Insights From the Connect eTourism Summit for Your Tourism Marketing

December 1, 2023
By Jaimie Hart & Kerrie Yancey

Cognitive psychologist Gary Klein describes insight as “an unexpected shift in the way we understand things.” And this year’s Connect eTourism Summit (eTS) was full of insights.

Being the go-to agency for B2B digital marketing in the travel and tourism industry brings the added perk of our team members participating in conferences like eTS. During the conference, discussions from thinkers and experts in our industry focused on the AI revolution and data presentation – creating new shifts and understanding around these prominent industry topics.

Here are some insights from one of our favorite destination marketing conferences.

It’s Really About Using AI, Not
Just Having AI

Some simple insights can reframe the thoughts around artificially intelligent platforms and tools. It’s not just ‘AI’; it’s the application of AI – it takes people using this technology to accomplish goals. It’s more guided intelligence.

In addition, all AI is really doing is making highly informed predictions, but it doesn’t replace looking at the output and knowing intuitively if it’s correct. The value of AI output also relies on one’s experience and knowledge. With that, CVBs and destination organizations will always be invaluable to meeting planners – even during the AI revolution.

pink duotone image of presenters during a panel

Presenting Data: Think Anecdotal Over Analytics

There’s a curiosity in data that connects the dots. People tend to find less appeal in raw numbers and, instead, are interested in understanding behavior.

Think about the diversity of interests among your board members; they’ll want to see a personalized, sophisticated and high-level story for the data – the most impactful thing you have to share. Prepare the bigger story about why the data is important. Present what would appeal to board members in a digestible format for those who might not speak data.

Then, look at it through different lenses to apply to marketing decisions. Working with partners who adopt a data-driven approach helps build out that story from day one – starting with the strategies they employ.