It’s like a switch flipped. In just one year, AI has gone from barely registering in how travelers plan tours and experiences to a top source — and for affluent U.S. travelers (HHI >$150K), it’s now #1. Same survey. Same questions. Same methodology... shifts are happening faster and faster. AI isn’t just another channel. It’s becoming the interface for discovery and planning. And as I hear from operator after operator struggling with falling search and website traffic, it's clear that, especially for those high-value travelers, if you’re not showing up in the answer, you’re not being considered. Link to the full article in comments (Arival Pro Access members).
BREAKING NEWS: People are searching more with AI now
We’re currently structuring our tour data for agentic search, for travel agents. Bonkers.
This shift is massive—and happening fast. When tools like ChatGPT move from zero to #1 discovery channel for affluent travelers in just a year, it changes the entire game. Search isn’t just evolving—it’s being replaced by answers. And if your brand, tours, or experiences aren’t part of those answers, you’re effectively invisible to high-value customers. The takeaway is clear: It’s no longer just about SEO or social—it’s about being present where decisions are made instantly.
The buried insight here: this isn't a channel shift, it's a distribution power shift. Google travel ads worked because users saw 10 options — operators could buy visibility. AI gives one answer. The operator who gets recommended isn't the one with the biggest ad budget anymore, it's whoever the model indexed or trained on last. Most of the experiences industry hasn't even begun to think about what "AI optimization" actually means for their business.
Douglas Quinby absolutely agree and the appetite in the industry is reflecting the change in the customer journey. For the first time in long time tourism businesses are looking for new knowledge on how to market: optimisation for AI search and agents, as well as how to optimise workflows using AI tools. Today we released the AI for Tourism Playbook and AI Readiness Checker and it's what the industry want right now. https://www.tourismtribe.com/ai-playbook/ Would love your feedback on these tools. We're all in this together supporting the industry and tech shifts as best we can.
Discovery changed on 30 Nov 2022; I am surprised it's taken this long to reach the mainstream, but then I am normally overly optimistic about timings. Tour after tour, I have taken in the last 6 months, customers are using AI on the tours! I have seen both really bad and really positive impacts from this. Operators have way more than discovery to be concerned about.
Affluent always believe in themselves. Operators should keep that in mind before making the first call for them.
Interesting to add the age layer on top.. and see how behavior shifts...
Fascinating data! AI tools topping the chart for affluent travelers is a real sign of where discovery is heading. Great insights as always!
https://arival.travel/article/ai-new-search-for-affluent-travelers/