Questex’s ULTRA Summit and GMITE Conclude Co-Located Events at Chateau Elan

NEW YORK, May 09, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Luxury Travel Advisor’s ULTRA Summit and the Global Meeting & Incentive Travel Exchange (GMITE), both produced by Questex, have successfully concluded their first-ever co-located events at Chateau Elan Winery & Resort in Braselton, Georgia, May 5–7, and May 6-9, 2025 respectively. This marked a pivotal moment in the convergence of the luxury leisure travel and MICE sectors, driven by industry research highlighting the rise of bleisure travel and the demand for authentic, experience-driven itineraries.

Jill Birkett, VP/Market Leader, Questex Travel said, “From its elegant venue to its immersive programming and handpicked participants, the co-located ULTRA Summit and GMITE delivered unparalleled value and affirmed Questex’s role as a visionary in the future of integrated travel and event experiences.”

The decision to co-locate ULTRA and GMITE was a strategic move to reflect—and serve—the growing synergy between luxury vacation planning and high-touch business travel. Attendees from both events benefited from expanded networking, shared educational sessions, and integrated experiences that maximized value across both verticals.

The ULTRA Summit is more than an event; it’s a reflection of where the travel industry is headed. The co-located events create a dynamic platform that offers advisors and suppliers insights, connections, and opportunities aligned with the evolving marketplace.

The joint event featured a content-rich conference program, including the highly anticipated keynote by Deirdre O’Connell, Travel & Hospitality Transformation Leader at Deloitte. The session, “Transformative Forces Reshaping Luxury Travel and Events,” explored the impact of generational shifts, emerging technologies, and global wealth patterns on the travel industry.

Additional conference highlights included:

• The Travel Advisor’s Place in an Industry at a Crossroads delivered by Cameron Sperance, Content/Editorial Director, Questex Travel.
• Mastering Luxury: Strategies to Elevate Your Travel Business delivered by Kimberly Floyd, Luxury Travel Advisor, FROSCH, Fernando Gonzales, CEO, First in Service, Amanda Klimak, President & Co-Owner, Largay Travel. Moderated by Matt Turner, Editor, Questex Travel.
• Beyond the Itinerary: The Future of Trust, Well-Being & Sustainability in Luxury Travel & Beyond delivered by Janice Cardinale VEMM, Founder, Event Minds Matter, Tammy Hsu, CMP, Sustainability Events Manager. Sperance moderated.

The ULTRA Summit welcomed a curated group of top-tier North American luxury travel advisors, including owners, managers, and top producers from consortia like Virtuoso, Signature, Internova, American Express, and Ensemble. Attending agencies included Strong Travel Services, Largay Travel, On the Map Travel, Tzell Travel, and Embark Beyond, among others.

Suppliers from all over the world participated in over 1,300 targeted one-to-one meetings with advisors, maximizing ROI and relationship-building.

GMITE’s calling card for the last 20 years has been the ability to connect global suppliers with pre-qualified, fully hosted North American meeting planners and incentive buyers for an unparalleled networking experience. During this event, suppliers conducted over 1,000 one-to-one appointments with buyers they chose to meet with from key purchasing sectors including corporate direct, third party, and incentive houses (full service and travel). Buyers were curated via a rigorous vetting process measuring criteria that included, but was not limited to current and future portfolios of business, references, and the destinations/venues they book.

For more information visit ltaultrasummit.com or gmiteevent.com.

Stay connected with Luxury Travel Advisor: Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Threads, and X.

Stay connected with Meeting Spotlight: Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Threads and X.

About Luxury Travel Advisor
Luxury Travel Advisor was founded in 2005, as the only outlet created for the very important luxury segment. Luxury Travel Advisor boasts a readership of 15,000 hand-selected travel advisors who belong to Virtuoso, Signature, American Express, Ensemble and Internova, as well as those hard-to-reach independent luxury travel advisors across the United States and Canada. The readers of Luxury Travel Advisor sell to the most affluent consumers across the world and the ULTRA Summit is the intimate, in-person event where those advisors collaborate with top suppliers on how to navigate a successful business plan for the future. The Dossier newsletter publishes news from LuxuryTravelAdvisor.com twice a week and reaches a broad audience of luxury travel professionals worldwide.

About Global Meeting & Incentive Travel Exchange (GMITE)
Global Meeting & Incentive Travel Exchange (GMITE) is the MICE (meeting, incentive, convention, and events) industry’s leading one-to-one event that connects global suppliers with high-volume, North American meeting and incentive buyers. The program combines robust learning opportunities with one-to-one meetings and networking activities to promote business relationships. CMITE (Caribbean and Mexico Meeting & Incentive Travel Exchange), the Caribbean and Mexico MICE industry’s only one-to-one event, is a sister event. GMITE and CMITE are supported by Meeting Spotlight, which offers the latest industry news and destination content that will help suppliers and planners make vital business decisions throughout the year.

About Questex
Questex helps people live better and longer. Questex brings people together in the markets that help people live better: hospitality and wellness; the industries that help people live longer: life science and healthcare and the technologies that enable and fuel these new experiences. We live in the experience economy – connecting our ecosystem through live events, surrounded by data insights and digital communities. We deliver experience and real results. It happens here.

Media Contact:
Jennifer Rosen
Sr. Marketing Director
[email protected]
+1 212-400-6233

Wall St Business News, Latest and Up-to-date Business Stories from Newsmakers of Tomorrow