Marketing Trends and Predictions for DMOs

2024 Trends Report

Photo: Jeremy Bishop

What’s Inside
Welcome to 2024 Trends 03

What Destination Marketers Are Planning in 2024 04

Social Media Channel Predictions 07

Major Trends 11

Entertainment Above All 11

The Evolution of Influence 15

AI Goes Organizational 21

Conclusion: Adapting to Always Adapting 26

Welcome to your
2024 Trends Report
Sometimes it feels like we can’t get through a single week without a new AI tool or
social media feature, or CEO announcement that will “change marketing forever.” Add
to that the pace of change in travel and tourism and we totally understand why you
might be feeling some whiplash. But however fast the industry moves from day to
day, there are bigger, steadier shifts that are shaping the way we work and the work
we do. In this 2024 trends report we’ve worked to capture both the quick leaps and
the lasting changes, so that you have a well-rounded perspective on the upcoming
year in destination marketing.

To support our research, we surveyed over 200 destination marketers to find out how
their 2024 strategies are shaping up. The sample represents diverse perspectives
from across North America (and a few in Europe in Australia). Here’s a quick glance at
the range of destination marketers we heard from:

• Team size: 30% of the respondents work with teams of five or more people,
while almost 20% come from teams of two.
• Destination size: A quarter of the respondents work for destinations with
100,000-500,000 people while almost a quarter are from smaller destinations
with populations of 3,000-50,000.
• Content budget: 61% of the respondents work with a content budget of
$200,000 or less, while 20% have budgets of $600,000 or more.
• Job function: The respondents work in roles all the way up the marketing ladder,
from creative practitioners and managers to directors and C-level leaders.

On top of everything these destination marketers shared, we used secondary

research from trusted publications and thought leaders in the space.

From social platform shuffles to a creator economy in flux to the accelerating

influence of AI, we can tell that 2024 will be full of new demands and new
opportunities. We hope this report helps you understand the changing world of
destination marketing so that you can develop smart strategies to engage travelers,
build up your local community, and showcase your destination to the world.

Sincerely,

Kash Miah, VP Marketing

 2024 Trends Report

What Destination
Marketers Are
Planning in 2024
Our annual survey data shows us the social media channels that destination
marketers are excited about in 2024 — and the ones they’d rather not think
about. In the end, there’s one clear winner: short-form video.

The majority of destination marketers agree that short-form video will *still* be the talk of the town
in 2024, with Instagram Reels, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts taking the buzziest channel spots. Even
across job titles, from leadership to practitioners, destination marketers see Reels as next year’s
biggest social media channel.

The social channels destination marketers think will have the most buzz in 20241

Instagram Reels 60%

TikTok 54%

YouTube Shorts 50%

Instagram Threads 26%

Linkedin 7%

X/Twitter 3%

Other 2%

1
Data from multiple selection survey question “YouTube Shorts got a lot of buzz in 2023, which channel do you think will get
similar buzz in 2024?”
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 2024 Trends Report

The digital marketing channels destination

marketers are prioritizing in 20242
When it comes to the channels DMOs will prioritize in
Instagram Reels 78% 2024, the old guard reigns:

Website 55%
Instagram Reels, destination website, and Facebook.
Facebook 45%
Interestingly, while 63% of the destination marketers
TikTok 32% we surveyed have a TikTok account3, only 32% will be
Instagram Stories 30% prioritizing it in their marketing strategy. And YouTube
Shorts has a long way to go with this group: 53% say
YouTube Shorts 18%
they operate a YouTube Shorts channel4, but only 18%
Email 15%
plan to prioritize their Shorts strategy in 2024.
LinkedIn 6%

Other 1%

At 66%, a majority of destination marketers want to see The social channels destination marketers
one social channel in particular make its exit: X. wish they could drop in 20245

What’s the breakdown by job level? After Twitter, most

X/Twitter 66%
executive leadership, directors, and managers want to
see TikTok go. But the practitioners — likely the youngest
TikTok 13%
destination marketers with the most interaction with
social media on a daily basis — voted a tie between Facebook 9%
YouTube Shorts and Facebook. It’s surprising that TikTok
takes the second spot, even though it ranks in top priority YouTube/Shorts 7%

channels for DMOs going into 2024. It could mean that

LinkedIn 4%
destination marketers simply don’t like using the channel
— or they’re seeing diminishing returns.
Instagram 1%

2
Data from multiple selection survey question “Which channels are your biggest priority in 2024?”
3
Data from survey question “Does your destination currently have a TikTok channel?”
4
Data from survey question “Does your destination have a YouTube Shorts channel?”
5
Data from single selection survey question “Is there a social channel you’d secretly like to drop from the content mix in 2024?”
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 2024 Trends Report

The social channels where destination marketers are putting paid dollars to work in 20246

Instagram Reels 98%

Facebook 75%

TikTok 35%

YouTube 26%

Pinterest 2%

X/Twitter 1%

Instagram is the most popular paid channel for influencer and creator content distribution — just
shy of 100% of DMOs in every budget bracket distribute their creator content through Instagram
ads. In close second is Facebook, but the number of DMOs using this channel for paid media
decreases in conjunction with content budget.

6
Data from multiple selection survey question “Which paid channels do you typically use the influencer or creator assets on?”

Photo: William Fortunato

 2024 Trends Report

Photo: Karsten Winegeart

Social Media 🔥
Channel Predictions
Social media channels across the board are upleveling their content creation tools and
introducing AI-influenced features throughout the user experience. Let’s see how these
developments will impact each channel in 2024.

Instagram
While many Gen-Zers still consider it inferior to TikTok,
As Instagram continues to morph from social network every Meta quarterly report shows Reels inching closer
to bonafide entertainment and ecommerce app, expect to a level playing field with its top competitor, in both
to see more experimental launches and rapid feature revenue and time spent on the app. Reels now boast
changes. Already the app is phasing out Guides, more than 200 billion plays per day across Instagram and
unveiling week-long Stories, and testing personality- Facebook, up from 140 billion in 2022. Whether it’s the
driven chatbot. With AI-enthusiast Mark Zuckerberg at continued reach of short-form video, the novel tools and
the helm, users are sure to see more AI developments, features for content creation, or the engaged and relevant
some of them copied over from Facebook, and possibly user base, destination marketers are making Instagram
some that are wholly unique to Instagram. their top social priority in 2024.

STAT

Did you know that AI recommendations account for

40% of content shown on Instagram?

Social Media Today

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 2024 Trends Report

Instagram Threads

After it launched in July with great fanfare, the initial excitement surrounding
Meta’s text-based social app fizzled almost as quickly. Now the social app
is only more popular than Tumblr, with 23.7 million U.S. daily active users
projected by the end of 2023. But Threads is young, and 2024 will be a big
year for expansion and development, including the app’s launch in the EU,
exposing it to a population of 448 million potential new users.

The app is quickly adding basic features like a chronological feed, keyword
support, and DM capabilities, but regardless of any new features Threads’
destiny is ultimately intertwined with X (formerly Twitter). Meta leaders say the
app isn’t inherently meant for news and politics, but as X loses more journalists
and advertisers because of its dicey political atmosphere, it’s inevitable that
Threads will start to weather more of this debate. All political analysis aside,
destination marketers will do well to remember that in a visuals-heavy social
landscape, there will always be room for a text-based player.

Facebook

Though younger generations bemoan the OG social network, daily active

users on Facebook actually increased year over year in 2023 after a period of
decline in 2021. Meta has Reels to thank for the increase, but short-form video
is just one aspect of a huge sea change on the app. Nowhere is the industry-
wide shift from social network to entertainment channel more obvious than on
Facebook, where old school social tools and features are falling by the wayside
in favor of celebrity chatbots, AI-recommended video feeds, metaverse-style
avatars, and mixed reality gaming.

What’s coming in 2024? While an ad-free subscription tier newly launched in

the EU spells some changes for advertisers, most of the focus will continue to
be on integrating AI into the platform. It’s no secret that Meta founder and CEO
Mark Zuckerberg is feverishly pursuing the promise of artificial intelligence —
we’re all just on this journey with him.

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 2024 Trends Report

TikTok

When we talk about TikTok, we’re really talking about two entities: TikTok in
the US, and TikTok’s sister app in China, Douyin. In many ways, Douyin reflects
the ideal roadmap that TikTok parent company ByteDance wants to roll out
in the US, albeit incrementally. At the top of that roadmap in big neon letters
is one word: ecommerce. TikTok Shop launched in September, allowing for a
new ecommerce ecosystem including shoppable videos and a native shopping
experience. In 2024 we’ll see how TikTok pushes its new ecommerce features
as it works to turn viewers into consumers.

Another clear focus in 2024 is longer format videos. Not only is it testing
15-minute uploads for users, but in late 2023 TikTok also suspended its
content creator monetization system, the Creator Fund, and replaced it with
the Creativity Program. This new system only rewards videos that are 1 minute
or longer. Some experts speculate that this move is a play to compete with
YouTube. By encouraging the longer vlog- and infotainment-style content that
has thrived on YouTube, TikTok can increase video watch times and time on
the app — and nurture way more ad placements. Short-form video isn’t going
anywhere, but to show up in a changing algorithm destination marketers can
start stockpiling their library with clips so they’re ready to test a variety of
video lengths in the coming year.

STAT

Only 36% of destination

marketers we surveyed are
worried about a TikTok ban.

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 2024 Trends Report

YouTube

A few years ago, YouTube probably wouldn’t have shown up in a social media
trends wrap-up. But ever since the launch of YouTube Shorts in late 2020, the
brand has been nipping at the heels of its social-media-turned-entertainment
competitors, TikTok and Meta. YouTube says that Shorts are being watched
by over 2 billion logged-in users each month — that’s double the users TikTok
can claim. It’s no mystery why: the platform has been pushing these short-form
videos aggressively, highlighting them in users’ feeds and giving creators who
use the format more opportunity for discovery.

It will be interesting to watch as YouTube and TikTok compete in 2024, each

encroaching on the other’s core business. YouTube’s entertainment model
is built around fandom and intentional watching, while TikTok is built around
impulsive watching and discovery. In order to compete in the short-form
video space, YouTube will have to alter its users’ already established viewing
behaviors. In 2024, destination marketers can take advantage of Shorts’
prominence in the YouTube feed by cross-posting their existing short-form
video content, chopping and changing their long-form video content, and
testing Shorts ad features as they continue to roll out.

X (formerly Twitter)

From staggering layoffs to mass advertiser exodus to non-stop feature roll-

outs (and almost-as-frequent reversals), it seems like X is always in the news
for the wrong reasons. Elon Musk’s do-it-all vision for the app seems a long
way off, especially with monthly active users dropping 15% worldwide (and 18%
in the U.S.) year-over-year.

X is experimenting with ad revenue payouts for users of X Blue subscribers

to attract more content creators to the platform, but with advertisers fleeing
and a projected $75 million in lost ad revenue in 2023 Q4 alone, that scheme
could be precarious. With geopolitical tensions rising, another contentious
US election in the spotlight, and Musk continuing to lose favor in the court of
public opinion, 2024 is sure to be another interesting year for X. Our survey
showed 66% of destination marketers wish they could drop this channel from
their content mix, and we agree it probably won’t hurt to focus your efforts
elsewhere while things get ironed out (or don’t) at X.

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 2024 Trends Report

Photo: Jakob Owens

MAJOR TREND:

Entertainment
Above All ⚙
Social media isn’t simply a distribution lever anymore — it’s an all-encompassing entertainment
ecosystem. The savviest destination marketers will not only respond with new storytelling
tactics and measurement, but also a whole new approach to social’s role in the traveler’s journey.

67% of destination marketers are focused on social

media engagement metrics as 2024 KPIs.

In 2024, social media will be the dominant first-stage updates and iterations of existing content from blog
channel for many audience segments. According to posts, press releases, and long-form video, sometimes
Expedia, 77% of travelers use social media when they’re with different copy, maybe a different graphic, usually
in the early stages of trip planning. This comes as no cross-posted to every account. But consumers’ behavior
surprise — social media has always been a major top-of- and expectations on social apps is changing. The world
funnel driver, historically as a distribution channel. Like a of simple distribution is long gone, replaced by the era of
digital bulletin board, it’s where marketers posted brand social as an entertainment marketing machine.

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 2024 Trends Report

Entertainment Hasn’t entertainment always been a part of top-of-funnel tactics? Yes! But
this particular moment is seismic because of how the awareness-stage
is the key to platforms themselves are changing. Social algorithms are shifting focus to high
awareness entertainment value content (video, video, video) to keep users on the apps. In
2022, a TikTok executive even proclaimed that TikTok isn’t a social media network
— it’s an entertainment platform. Now Meta, whose proprietary social graph was
the reason it dominated social media in the early years, is moving instead towards
a “discovery engine.” While the social graph was built on personal identity and
how content related to a user via their social connections, this new modality of
ranking and surfacing content is driven by entertainment value.

Brands are in the crosshairs, forced to meet competing demands for

entertainment — entertainment made for algorithms that are hungry for viral
potential, and entertainment made for users that seek authenticity and relatability.
It’s a tough but not impossible balance to strike. The most important takeaway
for destination marketers is that traditional brand promotion tactics just won’t
float. According to Hootsuite, “34% of consumers say ‘too much self-promotion’
is a major turn-off in how they perceive brands on social." Instead, DMOs might
consider how entertainment companies like Netflix create blockbuster content.
Netflix hones in on niche audiences, then continually tests different storytelling
within that niche to see what clicks.

TAKEAWAY

Conduct thorough audience research and continually play with

new formats, hooks, templates, memes, and audios to hit that
sweet spot between virality and relatability.

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Photo: Tommaso Teloni

 2024 Trends Report

Photo: Jaime Reimer

Evolving social Likes, shares, views, impressions. These generalized engagement metrics are the
bread and butter of social apps, but they’ve made it hard for destination marketers
media metrics to accurately measure and understand the ROI of their social efforts. As social
sucks up more of the early-stage buyer’s journey, effective strategies will need
more powerful inputs than eyeball metrics to inform their storytelling tactics —
and to convince stakeholders that social efforts are worth the cost.

Just in time, social media metrics are evolving: Instagram has already rolled
out more robust measurements for Reels that mirror TikTok’s insights and help
marketers make video-level decisions about hooks, length, audio and more.
But why stop there? What if social rolls out native sentiment analysis tools that
measure how content makes users feel? How about tracking dark social (all those
brand mentions that happen inside DMs, for instance)? What if there’s actual
credence to Elon Musk’s “unregretted social seconds” metric on X?

TAKEAWAY

2024 is the year to push on social media metrics harder, making

more creative connections between data and audience behavior,
testing with new measurement tools from the platforms, and
discovering the true ROI behind social efforts.

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 2024 Trends Report

Social and search You’ve heard it before, and this is certainly not the last time you’ll hear it: Gen Z
searches on TikTok over Google. For generations that grew up with Google at
the helm of search it seems surreal that another app could replace the behemoth
search engine. If you consider a younger user’s daily internet journey, though, it
makes sense. Younger users open social media first, and as these apps create
more incentive to stay within the app ecosystem, more search and discovery
patterns happen there. Social platforms are already making adjustments to aid in
search and discovery — like Instagram, which recently rolled out Reels in search.

Destination marketers can get ahead of the impending search revolution by

optimizing their social video and image content now. Whether you’re publishing
on Reels, TikTok, Shorts, or all three, take the lessons of traditional web-based
search and corner the market with regular high-quality and up-to-date visual
content about your destination.

TAKEAWAY

Use the social platform’s categorization tools, develop a smart

keyword strategy for your captions and text overlays, and start
thinking about interlinking related content as you might on a blog.

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Photo: Shvets Anna

 2024 Trends Report

Photo: Andra C Taylor Jr

MAJOR TREND:

The evolution
of influence 🤳
Demand for authenticity is driving big changes in the mediums and methods of influence. In 2024,
destination marketers will need to pursue more relatable and emotionally authentic storytelling
made possible through micro-content creators and subtle, unobtrusive marketing tactics.

90%
of DMOs we surveyed think influencer
marketing will continue to be big in 2024.

How many years in a row have thought leaders predicted It’s no surprise that “authentic” was named Merriam-
the end of the influencer? Yet here we are, with 90% of Webster’s 2023 Word of the Year. The last decade
DMOs believing influencer marketing will continue to of social media was all about being polished and put
be big in 2024. We wholeheartedly agree. Influencers together, aspirational and inspiring. Now everyone’s sick
won’t die out because influence will never die — but the of it, from creators to marketers to consumers. In fact, the
mediums and methods of influence are going to evolve, majority of consumers think that brands should strive to
and we’re living through one such evolution event. Let’s be more relatable on social media. Demand for authentic
call it the authentic period. and relatable content is setting a new bar for influencers
and content creators that will change the way destination
marketers approach storytelling and the content
partnerships they pursue.
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 2024 Trends Report

The micro-content creator

Let’s look at the way DMOs are spending on content creation: The most common payout for
influencer and creator content is $500 or less — 31% of DMOs spend within this range for each
piece of influencer or creator content. It’s not surprising that over a third of the DMOs that spend
less on creator content also have the lowest content budgets overall. But it is surprising that
almost a quarter of the DMOs spending $500 or less on content have the highest content budgets
in the group — over $1M. This suggests that a DMO’s spending on creator content is not entirely
dependent on their content budget. Even higher budget DMOs are favoring content at the micro-
creator price point, likely to help them scale their output across multiple channels.

Distribution of DMOs Budgets Among Those Spending $500 or Less on Content

$1,000,001 or more 20%

$600,001 - $1,000,000 6%

$400,001 - $600,000 8%

$200,001 - $400,000 20%

$100,001 - $200,000 12%

0-$100,000 35%

Photo: Erik Mclean

 2024 Trends Report

The lesson is that an influencer’s follower count isn’t the deciding factor anymore. What does count
is how connected to their audience they are: 88% of consumers say it’s important for influencers
to be authentic and genuinely care about their interests. These circles of trust usually exist within
niche communities that are deeply invested and engaged in a specific interest — like cross-
country bikepackers, or sourdough bread bakers, or urban architecture enthusiasts. None of these
groups are travelers per say, but their narrow interests give destination marketers a hyper-focused
marketing opportunity to target.

TAKEAWAY

By choosing a well positioned niche, partnering with a

respected and influential creator in the niche (like an in-
the-know local), and working with them on pitch-perfect
messaging, you could expose your destination to a whole
new world of traveler interest.

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Photo: Josh Willink

 2024 Trends Report

Photo: Courtney Cook

Relatability,
believability,
and UGC
TAKEAWAY

It’s not just the type of influencer that consumers

Passive marketing tactics
are drawn to that’s changing — it’s also the
type of influence they’re willing to tolerate. It’s
encourage more user
an old adage that customers don’t want to be interaction, which creates a
sold to, even by a likable influencer. That’s why
level of awareness that could
passive marketing tactics like product placement
will be on the rise in 2024. Rather than explicit
win your destination some
sponsored messaging, influencers and creators serious share of mind.
will do promotion by simply using a product,
engaging in a service, filming from a place, etc.
This piques curiosity and encourages viewers to
interact in order to uncover the product, service,
or place. They might leave a comment, dive into
the creator’s ecosystem of content, or start a
related search on the social app.

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 2024 Trends Report

There’s another passive marketing tactic that

will continue to be big in 2024: UGC. 81% of the
destination marketers we surveyed have seen an
increase in engagement on social media through TAKEAWAY
UGC, showing its continued effectiveness as a
marketing strategy. This type of consumer-based
Focus on curating the right
marketing, which can come in the form of on-site UGC for your destination
videos, reviews, photo dumps, and more doesn’t
— content that carries a
just work on social media, but across almost
every marketing touchpoint. It allows destination
positive message to diverse
marketers to tap into a diverse creator base audiences through authentic,
with an even more diverse audience, helping
relatable, and original
them scale reach without a ton of active content
creation. UGC is also critical in the mid-funnel
storytelling.
stage, supplying travelers who are considering a
destination with positive reviews and testimonials
from real and relatable sources.

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Photo: Piccinng
 2024 Trends Report

Photo: Javon Swaby

Streamlined creator partnerships

What used to be a fringe line item buried in a social In 2024, we’ll watch as marketing teams develop a
marketing strategy, partnerships and collaborations with standard operating procedure for working with creators
content creators, influencers, and UGC creators now plays and influencers — and many more of these marketing
a critical role in most travel marketing strategies. Despite teams will opt to outsource this labor-intensive work.
its prominence in marketing strategies, the behind-the- Luckily, an array of solutions are popping up to support
scenes work can be chaotic, and many steps are still done marketers with the hardest parts of content creation
manually. Scaling up your output with micro-influencers partnerships, like talent discovery, pricing and negotiation,
and content creators sounds great, until it comes to creative brief management, and payment.
finding, onboarding, and managing all those contracts.

Takeaway

When you streamline your content creator process,

you’re freed up to focus on rapidly testing and adapting
your storytelling tactics — a must in the fast-paced social
entertainment age.

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 2024 Trends Report

MAJOR TREND:

AI goes
organizational 🤖
Many destination marketers have developed their own AI-enabled workflows — now we’ll see it
implemented at the organizational level in both internal and consumer-facing solutions.

No 2024 trends report would be complete without the mounting questions about how to safely and ethically
mention of AI. From ChatGPT and DALL-E to a series of incorporate this technology into organizational structures,
smaller generative AI upstarts, 2023 is the year marketing individual workflows, and daily life. This year will bring
met AI. 2024 will be the year AI goes organizational. more instances of AI that wow us, and some that scare
Customized artificial intelligence solutions built on large us. What does this mean for all of us on the ground? AI is
language models (LLMs) will be deployed across every here to stay, and it’s critical that we all learn about it — as
industry, for both businesses and consumers. At the same destination marketers and digital citizens.
time, corporate and governmental bodies will grapple with

65%
of destination marketers are using AI for work

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 2024 Trends Report

Percentage of destination marketers

who use AI compared to job function

Executive 67%

AI adoption enters Director 73%

the stratosphere Manager 63%

Practitioner 63%

Our survey shows that 65% of DMOs are using

AI for work. Let’s break that down. Across job
titles, it looks like AI is most popular among the
directors in an organization and the least popular
with creative practitioners. DMOs with budgets
Percentage of destination marketers
between $100k-$200k are the most likely to use
who use AI compared to team size
AI (79%). 58% of one-person teams are toughing
it out without AI, while just 38% of teams of five 1 team member 42%
or more aren’t using AI.
2 team member 69%

Overall, a majority of DMOs surveyed are using 3 team member 67%

AI, and this tracks with general trends across
4 team member 68%
marketing. AI use has exploded, especially for
tasks related to content creation, like copywriting, 5 team member 63%

content writing, and photo editing. This has 6+ team member 62%
helped social media and content practitioners
focus more on rapid testing and strategy. And
that’s just at the individual level. 2024 will see
an increase in organizations that systematically
integrate the use of AI internally and in customer- Percentage of destination marketers
facing products. In fact, Hubspot noted a 260% who use AI compared to content budget
increase in how much organizations plan to use AI
$1,000,001 or more 57%
for editing images in 2024.
$600,001 - $1,000,000 63%

$400,001 - $600,000 54%

$200,001 - $400,000 46%

$100,001 - $200,000 79%

0-$100,000 63%

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 2024 Trends Report

Many thought leaders are predicting that everyone will have an AI assistant soon. By using open
source LLMs or OpenAI-integrated systems, users in the very near future will be able to “build their
own bot” that is programmed to help with tasks specific to the individual. Imagine an AI assistant
that helps you with all of your least favorite tasks, say social media copy, image cropping, and
grocery lists. Just like developing an Excel budget or a Zapier function, this level of customization
will create an infinite number of idiosyncratic AIs and further enshrine their use in the workplace.

TAKEAWAY

Destination marketers should continue to not only learn as

much as they can about this technology, but also use it and
experience how it works. In the years ahead, many of us will
be more than AI users — we’ll be AI tinkerers.

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Photo: Matheus Bertelli

 2024 Trends Report

AI meets QC
Unlike other MarTech solutions that have
quietly optimized and supplemented our
TAKEAWAY
workflows, AI has the potential to actually
do our work for us (with varying degrees of At this early stage in AI
execution). The question is whether we want it
development, it’s important
to. Of the destination marketers we surveyed,
80% think that AI doesn’t threaten the work that destination marketers
they do. This signals an overwhelmingly start to develop not just a
positive sentiment about AI in the DMO
working knowledge, but a
community. But as this technology makes rapid
advancements in 2024 and beyond, it’s likely working philosophy about
that organizations will start to develop hardline artificial intelligence.
rules about the tech and seek more expert
input for their leadership teams. At the same
time, individuals in the workforce will see AI
quality control become an important part of
their job function.

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 2024 Trends Report

Photo: Andre Furtado

Audience fatigue
Almost everyone with an internet connection has
TAKEAWAY
encountered AI in some form, and many people
are using it on a daily basis. But in a survey Generative AI is super useful
conducted by the Pew Research Center, almost
44% of Americans think they do not regularly
for front-loading content
interact with AI. How will generative AI impact creation, but destination
that number? Right now, many digital natives can marketers should be careful
distinguish between content made by generative
AI and content made by humans, such as blog
to add checks and balances
posts and digital imagery. In fact, many internet to their AI workflow.
users already complain of a proliferation of overly
optimized “AI-garbage” on search engines. In the
end, human input, reasoning, and quality control
is essential to meeting the demands of an AI-
savvy audience who want authenticity above all.

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Conclusion
If there’s anything we’ve all learned in the last few years it’s that
there’s no such thing as a constant in marketing. This report is
your compass for navigating that dynamic world, making sure
every move you make adds up to a compelling narrative for your
destination in the year ahead.

Photo: Ahmed

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 2024 Trends Report

In this report, we’ve explored the rapidly evolving landscape of

destination marketing in 2024, unveiling key trends and strategies that
shape the industry’s future:

Video dominance 🎥
Short-form video, led by Instagram Reels, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts,
has solidified its place as a key marketing tactic. By thinking of social
media as an entertainment ecosystem rather than a distribution channel,
destination marketers can experiment with high entertainment value video
storytelling to help new audiences discover their destination.

Authenticity rules ‍
Influencer marketing, particularly with micro-content creators, thrives
on authenticity. The growing demand for relatable content underscores
the importance of building genuine connections with engaged niche
audiences through user-generated content, passive marketing tactics,
and micro-influencers.

AI Integration ‍🤖
Artificial intelligence is not just an individual tool but an organizational
force, with the majority of destination marketers already incorporating
AI into their strategies. As the technology advances throughout 2024,
destination marketers can expect solutions that streamline more of their
content creation workflow. On the flipside, this will require more quality
control and behind-the-scenes knowledge to manage.

As you kick off 2024, use these trends to pioneer your next social video, ad campaign, and
overall marketing strategy for your DMO. Embrace the entertainment wave, find new ways
to build genuine connections with travelers, and harness AI with thoughtful consideration.

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 2024 Trends Report

Photo: Caleb Lucas

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