On the business & technology of digitally operated tourism & hospitality experiences

Big tech is winning using AI for destination experiences. The sightseeing sector needs to talk

October 18th, 2023 by Alex Bainbridge

Last week I went to the Arival conference in Orlando and I was surprised by the reaction to the content. Some tour operators were saying too much AI in the schedule. Well I have news for you, your upstream big tech partners are winning AI and you are not part of their plans. Tomorrows experience economy […]


Let’s get physical – comparing Viator, GetYourGuide & Google moving from digital to IRL

August 10th, 2023 by Alex Bainbridge

In the AI age, you can’t just be a digital service anymore. For the digital only companies this makes it a strategically important task deciding what to do beyond digital. This post is a quick summary of how Viator, GetYourGuide and Google are going physical with three different approaches. Not mutually exclusive of course, but […]

For and against rolling up reztech in 2023 – Checkfront / Rezdy

July 20th, 2023 by Alex Bainbridge

Depending upon your perspective, the big news this week was either the Checkfront / Rezdy shared ownership announcement, or Tripadvisor launching their AI tour itinerary generating service to consumers. Here is how both stories can be viewed from a singular perspective and are relevant to more than just suppliers who use Checkfront / Rezdy. But […]

GetYourGuide betting the haus on attractive unit economics

June 26th, 2023 by Alex Bainbridge

Along with GetYourGuide‘s recent funding announcements came some interesting leadership quotes that I just have to memorialise for future reference as their statements about unit economics and strategy are significant. Before we cover that, a clarification, GetYourGuide are not THE largest funded in our sector, the autonomous vehicle mobility platforms are funded far in excess […]

How decentralisation & AI will dominate the next decade and beyond in sightseeing

May 25th, 2023 by Alex Bainbridge

Too much AI debate in the sightseeing sector relates to generative AI such as text, image & video generation. This article outlines why we should prioritise addressing other forms of AI first, and how we can incorporate decentralised technology approaches within an overall AI strategy. First, why is everyone distracted by generative AI? I believe […]

Subscribe to the email newsletter

Further information