Matthew Gardiner on The Changing User Journey: Lessons from the Travel Industry in the Age of AI

Hi everyone, I'm Matthew Gardiner, Director of Travel Massive London and Host of the WTM Marketing Summit.

From long-time listener to guest! It was a delight (and a proud moment) to join Daniel Rowles on the Digital Marketing Podcast - a show I've followed for years.

In my guest episode, "The Changing User Journey - Lessons from the Travel Industry in the Age of AI" we explore how the user journey is being radically reshaped and why the travel industry offers a powerful lens for understanding what's next for all marketers.

Daniel also kindly gave me the opportunity to discuss some of the exciting content that you can expect from the 2025 Marketing Summit at World Travel Market (WTM) London on Thursday 6th November - for which I'm returning as the summit's host.

🎤 In the podcast we covered:

➡️ Why AI is collapsing the funnel.
➡️ The shift from connected social feeds to disconnected discovery.
➡️ Why 'Answer Engine Optimisation' is the new SEO.
➡️ The new role of structured data.
➡️ Content strategy for the AI era.
➡️ Brand loyalty as a survival tactic.
➡️ Other trends impacting the travel sector including the rise of live tourism and the ongoing growth of the soft adventure sector.

🎧 Listen to 'Changing User Journeys' on the Digital Marketing Podcast targetinternet.com/resources/the-changing-user-journey-lessons-from-the-travel-industry

— Enjoy!

so much to learn, and it feels like everything changes again by the time I understand it!

As AI continues to evolve, how do we build a travel market around the actual creation of the data centers?

There's so much to learn, but I still can't wrap my head around AI!