Destination marketing is one of the biggest forces powering the travel industry that we rarely talk about. It’s the Goliath economic influencer hiding in plain sight, using its invisible hand to directly and indirectly guide the way we think about where to travel, how to travel, and what we do once when we get there.

And it’s an industry in tremendous flux: Covid, “revenge travel”, rising interest rates, stimmy checks, overtourism, the ‘work from anywhere’ trend, sustainability, war, Gen Z & the influencer demographic, TikTok and (of course) AI have all had an impact on how destinations position themselves to their various constituencies.

How are destinations managing this revolution in their business? Guests Dr. Richie Karaburun of NYU’s Tisch Center of Hospitality and Rafat Ali, founder of travel trade media outlet Skift, join the pod to talk about the places and institutions leading this next generation of destination marketing, how to address ethical concerns with tourism, and how technology is creating new approaches to influencing where and how we travel.

• Destination Marketing: bigger than you think
• Destinations as products, destinations as brands
• Are we over overtourism?
• What does “sustainability” mean for a destination?
• Making the pie bigger: how are destinations expanding their focus on inclusivity?
• Technology: AI, TikTok, personalization vs. mass market
• Is tourism a force for good?

Follows:

Travel Tech Insider podcast

Gilad Berenstein - host

Cara Whitehill - host

Dr. Richie Karaburun - guest

Rafat Ali - guest

Go Deeper:

Destinations International organization

Architects of Destination Advocacy podcast by Destinations International

Skift Tourism Skift’s hub for destination marketing & tourism coverage

Mesa recognized as one of the most accessible destinations by travel booking app AZ Family

NYU SPS Tisch Center of Hospitality, Destinations International collaborate **Hotel Management

Destination organizations: Supporting the tourism industry, sustainable travel, and more HospitalityNet