Tony Carne shares a thoughtful conversation with Janette Roush, EVP of Marketing for NYC Tourism and AI enthusiast. In their discussions they provide details on the workings of NYC Tourism and the intricacies of how this organization is structured relative to other tourism boards or Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs).
The discussion moved to the use of Artificial Intelligence and how it can best be applied in marketing and across tourism. They highlight Group NAO – AI opener for Destinations as a group supporting the application of GenAI for tourism organizations, continuing education across a growing number of destinations.
One of the best takeaways is Roush’s description of how to start leveraging GenAI. “It’s entirely on us (tourism professionals) to figure out how to use AI” adding that the LLMs were not designed specifically for users in travel and tourism. Roush recommends leading with curiosity: “I wonder how CchatGPT/Claude/Gemini/etc will handle this task?”.
At TravelAI, we agree with this approach. GenAI is a great tool, but not a silver-bullet. Regular use and testing will give users more comfort to see where it can be applied effectively in your organization.
