Dylan Thuras

Even the humblest of places hold seeds of wonder. As part of building Atlas Obscura as a business and as the co-author of three New York Times bestselling books, Dylan Thuras has traveled to hundreds of unusual places, including dozens of small towns across America. His experiences have given him an enormous sense of pride in America's true regional diversity, character, and commitment to the odd and unusual—and have allowed him to understand how truly valuable real-world immersion is. In a world where we can call up anything on our phones, we are tricked into feeling that the world is small. In this talk, Thuras shares some of his favorite adventures, why cultivating a sense of wonder and curiosity matters more now than ever, and how it can be done without ever stepping on an airplane or even leaving your backyard. Magic is everywhere if you give yourself eyes to see it with.

In 2022, travel and tourism's direct contribution to GDP was 7.7 trillion U.S. dollars. That's twice as big as steel, coal, and plastics combined. Three hundred and fifty million people work in travel and tourism (about as many as live in the United States), yet tourism is often treated as a soft sector. Tourism is a world-shaping economic force, so let's take it seriously. In this talk, Thuras looks at how the rise in tourism in the United Arab Emirates, Dubai, and Saudi Arabia may reshape the Middle East, how a lack of tourism may undermine China's rise, and finally, how the tourism sector can truly create a more prosperous, safe and productive world.

The pivot to video. Web3. NFT's. The Metaverse. Crypto. ChatGPT. The internet has changed a lot in the last 15 years, and not necessarily for the better. Launched in 2009, Atlas Obscura saw the rise of Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok and the emergence of mega media brands like Upworthy, Buzzfeed, Refinery29, and Vice, only to watch many of these brands self-immolate in the bonfire of digital media. As a co-founder of Atlas Obscura. Dylan Thuras has survived many of these waves of change and disruption and has learned a few key truths in the process. In this talk, Thuras shares lessons from fifteen years of growing a startup in a shifting digital world, including what he has learned and what will matter in the future, and how he feels uniquely prepared for the next fifteen years of online insanity.