AI has dominated the news for this first half of 2023 and using new artificial intelligence tools to help create ads has been all the buzz lately. So much so that NPR recently published an article and released a related podcast episode on how to recognize AI-generated images. The travel marketing space has been no different; AI has begun its integration with travel—including providing recommendations, booking, forecasting, creating itineraries, and now advertisements. Case in point, an AdAge article published in March explored how Lithuania Travel deployed the generative AI software Midjourney to make tourism ads for one of their campaigns.

With all the hubbub around AI and advertising, Destination Analysts decided to bring together a panel of travelers to react to AI-generated travel ads and see what we can learn about what travelers think about how AI is being used in travel marketing.

 

As marketers continue to experiment with AI, it’s imperative to keep our eyes on what really matters to travelers when it comes to advertising: unique destination experiences for real people.

 


Hot Takes on Visit Denmark’s AI-Authored Ad
Travelers were asked to view a campaign from Visit Denmark that used deepfake technology to bring famous works of art to life and employed a script written by ChatGPT.

All in all, this AI ad was well-received for the clever conceit of having highly recognizable works or art like the Mona Lisa speak directly to the viewer, but the animation of the deepfakes was slightly underwhelming to travelers. One person noted, “There’s work to be done to make the animations more fluid,” while another observed that some of the animations worked well but, for instance, the Statue of Liberty’s mouth did not move as well. A more seamless animation would have drawn viewers into the ad without distracting them with clunky visuals.

On the other hand, the script – combined with the famous artworks – was confusing for American travelers. While it was largely understood that most of these pieces are not located in Denmark, travelers were at a loss to comprehend why an advertisement about Denmark would spend so much of its run-time focused on artworks that are not actually in Denmark (with the exception of the statue of Hans Christian Andersen). The result was a highly mixed message; travelers wondered if the ad was about Denmark or about traveling the world. Rather than a clever advertisement showing famous, non-Danish pieces of art, travelers would prefer to see featured landmarks, attractions, or pieces of art specific to Denmark. As one traveler put it, focusing on interesting things to do and see in Denmark would have piqued their interest to visit the country more than fun, talking paintings. Playing with AI is fun and novel at the moment, but ultimately travelers want to know what they can experience in a destination that is unique and sets it apart from anywhere else.


Botticelli’s Venus Becomes a Virtual Influencer
Italy’s tourism ministry launched a campaign called “Open to Wonder” that features Botticelli’s Venus (of The Birth of Venus fame) as a modern-day virtual influencer, content creator, and tourism ambassador for Italy (Fig. 1). Throughout the campaign on Instagram, Venus is dressed in today’s designer clothing, taking selfies in St. Mark’s square, riding a bicycle in front of the Colosseum, and eating pizza on the shores of Lake Como.



Figure 1 and 2: Botticelli’s Venus as a virtual influencer for Italy

 

As part of the exercise, panelists viewed an Instagram reel created for the campaign, in which Venus showcases Italy as a travel destination.

Overwhelmingly, travelers said they would have preferred to see a real person rather than an AI person. The AI Venus influencer was described as “completely unrelatable” and “out of place.” One traveler noted that it was odd to see just a cutout of the painting, with no animation of the hair or facial expressions. Another argued that, even with more animation, the impact would have been minimal – without a living, breathing human to relate to, the ad garnered no additional interest in visiting Italy.

And travelers don’t just want any real person, but a lesser-known person – no celebrities, in other words. When it comes to sharing a travel destination, nothing beats someone real and relatable talking about their favorite places. Even a popular Italian TikTok-er or Instagram influencer would have been considered more appealing, and travelers expressed a keen interest in being able to see an actual human walking the streets and going into restaurants. As several travelers observed, it is always better with a real person.

The Future of AI in Travel Marketing
We are still in the early days of AI in advertising, but with major film studios like Marvel using AI to generate opening credits, and the sustained buzz around AI in the media this year, AI is here to stay and will have very real impacts on how travel marketing is done. With creative testing among travelers, travel marketers can continue to home in on best practices for employing AI and discover what works for their brand among their target audience. Even as marketers spark new creative ideas in how to wield AI in the most eye-catching (but relevant) ways possible, it’s imperative to keep our eyes on what really matters to travelers when it comes to advertising –unique destination experiences for real people.

For further opportunities for creative testing, please reach out to our research team at info@destinationanalysts.com to learn how we can best partner with you. 

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Global Tourism is booming. An estimated 1.3 billion persons traveled internationally in the past year, marking a robust 7 percent annual growth rate. However, it’s painfully clear that America hasn’t kept up. Our country has been losing market share, and with it, billions of dollars in tourism revenues. How much does the controversy swirling around Donald Trump contribute to this situation? Our The State of the International Traveler survey sheds some light on the topic. This year’s findings suggest that while the exchange rates and the cost of visiting the U.S. are the most important factors behind our declining market share, our politics matter too. The actions and policies of President Trump, the most visible symbol of our contentious political climate, have clearly played a role in America’s ongoing tourism challenge.

Five years ago, our company decided to launch a research effort to understand and track what international travelers think about America and its many diverse destinations. This survey, conducted at the start of each year, is called The State of the International Traveler. In it, we probe the minds of more than eleven thousand likely international travelers in America’s fourteen largest feeder markets. This study also gives us the opportunity to learn about current social issues, such as the controversial positions and policies of our 45th President.

America’s Tourism Brand in Decline
(% writing in America as one of the destinations they most want to visit this year)

It’s clear that America is facing a challenge. We ask international travelers an unaided question to write in the top three countries they “most want to visit” in the upcoming year. Fortunately, we are still the world’s most popular destination, but our lead is narrowing. Since 2015, the proportion of international travelers reporting that the U.S. is one of their top destination has steadily declined, slipping by 12.4 percent.

Our contentious politics are one part of this problem. Nearly half of all travelers surveyed reported having a worse opinion of the United States based on our political situation, specifically the “actions and policies of President Donald Trump.” When asked how the actions and policies of President Trump has impacted their view of the United States, half (49.8%) said their opinion of our country has worsened to some degree. Offsetting this, about one-in-five (18.1%) said their opinion of us has improved. Shifts in interest in visiting the United States is somewhat less pronounced. About one-third of likely international travelers (35.4%) say they are less interested in visiting due to our President’s actions and policies.

Interestingly, the large overall proportion of travelers reporting they’re less likely to visit (35.4%) masks significant variation between countries. The charts below show that while there are problematic outcomes in much of the world, in India, Brazil and China, the situation is reversed. A larger share of travelers in these countries are “more likely” to visit than “less likely,” indicating President Trump may be a net positive in these markets.

The root cause of the decline in America’s market share is complicated, and politics are only one part of the full picture. The situation bcomes clearer when we look at reasons travelers have decided not to visit the United States. The chart below shows the proportion of all likely international travelers who say each reason keeps them from visiting the U.S. more often.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As expected, the reasons most commonly cited for skipping on a trip to America were financial. The most frequent answer given was that the U.S. is “too expensive,” followed by the closely-related “unfavorable exchange rates.” The strong dollar in recent years has made travel to America costly, and the situation is unlikely to change in the near future. Still, nearly one out of every five (18.2%) likely international travelers say that discomfort with our national politics is keeping them away.

Innovation is our favorite thing here at Destination Analysts.  We’ve been on the cutting edge of destination research for two decades now, and still love nothing more than moving the needle forward.  Our latest innovation is combining the Voice of the Consumer (i.e., website user survey responses) with website analytics data.  The results are impressive and extremely valuable.  Imagine being able to see what different user types (leisure travelers, meeting planners, the press, etc.) are actually doing on your website.  Or even better, being able to develop your content strategies based on the actual behaviors of travelers at different points in the travel planning funnel.  Do potential visitors who have already decided to visit differ from those simply considering your destination?  If they do (and yeah, they do) your marketing effectiveness will depend on understanding these differences.

Our recent webinar explores this new approach to DMO website research.  We invite to take a little time today and watch.  Just click the image below.

If you’re interested in harnessing this technique to take your online marketing to a new level, contact us today.

New York Post Page 1

There’s little denying that we’re living in uncertain times. Just days ago, who would have predicted mass protests at U.S. airports or newspaper headlines suggesting America’s tourism industry is closed for business? Our industry, and in fact, the American economy as a whole, depends on robust international travel.  International travelers spent $246.2 billion in the U.S. in 2015, supporting 1.2 million jobs. Putting this in perspective, travel to America supports more jobs than there are people in San Jose, California, the heart of Silicon Valley.  For further comparison, a manufacturing giant like Ford Motor Company employs about 187,000 people in total, with a profit of $6.3 billion. International travel is not mere big business, it’s enormous business, comprising one-third of all U.S. service exports. So it should come as no surprise that travel professionals have been grappling with how the whole of Donald Trump—from his ethos, hospitality experience, and leadership to his many surrounding controversies—will affect the U.S. travel industry.

To look into the matter for our anxious travel industry colleagues, we added a number of questions to our The State of the International TravelerTM survey, our annual study tracking traveler sentiment in 14 of America’s key international feeder markets across the globe.  In early January, we surveyed a representative sample of 800 likely international travelers in each of these 14 countries, for a total of over 11,000 total surveys collected worldwide.  As anticipated, the 2017 study (available now) yielded some very interesting insights into how international travel audiences feel about Mr. Trump.

Overall Sentiment Leans Negative

Feelings about America’s new leader can, of course, range from the very positive to the very negative.  Overall, it appears that President Trump is more disliked than liked.  Figure 1 (below) shows that about 43 percent of likely international travelers say his election has worsened, to some degree, their opinion of America. Only 16.3 percent reported that his ascension has improved their overall view of the country.

Figure 1:  Effect of Election on Opinion of America
(Average, All Countries Surveyed)

Question – Did the results of the recent U.S. Presidential election change your overall opinion of the United States of America?  If so, how?  (Please select the answer that best fills in the blank below) As a result of the election, my overall opinion of the United States is _________.

Overall opinion about America

Nevertheless, this sentiment is far from equal across countries. For this same question, Figure 2 (below) illustrates what researchers call the Bottom 2 and Top 2 box scores, or the proportion of survey respondents saying the election has made them feel “Worse” or “Much worse” or “Better” or “Much better” about America.

Figure 2: Effect of Election on Overall Opinion of America
(Detail by Country)

Question – Did the results of the recent U.S. Presidential election change your overall opinion of the United States of America? If so, how? (Please select the answer that best fills in the blank below) As a result of the election, my overall opinion of the United States is _________.

Improved and worsened opinions on America

Countries with a net improvement—where the percent of international travelers’ whose opinions of America improved as a result of the election is greater than the percent whose opinions of America worsened—include Brazil, China and, most notably, India. India’s net opinion changed significantly, with 44.1 percent rating their opinion of America as “Better” or “Much better” post-election. However, as seen in the chart at the right of Figure 2, the majority of countries studied have a declined opinion. Residents of some of our country’s largest international travel markets—i.e. Canada, Mexico and the UK—reported “Worse” and “Much worse” opinions about America as a result of the recent presidential election. This is not good news for our industry, but then the question remains, does the lower overall opinion translate to decreased likelihood to visit America? Figure 3 below offers insight.

Figure 3: Effect of Likelihood of Visiting America
(Average, All Countries Surveyed)

Question — How have the results of the U.S. Presidential election effected the likelihood you will visit the United States in the NEXT FIVE (5) YEARS? (Select the answer that best fills in the blank below) I am ____________ to visit the United States in the NEXT FIVE (5) YEARS.

Likelihood of visit

The net negative feelings President Trump generates are evident in most countries, but it may not translate into a measurable impact on visitation. In fact, slightly more international travelers are more likely (to some degree) to visit the U.S. than less likely. Still more than half are neutral, indicating the election had no impact on their travel plans. This is of course intuitive; simply disliking a politician doesn’t mean America isn’t an entirely awesome visitor destination. For fun, our researchers interviewed a few tourists here in our hometown of San Francisco. The response of one Chinese tourist sums up the consistent sentiment we heard from these travelers: “It doesn’t matter to me. Many Chinese don’t like Trump, but we want to visit America.”

Figure 4: Effect on Likelihood of Visiting America
(Detail by Country)

Question — How have the results of the U.S. Presidential election effected the likelihood you will visit the United States in the NEXT FIVE (5) YEARS? (Select the answer that best fills in the blank below) I am ____________ to visit the United States in the NEXT FIVE (5) YEARS.

More likely and less likely to visit America

Even though the overall impact may be relatively muted, again there are large differences by country. There is a larger net number of international travelers in India, Brazil, and China who indicate that they are more likely to visit because of the election results than less likely. These countries have become prominent international travel players as their economies have developed over the past fifteen years. The combined visitation of India, China and Brazil makes up 7.6 percent of all international travel to the U.S. Thus, as a result of the election, we may potentially experience continued, or even slightly higher, increases in visitation from these markets.

On the other hand, Mexico, Germany, Holland and Canada indicate that they are net less likely to travel to the U.S. because of the election results. The unfortunate reality we face with this finding is that Canada and Mexico are our nation’s greatest sources of international travel volume and spending. Combined, visitation from these two important countries account for half of all international travel to the U.S.

Describing Trump: A Tale of Two Countries

The different national perspectives on President Trump amongst international travelers are striking. To dig a little deeper, we asked international travelers in these 14 countries, “What one word best describes Donald Trump?” With this, we hoped to gain a broader sense of how each country viewed the 45th President of the United States. Comparing two countries reporting the greatest impact by the Trump election, India and Mexico, vividly illuminates the differences in perceptions across markets. The word cloud below summarizes responses written in by Indian travelers.

Figure 5: India’s International Travelers’ Descriptions of Donald Trump

Question – What one word best describes Donald Trump?
 

India Trump word cloud

Amid all the controversial news and executive orders flying around, it may be difficult to easily understand why Indian travelers have such positive feelings about President Trump. In India, it appears that the Trump brand is primarily associated with luxury. The brand is a glitzy, golden, rich business that offers prestige and the appearance of wealth. Trump Towers Mumbai, is expected to open next year with 300 apartments available to purchase. Its apartments are reportedly selling at a 30 percent premium over other apartments in the area. Indians may also see similarities between Trump’s election and their own Prime Minister. Both ran on platforms of being an outsider to the political dynamic and ability to take charge and get things done. Additionally, India is largely untouched by Trump’s well-publicized ire, which seems mostly directed at Mexico, China and the Middle East.

While India, for the most part, views Trump positively, it’s no surprise that our neighbor to the south rates him differently. The word cloud below illustrates Mexican sentiment.

Figure 6: Mexican International Travelers’ Descriptions of President Trump

Question – What one word best describes Donald Trump?
 

Mexico Trump word cloud

President Trump’s relationship with Mexico is well documented and hardly needs repeating—and the word cloud above very clearly and directly describes the nation’s sentiment. One man, two countries, and their opinions of him are like night and day.

The overall impact of President Trump’s actions is yet to be seen. However, as evidenced by the response to President Trump’s recent travel ban, it is likely to be pronounced and uneven across international markets. Destination Analysts’ eye is firmly on this for the industry, and we will share with you what we learn from travelers as this presidency progresses.

1.  Skift goes old school. The popular travel industry website Skift is launching a print magazine, scheduled for release in January.

2.  Gasoline prices are continuing to fall.  In much of the country, the price of gasoline is now below two dollars–and overall it’s down more than a dollar from last year.

3.  AAA analysis says that lower gas prices will save consumers $75 billion this year. More money in our pockets means more money spent in our destination’s hotels, restaurants, attractions and shops.

4.  American consumer confidence increased in December.  The Conference Board reports that we’re feeling the improved job market and our sense of overall economic conditions haven’t been this high since February 2008.

5.  Aloha record-breaking year.  Hawaii’s tourism industry is reported to be on pace to beat last year’s record performance.

6. Destinations around the country report similar outstanding performances and outlooks.  Here are a few checking in during the past week:  Asheville. Philadelphia. New Orleans.

7.  Hilton Head and San Francisco hit home runs.  Our latest client and our fabulous hometown win a prestigious award.

8. The lodging sector outlook also feels good.  Our friends at PKF have released their Lodging Insights: U.S. Lodging Industry Forecast for 2015.  Take a watch.

9.  It turns out the tourism industry worldwide is big. Really big.  The World Travel and Tourism Council reports that the travel industry’s total contribution to the global economy rose to $6,990 billion, or 9.5% of the GDP.  It is expected to jump up by 4.3% to $7,289 billion, or 9.6% of the GDP for 2014.

10.  Airbnb gets really creative.   Airbnb sets out to help rid the world of strangers and turn us all into interior designers.