In the world of travel, the Educational Seminar for Tourism Organizations or ESTO is one of the premiere annual conferences. It’s the place where the best and the brightest destination marketing organization professionals get together to network and share ideas that will help destinations of all sizes stay ahead of the curve.
This year, two team members from Ascedia were invited to attend. Here are some of the key take-aways from the conference.
AI, The Third Wave
The first wave for destinations was the website. It was a fundamental change in the way DMOs (Destination Marketing Organizations) conducted marketing. The second wave was social. As those channels became more and more important, marketers had to evolve to stay in front of prospects. AI represents the third wave. This new technology is just beginning to make an impact. And marketers are still learning best practices to deploy the technology.
Guide Geek
One AI tool capturing a lot of buzz at the conference was Guide Geek. This chatbot provides a real time, seamless user experience where travelers can ask the bot questions and Guide Geek provides immediate recommendations. What made the tool stand out was the specific recommendations it would come back with. For example, if you put in vegan restaurant recommendations it would only deliver those restaurants. If you were only interested in family travel, Guide Geek would only deliver family travel options. Our own creative director Jacob Burr tested out the bot and put it through its paces and was impressed with the experience. Tools like Guide Geek and others will play a significant role in planning travel and exploring destinations.Industry Trends
Perhaps the biggest shift is the role of travel in our lives. In research presented at the conference – travel is a non-negotiable item.
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95% of travelers will sacrifice in other areas of life to fund their next trip
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73% view travel as a priority
- 67% placing more value on experiences than they ever did before vs just 9% before the pandemic
Award for Travel Wisconsin
This year, Travel Wisconsin brought home the Mercury Award for best Digital and Social Campaign for their seasonal travel reports. These reports provide the most up-to-date information for visitors looking to make the most of their time outdoors. Learn more about it here. Note Travel Wisconsin is a client of Ascedia.
