TED Partners with Academic Travel Abroad to Launch TED Branded Travel Program
Bringing TED’s Mission of Global Education to Life Through Immersive Travel Experiences
TED, the global nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to discovering, debating, and spreading ideas, is proud to announce a new licensing partnership with Academic Travel Abroad, the premier provider of educational travel experiences. This collaboration will introduce the first branded TED Travel program, a first-of-its-kind initiative designed to transform travel into an immersive, educational journey. Aligning with TED’s broader 2025 initiative, “Where Curiosity Meets Community,” this partnership reinforces TED’s commitment to fostering lifelong learning through innovative and accessible formats.
Launching in 2026, the TED Travel program will offer a curated portfolio of annual trips, providing lifelong learners with unparalleled access to world-renowned experts, exclusive TED-style discussions, and cultural experiences that embody TED’s mission of “Ideas change everything.”
Joey Katona, Senior Director, Sales at TED, expressed his enthusiasm for the collaboration: “TED spreads ideas that spark curiosity, learning, and conversations. By partnering with Academic Travel Abroad, we look forward to bringing the desire for meaningful exploration and connection to the world of travel with unique destinations, themes, and hosts. TED Travel provides an opportunity outside of conferences and TED’s traditional platforms for TEDsters to experience deeply engaged exploration of community, culture, and ideas.”
Kate Simpson, President of Academic Travel Abroad, noted, "It is such an honor to collaborate with TED, an organization that has revolutionized how we share ideas, learn and connect across cultures. The TED Travel offering will reflect this ethos in a compelling way by pairing expert TED speakers with themed trips and engaging with TED communities around the globe.”
As a leader in the educational travel space, Academic Travel Abroad was selected for its expertise in crafting high-quality learning experiences that inspire and engage. The program will leverage TED’s global network of thought leaders, expert speakers, and passionate communities, making each trip an enriching exploration of ideas in real-world settings.
Trips will be available for booking through TED’s official travel website, ted.com/travel, with pricing based on trip specifics at the time of launch.
The partnership was brokered by Beanstalk, TED’s exclusive global licensing agency.
About TED
TED is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to discovering, debating and spreading ideas that spark conversation, deepen understanding and drive meaningful change. Our organization is devoted to curiosity, reason, wonder and the pursuit of knowledge — without an agenda. We welcome people from every discipline and culture who seek a deeper understanding of the world and connection with others, and we invite everyone to engage with ideas and activate them in your community.
TED began in 1984 as a conference where Technology, Entertainment and Design converged, but today it spans a multitude of worldwide communities and initiatives exploring everything from science and business to education, arts and global issues. In addition to the TED Talks curated from our annual conferences and published on TED.com, we produce original podcasts, short video series, animated educational lessons (TED-Ed) and TV programs that are translated into more than 100 languages and distributed via partnerships around the world. Each year, thousands of independently run TEDx events bring people together to share ideas and bridge divides in communities on every continent. Through the Audacious Project, TED has helped catalyze more than $3 billion in funding for projects that seek to make the world more beautiful, sustainable and just. In 2020, TED launched Countdown, an initiative to accelerate solutions to the climate crisis and mobilize a movement for a net-zero future, and in 2023 TED launched TED Democracy to spark a new kind of conversation focused on realistic pathways towards a more vibrant and equitable future. View a full list of TED’s many programs and initiatives.
About Academic Travel
Academic Travel Abroad, Inc. is an educational travel provider for some of this country’s most prestigious organizations. Riding the post-war wave of interest in travel to Europe, ATA launched operations in 1950 by assisting universities and cultural institutions in the creation of group travel programs for their members. Today, ATA is a leader in cultural and educational group travel and serves partners such as The New York Times, Smithsonian Institution, American Institute of Architects, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.