Jennifer Axness
Originally published on Hospitality Net
By Sol Freixa, Vice President, Commercial, Destinations at Amadeus
Travel doesn’t begin with a booking – it begins with a question.
Where should I go? What kind of experience do I need right now? Increasingly, travelers are turning to AI-powered tools and platforms to find the answers. As highlighted in the Travel Dreams 2026: From data to delight report, the way people discover destinations and hotels is evolving rapidly, shifting from traditional search to intent-driven exploration.
This transformation is reshaping not only how travelers find inspiration, but also how destinations and hotels compete for attention long before a booking is made.
AI-driven discovery is changing the starting point of travel
The search process used to be straightforward and structured. A traveler might type “hotels in Barcelona” and go from there. Today, discovery is far more dynamic.
AI-driven tools are helping travelers express their intent in new ways. Instead of searching for a destination, travelers are increasingly searching for a feeling or an outcome.
They may be looking for a relaxing break to reset, a culturally immersive experience, or a work-from-anywhere stay that offers both ease and flexibility. In this shift, simple searches have become rich signals of intent.
As a result, visibility is no longer just about appearing in search results – it’s about showing up in the right context, with the right message, at the moment a traveler is still exploring possibilities.
Inspiration now happens earlier – and faster
What’s perhaps most interesting is how early these decisions are now happening.
Travelers are starting to form preferences – and even shortlists – long before they ever land on a booking site. AI-powered recommendations, social content, and platform ecosystems are speeding up the inspiration phase, providing options in seconds that used to take hours of research to uncover. The moment of influence is shifting to earlier in the decision-making journey.
If a property or destination is not part of the initial discovery set, it may never make it into consideration. The competition is no longer just about conversion – it’s about being included in the traveler’s shortlist.
The expanding role of DMOs in shaping demand
In this new landscape, DMOs are playing an increasingly strategic role. Traditionally focused on awareness and promotion, they are now central to shaping how destinations are discovered, and how demand is distributed. They are uniquely positioned to:
- Shape stories around what travelers want today
- Highlight lesser-known experiences and locations
- Balance demand across regions and seasons
- Provide the content and context that powers discovery
As AI tools pull from a wide range of data sources to make recommendations, having clear, high-quality destination information becomes essential. DMOs that keep their content rich, structured, and up to date are much more likely to influence how their destination is presented: and ultimately, how it’s seen.
From visibility to relevance
Being visible is no longer enough.
In a landscape shaped by AI and personalization, relevance is what determines whether a destination or hotel is considered. This means aligning content, messaging, and availability with what travelers are actually seeking in the moment.
In this environment, understanding intent becomes critical. A traveler searching for calm and restoration may respond to messaging around wellness, simplicity, and space, while another seeking connection and discovery may be drawn to local experiences and cultural immersion.
The opportunity for destinations and hotels is clear: the same place can meet very different needs, but only if it shows up in ways that resonate with each traveler’s intent. This requires a shift from listing features to communicating value – through storytelling that is dynamic, contextual, and relevant.
Capturing intent before the booking phase
By the time a traveler reaches a booking platform, much of the decision-making has already happened.
Capturing demand now means engaging earlier:
- Appearing in AI-generated recommendations
- Aligning with destination-level storytelling
- Ensuring content reflects traveler intent, not just product attributes
This is where collaboration becomes essential. Hotels, DMOs, and technology partners must work together to ensure that data is accurate and accessible, and content is easy to find and relevant to how travelers search today.
Those that succeed will not only attract more attention – they will attract the right attention.
A new definition of competitive advantage
As travel discovery evolves, competitive advantage is shifting. It’s no longer defined solely by location, price, or amenities, but increasingly by how easily a traveler can find you, how clearly you communicate your value, and how effectively you align with emerging traveler intent.
In a world where AI helps travelers navigate infinite options, being chosen depends on being both visible and meaningful.
Looking ahead
The future of travel discovery will be more intuitive, more personalized, and more immediate.
For the industry, this presents a clear opportunity: to reconnect with travelers at the earliest stages of their journey, and to shape demand in ways that are more intentional, more balanced, and more impactful.
Because ultimately, the question is no longer just where travelers want to go. It’s why – and how the industry shows up with the answers.
