds Tourism, and Suzanne Reilly of Visit Essex all concurred that, for them, the power of connection made their time in Brighton not simply memorable, but truly inspirational.
Even against the vibrant backdrop of Brighton — amid the sun, the sand (and yes, even those sea shanties!) — these are the thoughts and themes that truly stood out to this year’s attendees.
If you’re eager for this level of insight and knowledge, join us at next year’s EMEA Summit at Coombe Abbey. But in the meantime, register for our emails to be the first to hear about our Encore Summit Webinar series.