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| Candice Eley |
Generative AI hasn’t been around that long, but it hasn’t taken much time for it to fundamentally shift how consumers use technology and, in turn, how a lot of industries are approaching their communications and marketing strategies.
For businesses in the travel, tourism and hospitality space, this shift can’t be ignored. According to Phocuswright Research, nearly 56% of travelers are turning to AI-powered platforms like ChatGPT, Google AI Mode and Gemini to research travel destinations, compare experiences and build itineraries. Rather than scrolling through pages of search results, users are asking conversational questions such as, "What's the best East Coast destination for a family vacation in October?" or "Which European cities are ideal for food lovers on a budget?
Businesses and destinations that haven’t thought about how (or if) they are showing up in the answers these platforms provide, quite frankly, will be losing out on a lot of potential travelers.
Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) focuses on increasing the likelihood that organizations will be cited or referenced within AI-generated answers. While much of the early conversation has centered on digital marketing, plenty of experts have been saying that the real power ingredient in the GEO secret sauce is PR.
AI Is Changing the Tourism Discovery Funnel
Recent reporting from PhocusWire notes that large language models are rapidly becoming a new layer of travel discovery. Research cited by the publication found that many hotels are essentially becoming invisible in AI-generated travel recommendations, despite having strong traditional digital presences.
At the same time, Skift has reported that Google is evolving travel search from a keyword-driven experience to one increasingly influenced by conversational intent, reviews, imagery and contextual information.
To a travel or hospitality business, it must seem like so many of the tools this industry relied on for discovery over the years have just lost visibility. Fortunately, if the key to discoverability is context and storytelling, PR is perfectly poised to help right the ship.
| This article is featured in O'Dwyer's Jul./Aug. '26 Travel & Tourism PR Magazine |
Earned Media Becomes Readable Authority for AI
As PR professionals, we’ve long viewed media coverage as a way to influence human audiences. In the GEO era, media coverage serves a second purpose: it helps establish digital authority.
When an AI platform is asked to recommend destinations for outdoor enthusiasts, culinary travelers or luxury vacationers, it looks for evidence across multiple sources. News articles, travel features, destination guides, expert commentary, reviews and local publications all contribute to the information landscape AI systems use to generate responses.
This means that a feature story in a respected publication may now influence not only readers but also future AI-generated recommendations.
As a result, PR teams should now evaluate media opportunities through two lenses:
1. Audience reach and engagement
2. Long-term discoverability within AI-powered search and answer engines
PR tech tools like Muck Rack are adding AI visibility indexes to their databases to help PR pros navigate this new metric, but it will be incumbent upon all of us to stay on top of which outlets and platforms are providing the most visibility (and understanding why).
Authority Matters More Than Volume
One of the most important lessons emerging from early GEO research is that AI systems appear to prioritize credibility, consistency and authority over sheer content volume.
For destinations, this reinforces the importance of securing coverage in trusted publications, contributing expert perspectives, maintaining accurate destination information and cultivating strong relationships with journalists who specialize in travel as well as the related verticals that align best with their destination. These could include things like sustainability, food and dining, culture and outdoor recreation.
Rather than focusing exclusively on the number of placements generated, communications teams should ask:
• Are we cited by authoritative publications?
• Is our messaging appearing consistently across trusted sources?
• Are journalists quoting our subject matter experts?
• Are key destination or business attributes reinforced by third parties?
As communications professionals, now more than ever, we’ll need to be prepared to counsel clients and C-suite leaders on why the right media placement might not be the one generating the largest number of impressions.
Destination Narratives Need Greater Specificity
In the travel landscape, it’s been easy for marketers to fall back on “we have something for everyone” messaging in hopes of attracting the largest number of potential visitors. But as GEO increasingly rewards precision, discoverability will come through specific, well-defined terms, not generic, broad language.
When thinking about how your PR strategy will inform GEO results, always begin by thinking about what sort of questions would a potential traveler be asking:
• Where can I go hiking in North America if I need accessible trails?
• What are the best vacation destinations for families traveling with multiple generations?
• Which small cities are worth visiting for great food?
The destinations most likely to appear in those answers are the ones with abundant, credible content addressing those specific topics.
Think about how travelers plan and how they search. What is your destination known for? What gets overlooked? What are the major hosted events that people usually travel to your destination to attend?
GEO creates an opportunity for PR teams to move beyond broad destination storytelling and develop media strategies around niche traveler interests, seasonal experiences and emerging tourism trends.
Getting Smart About GEO
In the GEO era, reviews, news coverage, social conversations and destination information may all influence how a destination or tourism business is described. Which is why collaboration with marketing, social media, website and destination stewardship teams is essential to ensure that information across channels aligns with the brand’s desired positioning.
As social media boomed, hospitality brands and destinations have had to keep an eye to reputation management; GEO increases this need, but in many ways, it also makes it quicker and easier to identify shortcomings, weaknesses and areas that need improvement.
We’ve developed a GEO-first approach, Padilla GEO 3D™, designed to help our clients discover not only how they show up on AI platforms but also how their competitors show up. We make AI-centric recommendations based on these findings and create plans to drive measurable results. As GEO continues to evolve, our client programs will continue to evolve, too.
What DMOs and Travel Brands Should Do Now
In these early days of GEO adoption, it can feel like the Wild West. But fundamentally, our work as communicators, marketers and PR pros hasn’t really changed – it’s just shifted in focus.
To set ourselves, our clients and our brands up for success, we need to:
• Think about the sources that are influencing AI results. Prioritize earned media in highly credible travel, business and lifestyle publications.
• Develop content and story angles around specific traveler intents rather than broad destination attributes.
• Increase the visibility of destination experts, local voices and tourism leaders through interviews, commentary and thought leadership.
• Evaluate current strategies around owned content, including press releases, blogs and web copy, to ensure it aligns with GEO best practices.
• Reevaluate measurement approaches and metrics to include AI visibility as part of the bigger picture.
And finally, think about the AI handoff. Once a potential traveler has found their answer via AI, what comes next? The journey doesn’t stop there, so make sure the rest of your marketing team is ready to help move them down the path.
The Future of Destination PR
The rise of GEO does not diminish the value of PR. If anything, it increases it. For travel and hospitality businesses, you don’t need to throw your media relations plan out the window – it might just need an AI-focused tune-up.
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Candice Eley is Senior Director at Padilla, leading integrated marketing and strategic media relations for travel and hospitality brands.
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