The AI revolution is creating a seismic shift that is reshaping every aspect of business and industry, including disruptions to giants like Google. In the next three to five years, we may witness an entirely different business landscape where even Google’s dominance in search could be fundamentally changed.
Thinking about AI and its impact on tourism is about more than just figuring out how your company or DMO will adopt AI; it’s equally important to think about how AI may impact your business’ online visibility, your ability to book visitors through the internet and whether there are new opportunities to completely disrupt tourism as we know it today.
Generative AI is changing consumer behaviour in very impactful ways. Additionally, AI systems surface information differently than Google does, so the content on your SEO optimized website may be invisible to AI search tools.
A recently released Generative Pulse Report, produced by Muck Rack, underscores this transformation, with specific mention and examples from the Travel/Airline and Hospitality sectors. Their findings and some of the work I’ve been doing through my digital Agency, CIPR Communications and our partnership with a leading digital agency in Napa Valley which we now collaborate with through a new brand, NextGen Destination Marketing, all point to the critical and urgent need for a new digital approach and the opportunities for new possibilities for the sector.
Instead of traditional search results filled with clickable links, platforms now provide immediate, conversational answers directly to users. According to the MuckRack report, citations drastically influence AI outputs, with fresh, journalistic content from high-authority sources dominating results, especially for advice-seeking and opinion-based queries. Particularly in travel, platforms like Gemini, ChatGPT, and Claude increasingly prioritize recent, dynamic content from niche sources tailored specifically to industries like travel and hospitality.
This evolution means your beautifully designed websites and compelling content might be invisible to AI-driven searches if not properly formatted or continuously updated. As Jason Cincotta, Co-Founder of Kismet highlighted in a recent podcast episode I recorded with him, “The LLM doesn’t browse like a human. It doesn’t click around. You have to serve everything it needs up front.” Indeed, Kismet’s research reveals a staggering issue: AI search engines currently default to online travel agencies (OTAs), costing hotels billions in commissions because OTAs have better structured and fresher data.
During the conversation with Jason, we discussed how the landscape of online visibility is rapidly changing. Jason emphasized that the internet is transitioning from a user-directed platform to an agent-to-agent ecosystem and this has far reaching implications on every company in the world that relies on being found through search to generate bookings and revenue.
Imagine a future, perhaps just 12-24 months away, where humans rarely book trips themselves. Instead, their AI agents interact directly with hotel and DMO websites and tour providers, organizing itineraries, booking stays, and managing travel experiences without direct human web interactions.
This shift is critical because it changes how businesses must position themselves online. Being discoverable by AI agents is no longer optional; it is essential. As Jason noted, “This is the opportunity for hotels to sell directly to consumers in a way they haven’t since the ’80s or ’90s.” Companies must adapt their strategies to ensure they appear in these emerging, automated search and booking pathways or risk becoming invisible to potential travelers.
The rise of AI-driven search demands a shift from traditional Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to Generative Engine Optimization (GEO). Traditional SEO primarily aimed at improving your website’s visibility in Google search results through keyword optimization and backlinks. However, GEO goes beyond this by preparing your content specifically to appear in AI-generated search responses like those provided by Google’s AI overviews, Bing’s chat results, and ChatGPT.
Unlike traditional SEO, which measures success mostly by clicks and website traffic, GEO evaluates success through visibility within AI-generated responses. Your content might not always get a direct click, but being featured prominently within an AI-generated answer significantly boosts brand visibility and trustworthiness.
For GEO to work effectively, your content must be clear, authoritative, and highly structured. Clear content means providing straightforward answers, using concise sentences, and avoiding technical jargon. Authoritative content involves backing your statements with reliable sources and relevant data points, creating content that AI identifies as credible and useful.
Structured content is about formatting your information in ways that AI systems can easily understand. This includes using descriptive headings and subheadings, bullet points or numbered lists, and short summaries. Another critical technique is schema markup—a special code placed within your website content to help AI and search engines quickly grasp key information about your content’s structure and meaning. Examples include FAQ schema (Frequently Asked Questions), How-To schema (step-by-step guides), and Product schema (detailed product information).
Conversational keyword research is another vital GEO practice. Unlike traditional keyword research, which typically involves shorter and less natural keyword phrases, conversational keywords reflect the full, natural questions users ask, often mirroring spoken language. These keywords align better with how AI systems interpret and respond to user queries.
Traditional link-building is becoming less relevant compared to strategic digital PR that showcases trust signals and media coverage. As Jason stated and the MuckRack report confirms, “AI search tools validate by reading press coverage, awards, and even UGC, especially for long-tail queries.” Simply placing logos or mentions on your website isn’t sufficient; your content must explicitly showcase external validation like press articles, awards, and user-generated content. This practice helps AI tools to accurately validate and trust your offerings.
DMOs play a crucial role in the communities they serve as data hubs, connecting and structuring local data across suppliers to ensure comprehensive AI-readability. Jason emphasizes, “The 21st-century DMO’s job is to make its region AI-readable.” Destinations must shift their thinking toward being structured data centers, enabling AI models to easily traverse interconnected information about hotels, tours, events, and venues.
I think there is an interesting opportunity for DMOs in this new world to position themselves and even potentially generate revenue as an online travel agency or OTA. Unlike traditional OTAs, which work across all destinations and are highly bottom line driven, DMOs are stewards of the destinations they represent, partners with all local stakeholders and have a very good pulse on the type of traveller that visits their region and what they want.
Imagine a world where DMOs disrupt and replace the OTA space, using a social enterprise model focused not only on attracting more tourists, but also promoting responsible tourism and building a destination economy that aligns perfectly with the fabric of the community they serve.
I’m personally very interested in this future and think it comes with a lot of benefits for not only the tourism industry, but also the citizens of a destination that may be impacted – positively or negatively – by tourism.
Just as Google’s 25 year dominant position as the undisputed champion of search is under threat, so too is there an interesting opportunity for destinations and their tourism partners to work together to disrupt the OTA market in ways that were not possible just 12 months ago.
If you are interested in exploring how this can be done, I want to talk to you. If you would like to talk about ensuring your brand continues to be visible online, please don’t hesitate to reach. If you need help with AI adoption, I’m here for it!
With disruptive AI technologies now part of the fabric of business and society, the opportunity to reshape the future has never been more ripe.
Send me an email at peter@ciprcommunications.com – lets do something incredible together!