A few years ago, the travel research journey was messy, but at least it was familiar: a bit of Google, a few review sites, maybe an OTA comparison, then a booking.
Now it’s even more fragmented.
People ask ChatGPT (or Gemini, or Perplexity) to shortlist destinations. They scroll TikTok and Instagram for “real” opinions. They check prices on metasearch, read reviews on
OTAs
An online travel agency (OTA) is a website where travellers can search, compare and book travel products such as flights, accommodation, car hire, cruises and experiences.
What is an OTA?
, then finally land on a brand website when they’re closer to booking.
Expedia Group research found travellers spend 303 minutes (5+ hours) consuming travel content in the 45 days before booking, viewing 141 pages on average.
And in that same research window, 80% of travellers use online travel agencies as part of the journey, even if they don’t end up booking there.
So the question becomes “how do you market effectively when the journey happens everywhere?”
The answer isn’t “post more” or “send more emails”. It’s getting serious about journey orchestration. And that’s exactly where a marketing cloud setup starts to earn its keep.
The new reality: more touchpoints, less visibility
AI-driven planning is no longer niche. In the UK, YouGov research suggests around 1 in 5 travellers feel comfortable using AI-driven platforms for trip planning, and that figure has been rising.
Other studies put “GenAI use in the travel process” higher depending on the question and market segment (especially with younger audiences).
What matters for travel brands is the impact:
- People arrive on your site with different levels of intent than before
- Your “source of truth” is no longer just Google
- You’ll see more dark influence (AI helped decide, but attribution looks like “direct” or “brand search”)
In a recent Spotler webinar on AI citation, our speaker Charlie Marchant shared her own search journey for a surf holiday. It’s a simple example on the surface. But when you break it down, it perfectly illustrates how fragmented travel research has become.
Charlie didn’t start on Google. She started in ChatGPT. She gave it context not just a quick “best surf holiday”, but:
- Two-week trip
- August or September
- Beginner level (8-foot soft board)
- Warm water, no wetsuit
- Good surf school
- Budget constraints
That’s already very different from traditional keyword search. It’s conversational. It’s detailed. It’s personal.
ChatGPT suggested Santa Teresa in Costa Rica. That sounded promising. So next step? Google. A quick search revealed surf schools there were closer to £10k than her budget allowed.
So, she went back to ChatGPT and refined the conversation. Removed Costa Rica. Added cost sensitivity. Narrowed the scope.
Then came Instagram.
She checked reels for specific surf camps ChatGPT had recommended. Watched first-hand content. Assessed the vibe. The instructors. The atmosphere. At that point, paid social ads kicked in. Retargeting began.
Now the journey included:
- AI conversation
- Traditional search
- Social validation
- Paid retargeting
- Google Maps for location context
Eventually, when she books, it likely won’t be through a tracked “AI referral”. It will probably show up as a direct visit or a branded Google search.
But the initial discovery happened in AI. And that’s the key point.
The surf school benefited from being recommended by ChatGPT. It shaped consideration. It narrowed options. It got them onto the shortlist.
Yet in analytics, that influence might be invisible. The journey is bigger than the click.
For travel brands, this is where things get interesting. Because if AI is shaping consideration early, and social is reinforcing credibility, and retargeting is reintroducing options, then your marketing platform needs to connect all of that behaviour once the customer enters your ecosystem.
- You can’t control whether someone asks ChatGPT first.
- You can’t control whether they double-check you on TikTok or Tripadvisor.
- But you can control what happens when they land on your site.
And that’s where having a connected marketing cloud approach becomes critical.
What travel brands need to do differently
When discovery is happening in AI and social, your job changes.
You’re no longer guiding a neat funnel from search to checkout. You’re stepping into a journey that may already be halfway through by the time someone reaches your website.
That means four things become critical:
- Be findable including in AI answers
- Capture first-party data when people land
- Respond to intent across a long, non-linear journey
- Measure what’s driving bookings not just opens and clicks
The shift here is subtle but important. Marketing can’t just be campaign-led anymore. It needs to be signal-led.
If someone arrives after an AI conversation, they may already have a shortlist in mind. If they’ve come via TikTok, they may be validating credibility.
If they’ve bounced between OTAs and metasearch, they’re likely price-sensitive or comparison-driven.
Understanding that context and being able to react to it requires connected data and coordinated messaging. This is hard to do with disconnected tools. It’s much easier when your data and messaging are operating as one system.
Where a marketing cloud approach helps
1) Turn anonymous visits into identifiable journeys
If someone lands from TikTok, an OTA click-out, or an “AI-inspired” search, they often browse and leave.
A marketing cloud setup helps you capture that interest early with low-friction moments like:
- Preference capture (“what kind of holiday are you planning?”)
- Price alert sign-ups
- Destination guides / itinerary downloads
- Saved trips or shortlists
The goal isn’t to throw pop-ups everywhere. It’s to give people a reason to raise their hand so you can follow up in a useful way.
2) Recognise intent even when the journey isn’t linear
Travel intent changes. Someone starts by looking at Greece, then ends up booking Turkey because the dates work.
With a marketing cloud (and a properly connected CRM/CDP layer), you can react to signals like:
- Repeated destination / category views
- Returns to policy pages (cancellation, deposits, amendments)
- Quote emails reopened multiple times
- Clicks on what’s included or flight times
- Wishlist behaviour (even if there’s no basket)
This is where travel marketing moves beyond ecommerce-style “abandoned cart” logic. You’re responding to hesitation, research, and reassurance needs.
3) Automate reassurance, not just reminders
This matters more now because social and AI can create inspiration, but they also create doubt.
People see ten conflicting opinions in a row. They ask an LLM for advice, then verify it on TikTok, then question whether the deal is legitimate.
Your triggered comms can do the calm, confidence-building work:
- Here’s what happens after you enquire
- What our deposits and cancellation terms actually mean in plain English
- What’s included vs optional extras
- Typical timelines and availability for school holidays / peak season
That kind of messaging supports their journey.
4) Reduce “dark traffic” by improving measurement
You won’t make attribution perfect. But you can make it better. AI can influence decisions without being credited for the conversion.
A marketing cloud approach helps by tying together:
- Known profiles + onsite behaviour
- Campaign engagement + booking outcomes
- Channel groupings including AI referrals
So, you can finally answer which journeys create bookings, not just which emails get clicks.
Connect the touchpoints with Spotler Marketing Cloud
Spotler Marketing Cloud is built for the reality travel brands are dealing with now: multiple touchpoints, long decision cycles, changing intent, and the need for reassurance at scale.
It helps you unify customer data, recognise behaviour across sessions, and trigger messaging that supports the journey from inspiration to booking, even when that journey starts in AI or social.
Want to know more how Spotler can help you? Feel free to contact us or book a demo.
