After almost two decades in travel marketing, I’ve watched a bevy of buzzwords and travel trends come and go. (Rest in peace, revenge travel.) All the while, travel PR kept on humming behind the scenes: building trust, shaping narratives and working to earn attention amid shifts in pop culture and shrinking newsrooms. But unlike family-mooning and roam-ancing, AI isn’t a passing fad. It’s actively transforming how travelers discover places and make purchase decisions. And at the core, PR is a critical driver in that AI-powered travel journey.
Recent research found that 89% of links cited by AI were earned media, a striking validation of PR’s value. So when a traveler asks their AI assistant where to go next, be it the top beaches for surfing in California or the best barbecue joint in Kansas City, it’s not an ad or a social post that gets pulled. It’s a travel roundup in a trusted outlet, likely placed by your PR person or agency months ago.
MMGY’s 2025 Portrait of American Travelers™ shows just how fundamental this shift is for the consumer. The most recent edition of our survey found that 42% of U.S. leisure travelers now use AI as an essential tool for planning trips, with ChatGPT leading the pack. But here’s the nuance: while AI may be fast, it’s not yet fully trusted. Nearly 60% of travelers still prefer human recommendations over AI-generated ones. That credibility gap? That’s where PR shines.
After years of pitching through natural disasters, economic downturns and the rise of the influencer, PR pros have quietly developed their unique superpower: the ability to move at the speed of culture while grounding messaging in genuine human connection. That’s what today’s travelers (and the AI algorithms that serve them) are hungry for.
So what does this mean for travel brands?
First, we need to think of earned media as more than just a tool for awareness. It’s now a key driver of digital discoverability. MMGY Travel Intelligence reports that AI tools are utilized to compare flights (46%), research activities (39%), and source hotels and itineraries (38%) to round out our vacations. And these AI systems lean heavily on trusted and recent editorial content to do it. It’s not about simply inserting our narrative anymore. It’s about earning a credible presence in the editorial ecosystems that AI considers reliable.
Second, it’s a wake-up call to keep our content fresh. Muck Rack found that 56% of sources cited by OpenAI models were published within the last 12 months. That puts even more weight on your PR pitching calendar. Seasonal hooks, timely launches, local voices and regular destination storytelling can’t be one-off bursts. They need to be part of a living, breathing strategy. A genuine news engine.
Third, even in a relationship-based business like PR, we need to embrace the new reality of generative engine optimization. GEO rewards visibility through reputable coverage. AI pulls mainly from high-authority sources like the Associated Press, Reuters, Forbes and niche verticals that travel audiences trust.
At MMGY, what sets us apart is not just our awareness of AI’s role in the future of search and storytelling but our ability to operationalize it now. We see media relations not only as a brand visibility tool but also as a lever for AI influence. By aligning our PR efforts with AI performance metrics, we create continuous optimization that redefines how travel brands earn attention and drive conversions.
Of course, with opportunity comes responsibility. As AI-generated content becomes more prevalent throughout the discovery and booking journey, brands must pay close attention to how their stories are interpreted, summarized and, yes, sometimes distorted. Misinformation, outdated details and hallucinated “facts” can damage brand reputation. PR doesn’t just drive visibility. It safeguards it. In this new reality, we’re not only shaping travel narratives but also protecting them.
And finally, we can’t lose sight of the heart of what we do. AI may deliver efficiency, but PR brings empathy. It’s what gives context to a destination’s values, tells deeper stories and creates that essential blend of inspiration and trust.
So no, PR isn’t going anywhere. It’s evolving, adapting, leading and proving itself indispensable in an AI-shaped world. As someone who’s seen the industry transform from column inches to listicles to TikToks to machine-learning citations, I can say this with confidence: the next era of destination marketing belongs to those who know how to tell stories worth citing – and who understand how to earn that space.
And if your story isn’t surfacing when someone asks ChatGPT where to go next weekend? Well, let’s talk.
This article originally appeared on the MMGY blog; reprinted with permission.
