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We have officially welcomed our newest team member, Chip, an AI-generated T-Hawk with a smooth voice and endless enthusiasm for tourism and digital marketing. Well...technically he isn't that new. Chip was assembled somewhere in Silicon Valley and now calls a high-performance data centre home. It's warm, it's noisy, and apparently the Wi-Fi is excellent!

Chip is the voice behind Sound Advice for Tourism, our brand-new audio knowledge hub that brings its most popular tourism marketing resources to life for busy people who prefer listening over reading.

Each episode transforms one of our blogs or marketing guides into a short, conversational audio experience with actionable advice without the jargon.

"We wanted to make our content more accessible," says Renee Goodsell, our...

For many tourism businesses, Google Ads can be one of the most effective ways to drive bookings. It puts your business in front of travellers actively searching for experiences, accommodation, attractions, and activities. But while Google Ads can deliver impressive results, it can also become a significant source of wasted marketing spend if campaigns aren't set up correctly.

We've audited hundreds of tourism campaigns over the years, and one thing remains consistent: most businesses are paying for clicks that never had a realistic chance of becoming a booking.

The good thing is that with a few strategic adjustments, it's possible to dramatically improve efficiency and help you get more bookings from the same budget. Let's look at 8 ways to avoid wastage.

1. Stop Paying...

Online Travel Agents (OTAs) like Booking.com, Expedia, Airbnb, Viator and Get Your Guide have become an important part of the tourism distribution landscape. They provide visibility, reach new audiences, and can help fill beds, tours, and experiences that might otherwise go unsold.

But we often hear from tourism businesses that "the OTA can handle the customer relationship."

While OTAs are great at helping guests find and book your business, relying on them to manage the entire customer relationship means you're giving away one of your most valuable assets: your customer data.

Why Being Dependent on OTAs is Costly

When a guest books through an OTA, the platform manages much of the relationship. They control the booking journey, the communications, and often limit the...

The tech world is buzzing after Google I/O 2026, and for those of us in the tourism industry, things are about to get a lot more interesting. Google has officially moved from “AI as an assistant” to “AI as an agent,” and it’s another change to how travellers find and book your experiences.  

Here are the three big takeaways you need to know:

1. The Search Box is Becoming a “Do-it-all” Engine

Google has completely reimagined the search box which will become integrated with AI Overviews and AI mode. It’s no longer just about giving you links, it’s about getting things done.

With new “information agents,” users can now ask to “find, check, book, or buy” directly within the search experience. Google is essentially building an agentic layer that handles the heavy lifting,...

When many people hear the word “brand”, they immediately think of logos, colours, fonts, or maybe a slick-looking website. And while those things are important, they are only the surface layer of branding.

Your brand is not your logo.

Your brand is the feeling people associate with your business. It’s the reputation you build over time. It’s what customers say about you when you’re not in the room.

A logo is simply the visual identifier attached to that reputation.

This misunderstanding is one of the biggest marketing myths we still see, particularly in tourism and hospitality, where businesses often invest heavily in visual design but underestimate the importance of consistency, customer experience, and trust.

Brand is Built Through Experience

Think about...

Don't believe it when someone declares SEO is finished, because in reality it still growing in importance.

What’s actually happening isn’t the death of SEO, it’s a shift as search has evolved. User behaviour has changed, and with AI now shaping how travellers discover and compare experiences, the old playbook is needing a new chapter.

What People Mean When They Say “SEO is Dead”

Usually, they’re reacting to things like:

• Traffic dropping despite “doing SEO”
• AI-generated answers reducing clicks
• Keyword rankings feeling less predictable
• More competition than ever

They’re not wrong to notice the change, but the conclusion is off.

The Modern SEO Space

Older SEO strategies have evolved, here's what's no longer good SEO practice:

• Keyword...