TL;DR: To succeed in AI search, destination marketing organizations (DMOs) must leverage these three unique competitive advantages:

• Publish proprietary destination data that can’t be found elsewhere
• Structure content around actual traveler questions in conversational formats
• Showcase official expertise through credentialed authors and local voices

These strategies ensure that when travelers search online to plan their next trip, AI platforms cite your destination as the authoritative source.

Now let’s dig in!

Why AI search matters for DMOs right now

The way consumers research and plan trips has fundamentally shifted with the introduction of consumer-facing AI technology. Platforms like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and even Google’s AI Overviews are now answering travel-related questions directly and they are in control of which sources to cite.

For DMOs, this represents both a challenge and an opportunity. When someone searches “What is the best time to visit Chicago?” or “Is Nashville good for families?”, your organization should be the source AI platforms turn to. But that only happens if your digital content is optimized for how these AI systems evaluate, retrieve, and cite information.

Optimizing for AI isn’t about gaming algorithms. It’s about showcasing what DMOs already do best: providing authoritative, comprehensive, and locally-informed destination content.

This is why I believe DMOs have a major advantage (and opportunity) in AI search. Working with clients across multiple industries, I've consistently seen DMO content achieve stronger AI citation performance than both consumer brands and B2B companies.

But achieving that performance requires a strategic approach. These three strategies will position your DMO as the go-to source AI platforms cite.

Strategy #1: Lead with proprietary data and unique insights

Why does this matter for DMOs? AI platforms prioritize original information over regurgitated content. As the official voice of your destination, you have access to data and insights that travel bloggers, review websites, and generic tourism publishers simply don’t have. This is your superpower in AI search. Use it.

What does proprietary data look like for DMOs?

I’m glad you asked! I’ve provided a few key examples below to get you thinking in the right direction.

Visitor statistics and trends:

• Seasonal occupancy rates and booking windows
• Demographic shifts in your visitor base
• Average length of stay by traveler type
• For example: “Our 2024 visitor data shows fall travel increased by 42% compared to 2023, driven primarily by culture festival attendance”

Pro-tip: This strategy doesn’t just apply to leisure content. Featuring this data across your meetings and conventions content can supercharge AI performance, elevate visibility in emerging search experiences, and attract more engaged planners to your B2B pages.

Stakeholder insights

• Quotes from local hotel operators about booking patterns or best times to visit your destination
• Restaurant owner perspectives on culinary tourism trends or new restaurant openings
• Attraction and events managers sharing attendance data
• Transportation partners discussing connectivity improvements and sustainability in travel

Original research

• Surveys of your visitors about satisfaction, spending, or overall experience
• Economic impact studies specific to your destination
• Comparative analysis of your destination vs. competitors
• Emerging trends you're observing on the ground

Unique frameworks

• Your destination's proprietary visitor journey mapping
• Specialized itinerary planning tools
• Custom neighborhood or district categorizations
• Original destination positioning or brand frameworks

You may be wondering, well what if we don't have access to visitor data or research?

Start with what you do have: Your team's on-the-ground expertise, relationships with local businesses, and knowledge of your destination's history and culture. Even anecdotal insights from your visitor center or stakeholder conversations can be unique content. You can also survey your email subscribers or social media followers to generate original data.

Practical ways DMOs can execute this strategy

1. Create a “destination data” content series

• Publish quarterly tourism trends reports: “Kansas City Q4 2025 Tourism Trends”
• Share annual visitor insights: “What our 2025 visitor survey revealed”
• Highlight specific findings: “Why springtime in Chicago is our fastest growing season for tourism”
• This strategic approach can be applied to both the leisure and meetings side of your business

2. Embed stakeholder voices throughout your website content

• Interview 3-5 local business owners per blog post. For example, if you are writing about the best cocktail bars in Chicago, provide quotes and interviews with owners or bartenders from a few of the businesses you feature
• Include direct quotes with full attribution: “According to [Name], General Manager of [cocktail bar]...”
• Always link to their business websites, business social media, and individual Linked profiles for verification and strong cross-platform linking

3. Use real, data-inform examples from your destination

• Instead of: “Many visitors enjoy outdoor activities”, you should write: “Last summer, our riverfront trail saw 180,000 visitors, a 25% increase from the previous year, according to our Parks Department data.”
• This strategy can be applied to core website content and blog posts

4. Create a sources section

• End each data-driven article with a sources and references section
• Link to your research, stakeholder websites, and authoritative industry sources
• This will make it easy for AI platforms to verify and cite your website information

Added SEO benefit: Focusing on proprietary data and original studies not only strengthens your content’s AI credibility but also increases the likelihood that other websites will cite your findings. This helps you earn valuable backlinks and reinforces your authority across both traditional and AI-generated search rankings.

Strategy #2: Structure your content around traveler questions

Why does this matter for DMOs? AI platforms increasingly respond to conversational queries. When travelers ask “Is Austin good for a girls weekend” or “What should I do in Seattle with kids”, AI searches for content structured as questions and answers.

One key difference between AI platforms and traditional search engines is how users engage with them. AI queries tend to be longer, more conversational, and often take the form of follow-up questions, mirroring a natural dialogue between user and machine.

According to Orbit Media, the average AI prompt is about seven times longer than a traditional search query, highlighting how AI engines are designed to handle more complex, context-rich questions and deliver nuanced answers.

DMOs that anticipate and answer user questions in clear, conversational formats will dominate AI citations and visibility.

Understanding the question chain

Travelers don’t ask just one question. They follow a natural progression. Your content should anticipate this flow:

Primary question: “What should I do in Nashville?”

Follow-up questions:

• "How many days do I need in Nashville?"
• "What's the best neighborhood to stay in Nashville?"
• "Is Nashville expensive to visit?"
• "What's the best time of year to visit Nashville?"
• "How do I get around Nashville without a car?"

Each article you write should address the primary question AND the natural follow-ups that come next.

Content structure that AI loves

Always use questions as H2 and H3 headers, for example:

• H2: What Should I Do in Nashville?
• H3: What are the must-see attractions in Nashville?
• H3: What's the music scene like in Nashville?
• H3: Where should I eat in Nashville?
• H2: How Many Days Do I Need in Nashville?
• H3: What's a good 3-day Nashville itinerary?
• H3: Is a weekend enough time to visit Nashville?

Answer each question in 2–4 sentence blocks. After each question header, provide a clear and concise response that can stand on its own. Write each answer as if it could be directly quoted by an AI platform in its response.

Practical ways DMOs can implement this

1. Research real traveler questions and target in site content

• Review Google’s “People Also Ask” for your destination to understand common questions users ask
• Check forums like Reddit’s r/travel and TripAdvisor forums for user-generated questions and conversations
• Analyze questions that your visitor center staff fields most frequently
• Review questions submitted to your DMO’s social media pages
• Tap into your SEO team! They can provide you with question-based keyword insights from SEO tools like Ahrefs and SEMRush

2. Create question-focused content

• Add questions directly in your SEO page titles, also referred to as title tags: “Is Chicago Worth Visiting in the Winter? A Local’s POV”
• Write your meta descriptions in a Q&A format
• Structure your blog articles so they mirror how people actually ask questions

3. Build topical depth

• For example, your main blog article would be: “Complete Guide to Visiting Portland"
• Your supporting articles would cover: “Where Should I Stay in Portland?”, “Is Portland Rainy All Year?”, “What Foods is Portland Famous For?”
• Internally link these posts to show AI platforms and traditional search engine crawlers the relationship between them. This will boost topical authority on your website

4. Optimize for voice search and conversational AI

• Be sure to write naturally, as if you are answering a friend’s question
• Use phrases like “Here’s what you need to know…” or “Most visitors find that…”
• Avoid overly complex sentences or length paragraphs. Users (and bots) love to scan pages vs. read word-or-word
• Avoid overly formal or keyword-stuffed language
• Avoid overly branded or campaign-based language

Strategy #3: Showcase your official tourism expertise and authority

Why does this matter for DMOs? AI platforms prioritize content from credible, authoritative sources. DMOs have an inherent advantage here. You ARE the official voice of your destination (at least, you should be). But AI needs clear signals of authority through verified authors, expert credentials, trustworthy links, and up-to-date information.

This is where E-E-A-T (experience, expertise, authoritativeness, trustworthiness) becomes critical. E-E-A-T is a framework used by Google’s human content reviewers to understand and rate the quality of a page. E-E-A-T content principles have been driving SEOs approach to content strategy and optimization for years, and the same holds true for AI search optimization.

When AI platforms decide between citing a random travel blog or an official DMO website with verified destination experts, the DMO should win every time, but only if that expertise is clearly displayed on the page.

How to build visible authority signals

Feature designated authors

Featuring authors with full credentials is one of the most successful ways you can reinforce credibility in your content. Here's how to effectively position author expertise across your website:

Every DMO blog post should have:

• Author name prominently displayed above the fold.
• Role/title: "[Name], Senior Destination Specialist, Visit Kansas City".
• Link to a comprehensive author bio page.
• Author bio includes: years of experience, destination expertise, relevant credentials.

Every author bio page should include:

• Professional headshot
• Detailed background and local expertise
• LinkedIn profile link
• Other social media profiles (X/Twitter, Instagram)
• Contact information or professional email
• Previous published work or media appearances

Highlight expert review and collaboration

AI platforms favor content that demonstrates editorial oversight and expert review. When appropriate, show collaborative expertise in your content:

• "Written by [Staff Member], Reviewed by [Senior Expert/CEO]"
• "With contributions from [Local Historian/Cultural Expert]"
• "Research conducted in partnership with [University/Research Organization]"

Publishing and freshness signals

Reminder, dates matter

AI platforms prioritize recent, regularly updated content over static pages. Content without visible dates raises questions about accuracy and relevance for AI platforms. Clear date stamps signal to AI that your information is current and trustworthy:

• Include "Published on: [Date]" at the top of every article
• Add "Last Updated: [Date]" when content is refreshed
• Consider adding "Reviewed by [Expert] on [Date]" for extra authority

Keep your content current

Freshness isn't just about publication dates on the page. AI platforms also evaluate whether your content reflects current information. Build these refresh practices into your editorial workflow:

• Update statistics annually: "in 2024" not "recently"
• Add new FAQs based on emerging consumer questions
• Replace outdated references or closed businesses, including old business listings or events.
• Document your updates: "Updated January 2025 to reflect new hotel openings and revised attraction hours”

Pro-tip: Create a content maintenance calendar to systematically refresh your destination information. Given how quickly tourism content becomes outdated, quarterly audits should be your baseline, with more frequent monthly updates for high-traffic and high-engagement pages. These audits should be a collaborative effort across your content and SEO teams.

Leveraging local expert voices

Always include quotes from verified experts within your community, including:

• Local historians for heritage content
• Chefs and restaurateurs for culinary pieces
• Hotel GMs for accommodation advice
• Tour operators for activity recommendations
• Transportation officials for getting around guides

Practical ways DMOs can improve content authority

1. Audit your existing website content

• Does every article have a named author?
• Do author names link to bio pages?
• Are publication dates visible?
• Are expert credentials clearly stated?

2. Create comprehensive author bio pages

• Dedicate a section of your website to author bios
• Include all team members who create content
• Link to external verification (LinkedIn, professional profiles)
• Update regularly as credentials change

3. Establish content review protocols

• Have senior staff review major pieces before publication
• Note reviewers in the byline
• Create an editorial calendar for content refreshes
• Set reminders to update high-traffic content quarterly

4. Build external trust signals

• Link out to authoritative sources (research institutions, government data, industry reports)
• Ensure your own organization's about page is comprehensive
• Display industry memberships and certifications
• Include contact information and physical address

5. Make expertise visible in the content

• Naturally reference your organization's history: "In our 30 years serving as the official DMO..."
• Share insider knowledge: "Through our partnerships with 200+ local businesses, we've observed..."
• Demonstrate on-the-ground experience: "Our team regularly visits these attractions to ensure our recommendations are current"

Getting started: 30-day AI optimization action plan for DMOs

Week 1: Audit and assess

• Review your top 10 most-trafficked blog posts and articles
• Identify which lack author attribution, dates, or unique data
• Survey your team for proprietary data sources you can access
• Research top traveler questions about your destination

Week 2: Build infrastructure

• Create author bio pages for all content creators
• Establish an author byline template (name, title, link to bio, publish date)
• Set up a system for tracking and updating content dates
• Create a stakeholder list for expert quotes and interviews

Week 3: Create new AI-focused content

• Write or commission one comprehensive, question-based guide using all three strategies
• Include proprietary data, expert quotes, and clear Q&A structure
• Ensure proper author attribution and freshness signals
• Add a sources/references section

Week 4: Refresh existing content

• Update your highest-traffic posts with author names and dates
• Add unique data points or expert quotes where possible
• Restructure headers to focus on questions
• Publish updates with "Last Updated" dates

Wrap-up: The DMO advantage in AI search

AI search isn’t a threat to DMOs, it’s an opportunity to reclaim your position as the definitive source for your destination.

While travel bloggers and review aggregators compete with generic content, you have three advantages they'll never match:

1. Access to proprietary destination data and stakeholder insights
2. Deep understanding of actual traveler questions and needs
3. Official authority as the credentialed voice of your destination

By implementing these three strategies, you're not just optimizing for AI. You're showcasing the expertise and unique value your DMO already provides. The destinations that will dominate AI search results are those that best communicate what they already know better than anyone else.

Remember: AI platforms will answer questions about your destination with or without you. The only question is whether they cite your DMO as the authoritative source, or pull information from third-party sites instead. It’s time to take control of your destination's narrative.