2026: AI Demands Shifts in Marketing Strategies

Davler Media’s Tourism Marketing Seminar: Smart Marketing in the Age of AI made one thing clear: the way to reach tourists has changed fast—and strategies that moved tickets in the past can’t just be copied and pasted but need to be revised.

Simply, it’s harder to reach new prospects because their attention is splintering across more channels and more platforms, especially AI.

🔴  Why is Growth Harder Now?

Start with visibility. Between privacy policies, ATT, cookie refusal, and ad blockers, your destination is increasingly digitally invisible to prospects. Estimates suggest digital media can’t effectively reach roughly one-third of a targeted audience. These people won’t ever see your online message.

Then there’s search. It’s not simply “SEO got tougher.” Consumer behavior has changed. As Jason Grout said at the seminar, people are submitting more complex searches—the kind Gemini can answer directly. The result is increasingly zero clicks: no visit to your website, and often no click to sponsored links either. That means fewer opportunities to educate, persuade, and convert through the digital paths marketers have relied on for years.

All of this points to the same reality: the time to re-evaluate digital strategies is now.

 

🔴  Spend Smarter—Focus on What Still Sells Tickets

Many organizations are facing budget pressure. The instinct is to cut across the board. The smarter move is to invest in media and tactics that have a higher Attention Quotient (as Jordan Bank from McKinsey explained), places where people actually consume your message and then buy. Different media have more influence in ticket sales, especially channels that connect with tourists when they’re actively deciding what to do in NYC.

 

Broadway is a clear example: don’t over-invest in avids. They’re already decided. Growth can come from tourists and the occasional theatergoers who need help choosing—and reassurance that the experience will be “worth it.”

 

Attractions sit in a competitive choice set. Tourists aren’t deciding whether to “do something”—they’re deciding which something. Attractions need pre-arrival marketing to earn a spot on the shortlist, then educational in-market messaging that clarifies why visitors should pick you over the alternatives.

 

Restaurants looking for tourists should consider hotels their front door, as a large share of dining decisions are shaped by guest services, concierges, and proximity.

 

Museums address a visitor’s thirst for a specific type of cultural experience, so focus on clear, exhibit-led messaging that quickly communicates what’s on now and why it’s enriching.

 

🔴  Reminders About Tourists

The “worth it” factor reigns supreme. Tourists have limited time and money. They’re constantly asking: Will this be memorable? Will I regret skipping it? Whatever platform you use, your message must answer one question quickly: how will this enrich my life?

 

NYC is a repeat market—which creates opportunity. City Guide’s reader research has shown for years that about 65% of tourists have been here before. Repeaters aren’t only chasing icons; they’re hunting for what’s new, what’s different, what feels like a discovery. That’s great news for new shows, limited-time exhibitions, and experiences that can credibly claim “only in NYC.”

 

Tourists call audibles. Even when people plan ahead, neighborhood energy, weather, convenience, new information and a trusted recommendation create spontaneity and serendipity. The “in the moment” decision is alive and well and can be a meaningful source of ticket sales if you are present.

 

🔴  Non-Media Initiatives That Matter More Than Ever

At the seminar, Damian Bazadona and I both commented on the opportunity sitting in plain sight: your happiest visitors can become your most powerful growth engine. Build a post-visit strategy that reinforces the high point of the experience and makes sharing easy—so you become a “you gotta go to” for the next wave of NYC visitors. That’s not just word of mouth. That’s community building.

 

And be disciplined about messaging. Every touchpoint should describe how you’ll leave them feeling: awed, inspired, smarter, delighted, sated. Don’t just describe what you are. Describe the life enrichment value.

 

McKinsey’s research emphasizes that in-person experiences command unusually high attention compared with most media. Translation: your venue is a medium. Once someone is with you, you have their focus—so use the environment intentionally to deepen engagement, prompt add-ons, generate reviews, and spark word of mouth.

 

🔴  What This Means for 2026

A recent headline put it bluntly: AI just stole the purchase funnel and isn’t giving it back. You might not love the framing, but the underlying point is real: discovery and evaluation are changing fast—and they’re not reverting. You will only grow your audience by adapting to the current information consumption trends, while not losing sight of the foundations for experience selection.

 

Skift recently reported that 70% of tourists’ decisions are still made after arrival. Move budget toward the channels that still shape tourist choices in the moment—especially in-market media that helps them compare options and decide what’s “worth it.” In 2026, marketing smart means influencing that decision point by understanding AI-driven information consumption and reinforcing with media that influences the ultimate ticket purchase.

David Miller

CEO
Davler Media/City Guide