# Skift

> Skift is a New York travel-industry intelligence and media company that sells news, research, and branded content to the people who run airlines, hotels, tourism boards, and online travel giants. Founded in 2012 by Rafat Ali - who had already sold one media company to The Guardian - it runs on a three-legged model of subscriptions, events, and marketing services, and popularized the word 'overtourism' along the way.

- **Founded:** 2012
- **Headquarters:** New York, United States
- **Founders:** Rafat Ali (CEO / Founder), Jason Clampet (Co-founder / Chief Product Officer)
- **Team size:** ~590 employees
- **Products:** Skift.com, Skift Pro, Skift Research, SkiftX, Skift Global Forum
- **Notable:** Coined the term 'overtourism' in a 2016 editorial, now standard industry vocabulary., Built a profitable, diversified B2B travel-media business where many ad-only competitors failed., Founder Rafat Ali previously built and sold PaidContent to Guardian News & Media (2008).

## Products & services

- **Skift.com** — Daily travel-industry news and analysis covering airlines, hotels, online travel, tourism, and hospitality.
- **Skift Pro** — Premium subscription giving full access to Skift's news, exclusive reporting, and analysis.
- **Skift Research** — Subscription research service producing deep-dive reports, data sheets, and analyst calls on travel-industry trends.
- **SkiftX** — In-house branded content and marketing studio that connects travel brands to Skift's professional audience.
- **Skift Global Forum** — Flagship annual conference in New York bringing together senior leaders across the travel ecosystem, with sibling forums in Europe and Asia.
- **Airline Weekly** — Aviation-focused subscription newsletter read by airline CEOs and senior executives, acquired by Skift in 2018.
- **Daily Lodging Report** — Hotel-industry subscription newsletter founded in 1995, acquired by Skift in 2021.
- **Skift Meetings** — Media brand covering the meetings and events industry (formerly EventMB, acquired 2019).
- **Skift Megatrends** — Annual forecast of the trends that will shape the travel industry, published each January.
- **Ask Skift** — AI answer engine trained on Skift's archive of travel-industry reporting and research.

## Achievements

- Coined the term 'overtourism' in a 2016 editorial, now standard industry vocabulary.
- Built a profitable, diversified B2B travel-media business where many ad-only competitors failed.
- Founder Rafat Ali previously built and sold PaidContent to Guardian News & Media (2008).
- Skift Global Forum became the travel industry's leading executive conference.
- Rolled up respected trade titles including Airline Weekly, Daily Lodging Report, and EventMB.

## Latest updates

- **2025-07** — Skift acquired Women Leading Travel & Hospitality and podcast studio Hospitality.fm to expand community and multimedia offerings.
- **2025-09** — Hosted Skift Global Forum 2025 in New York, drawing senior leaders from across the global travel ecosystem.
- **2025-12** — Published Skift Megatrends 2026 and its State of Travel research.

## Links

- Website: https://skift.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/skift
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/skift
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/skift
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skiftnews
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/skiftnews

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/skift
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-19