Skift IDEA Awards

Early Deadline: March 31


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Skift IDEA Awards plain graphic with yellow and purple blurred out bubbles on a grey background. Overlayed with Skift IDEA Awards logo.

The Most Coveted Travel Design Award

Now in its fifth year, Skift IDEA Awards has become the travel industry’s most coveted achievement for excellence in design, creativity, and innovation.

The awards recognize impactful and inspiring projects from brands, agencies, and tech companies that solve traveler challenges, inspire change, and define the future of travel.

From purpose-built spaces and digital experiences to creative excellence and transformative leadership, IDEA Award winners are a beacon for where the travel industry is heading.

Dates & Fees for IDEA Awards 2023

  • Early Deadline: March 31 – $349 per entry
  • Regular Deadline: April 28 – $449 per entry
  • Final Deadline: May 12 – $549 per entry
  • Winners to be announced on August 1
  • Skift IDEA Awards Entry: Pandemic Response. Tourism industry Association of Prince Edward Island (TIAPEI) & Tourism Prince Edward Island (TPEI). Safe Haven Health & Safety Certification Program
  • Skift IDEA Awards Entry: Meetings & Events. Troop, Plan your next meeting in minutes.
  • Skift IDEA Awards Entry: People & Community. Wheel the World, Accessibility Mapping System
  • Skift IDEA Awards Entry: Hospitality & Lodging. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Women Own the Room.
  • Skift IDEA Awards Entry: Product Design. Appnovation, Visit California - Dream Theater.
  • Skift IDEA Awards Entry: In-house Innovators. Bologna Welcome, Extrabo.
  • Skift IDEA Awards Entry: Physical Experience. BRC Imagination Arts, Ravinia Music Box Experience Center
  • Skift IDEA Awards Entry: Marketing. Business Iceland, sweatpant boots.
  • Skift IDEA Awards Entry: Tourism. Business Iceland, welcome to the Icelandverse.
  • Skift IDEA Awards Entry: Content. G Adventures, The last tourist.
  • Skift IDEA Awards Entry: Business Outcomes. Hopper, Hopper Cloud: Supercharge Margins with Travel Fintech.
  • Skift IDEA Awards Entry: Communications Team. Ketchum, Ketchum Travel, Hospitality & Leisure.
  • Skift IDEA Awards Entry: Company on the Rise - Laya Technologies.
  • Skift IDEA Awards Entry: Experimental. Lorem Ipsum Corp, doorways into open access.
  • Skift IDEA Awards Entry: Creative Partner. Navigate Agency
  • Skift IDEA Awards Entry: Sustainability. Neste, Transforming gray infrastructure into green: delivering sustainable aviation fuel through existing oil pipelines.
  • Skift IDEA Awards Entry: Visionary 2030, presented by JetBlue Technology Ventures. Point.me, Travel Better.
  • Skift IDEA Awards Entry: Physical Experience. Praytell, Into the Lights: Canada brings its iconic northern lights to New York City.
  • Skift IDEA Awards Entry: Traveler Experience. Sensible Weather, Weather Guarantee for Travelers.
  • Skift IDEA Awards Entry: Aviation. SkyBuys, The future of travel retail.
  • Skift IDEA Awards Entry: Tourism. The Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada, Original Original Campaign.
Skift IDEA Awards Entry: Experimental. Lorem Ipsum Corp, doorways into open access.

2023 IDEA Awards Categories

This year’s program has 18 categories across four criteria groups. Unless noted in the description, any organization may be eligible for an award, regardless of company type or sector.

Industry Innovators

Forward-thinking projects that drive a sector forward and make an impact with consumers. 

HOTELS: Projects defining the future of hotels and the guest experience.

SHORT TERM RENTALS: Projects defining the future of short-term rentals.

TOURISM: Projects defining the future of leisure tourism, destination marketing and management, and the visitor experience. 

BUSINESS TRAVEL: Projects defining the future of corporate travel planning and experience.

AIRLINES: Presented by AIRLINE WEEKLY. Projects defining the future of aviation, airlines, and the traveler experience.

AIRPORTS: Presented by AIRLINE WEEKLY: Projects defining the future of airports and the traveler experience.

TOUR OPERATORS:  Projects defining the future of multi-day tours.

ACTIVITIES & ATTRACTIONS: Projects defining the future of day tours, activities, and experiences.

Change Makers

Organizations elevating the Travel Industry’s role as a force for good by affecting meaningful change.

SUSTAINABILITY: Projects creating a positive impact for the planet.

PEOPLE & COMMUNITY: Projects leading to social change or benefiting communities.

LEADERSHIP: Highlighting a specific leader whose career has been dedicated to creating a positive impact in travel.

Creative Thinkers

Marketing, strategy and technology that inspires and pushes the industry forward. 

MARKETING: Advertising campaigns created with the intent to drive action. 

CONTENT: Innovative branding or video content, intended to inform or inspire.

PRODUCT DESIGN: Websites, apps, UX/UI, and creative technologies.

PHYSICAL EXPERIENCES: Spaces, events, activations, or in-person experiences that utilize a physical environment to impact an end user. 

Problem Solvers

Service providers who offer solutions, address business challenges, or use technology to guide the industry.

BUSINESS OUTCOMES: A B2B service provider who drives sales, marketing, operations, and other business outcomes.

COMMUNICATIONS: A B2B communications team or company that guides brands and industry leaders forward through media and strategy.

DATA PROVIDER: A B2B research or analytics company that provides critical data and analysis to the industry.

TRAVEL TECHNOLOGY: A B2C solution that drives experiential outcomes – including payments, consumer apps, smart tech, and anything else along the travel journey.


FORMER IDEA AWARDS JUDGES

Aaron Walton – CEO & Founder, Walton Isaacson
Amy Burr – President, JetBlue Technology Ventures
Andrew Benioff – Founder & Chairman of The Independent Lodging Congress
Casper Overbeek – Chief Digital & Customer Experience Officer, citizenM
Colin Nagy – Columnist, Skift
James Thornton – CEO, Intrepid

Jan Chipchase – Founder, Studio D
Lindsey Maxwell – Vice President, TEAGUE
Liz Lambert – Founder & Chief Creative Officer, Bunkhouse
Lola Akerstrom – Founder, Local Purse
Mia Kyricos – President & Chief Love Officer, Kyricos & Associates
Yves Behar – Founder and CEO of fuseproject

PAST WINNERS

2021 Skift IDEA Award Winners
2020 Skift IDEA Award Winners


Why compete in the IDEA Awards?

Exposure to Skift’s editors and VIP judges for all entries, plus winners receive:

Coverage on Skift, marketing channels, and brand exposure at Skift Global Forum.

Complimentary ticket to Skift Global Forum along with brand exposure during the opening night event.

Personalized branding kit for winners to promote their achievements through their own channels, to customers, and the press.

Credit towards Skift’s premium subscription products.

Skift IDEA Awards Entry: Business Outcomes. Hopper, Hopper Cloud: Supercharge Margins with Travel Fintech.
Hopper Cloud was a 2022 winner

How are awards won?

Entries are scored on the criteria of:

Purpose: Does it solve a problem?

Originality: Does it stand out and challenge the status quo?

Impact: Does it have a meaningful impact on the traveler journey, business, or society?

See 2023 Categories

Enter the 2023 Skift IDEA Awards

Apply Now

You will be redirected to the entry platform.
For questions or sponsorship opportunities: [email protected]

Does the entry cost guarantee an award or only a chance to be chosen?

The entry fee does not guarantee an award, but all entries will be reviewed by our selection committee. The finalists chosen will be announced on Skift.com and will be reviewed by our  judges to make the final designation for each category.

Does the price include all costs after entry or is there an additional cost if chosen?

There is no additional cost aside from the entry fee.

Is there a timeframe during which the campaigns being submitted need to fall under?

The entry should be active in 2023, but it is OK if it launched earlier as long as it is still in the market or has an impact in 2023. We are also happy to further review your entry and advise!

Can you confirm that my entry was submitted?

With your log-in information, the easiest way to check on an entry would be to sign in on this page and go to the “My Entries” tab. If you do not find your entry, please email us at [email protected] and we will assist.

Once I submit my entry, can I continue editing it? If yes, until when?

Yes, after submitting the entry fee, you may continue editing your entry until the final deadline. That said, enter early to secure the best rate!

How much needs to be submitted in order to go back in and edit? Is there a minimum requirement?

There is no minimum – you can leave anything “TBD” within the entry prompts and continue editing your entry after submitting it.

I’m unsure what category my brand falls under…help?

You are welcome to submit your entry for the category you see most fit, as there is leeway within many of the categories to make a case. Our best advice is to tell your story on how your product/campaign impacts its intended user, and how you’ve partnered within the travel sector to provide value to the traveler.

Some material within my entry has not been cleared yet – how can it stay confidential until it is cleared?

Within your entry, please let us know what cannot be published. If your entry gets chosen as a finalist/winner, we may ask for a revised version with cleared materials so we can post when announcing results. Otherwise, we would use only what is cleared to publish publicly.

Who will be a part of this year’s jury?

Aside from Skift editors, our jury is typically comprised of creative business and innovation leaders from sectors adjacent to travel, who have expertise and a unique vantage point on design and consumer behavior. You can find a list of previous jury members on the bottom of the awards landing page, and we will be sharing this year’s list as we get closer to the deadline.

How many entries does one payment cover?

Each entry requires payment, which is stated within the entry process in the platform for reference. 

See the 2022 Travel Design Award Winners

Dive into the full project details (including photos, video, and other media) by selecting an entry below or view a summary of all the winning entries from IDEA Awards here.

See More Winners

2021 Skift Travel Design Award Winners
2020 Skift Travel Design Award Winners

Enter the 2023 Skift IDEA Awards

Apply Now

You will be redirected to the entry platform.
For questions or sponsorship opportunities: [email protected]