Could GenAI save travel blogging?

Lately I have been wondering if travel blogging has a viable future. Successive Google updates, the growth of slick social media influencers and ChatGPT-generated trip itineraries have made the humble blog look pre-historic.

But there is a glimmer of hope for self-publishing travel writers. In fact, it is more than a glimmer.

So what is breathing life back into the blogging world?

Generative AI.

More people than ever are using GenAI to research and plan their holidays. So the challenge for PR people and brands is to get cited in the results served up to their potential customers.

How?

This week I attended TravMedia’s Summit in London where Jonny Bentwood, Global Head of Data & Analytics at Golin, told the travel industry to rethink its marketing. Golin has crunched the numbers and found that 92% of AI visibility is driven by citations in digital content that AI can read.

So, what can it read? Text-based content on blogs and websites.

And, importantly, what can’t GenAI read? Images and videos like those shared on Instagram, YouTube and TikTok.

Time for travel brands to refocus their marketing strategy

For an industry that has become laser-focussed on traditional print media and influencer output, this means a strategic re-think.

As well as getting their own brand websites in order, PRs should be working with digital media and bloggers who are already being cited in GenAI results because they are authoritative and authentic.

The catch and challenge is, as one of my blogging colleagues pointed out in the Q&A, bloggers make passive income from readers visiting their websites – affiliates, display advertising and advertorial. But GenAI is stealing views at an alarming rate.

It’s not bothered whether people click through to find the roots of its citations. It just cares about the quality of the source. In response, bloggers have found other ways to drive traffic to their websites through newsletters and online communities, but the days of relying on Google search results are over.

So, the PR industry needs to act fast to partner with bloggers in the same way they have influencers – yes, I’m talking about cash – if they want to harness authentic, authoritative and citable sources that are feeding the AI machine. If they don’t, blogs simply won’t exist anymore.

Have you looked at AI citations for your brand or blog? Tools like Semrush, Ahrefs, Ubersuggest and Otterl.AI can track brand citations.