X. Design Week 2026
Digital Tourism Think Tank
Step 1 of 7
forum Zone · The Strategy Room

AI Discoverability & Presence

A 40-minute facilitated discussion on how destinations show up in AI Overviews and conversational interfaces, and where the work that builds presence actually sits. The room works through what it means to set the narrative rather than respond to demand, how authority is built across the surfaces AI systems cite, and the schema and data work that turns a destination into something AI can read. Three areas of work: Narrative Positioning, Cross-Platform Authority, Ecosystem Foundations.

calendar_today Wednesday 3 June
schedule 40 minutes
groups Facilitated
Nick Hall
Nick Hall
Founder & CEO
Digital Tourism Think Tank
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explore Step 01 · The shift

Pick a query, see where the answer comes from.

Different visitor queries route through different surfaces. The destination's visibility depends on which surfaces it shows up on, not where it ranks on a single page.

Visitor query type
Citation strength across surfaces
forum
Reddit and community forums
play_circle
YouTube
newspaper
News and editorial media
map
Travel platforms and review sites
menu_book
Wikipedia and reference
public
Your own website and structured data
Insight

Pick a query to see how AI systems route the answer.

The pattern of citations shifts sharply across the visitor journey. Inspiration leans on community signals and editorial features. Planning rewards structured data. Booking favours machine-readable answers and the destination's own site. The destination's visibility is shaped by where it shows up across these surfaces, not by where it ranks on a single page.

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stairs_2 Step 02 · Narrative positioning

Score where the destination sits at each stage.

Five stages of the visitor journey. For each, score how strongly the destination sets the narrative when AI is asked. Planning and Booking carry more weight in the recap because that is where AI is increasingly cited at the moment of decision.

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Dreaming
Before the destination is shortlisted. The audience is open to ideas.
travel_explore
Researching
Comparing options. The audience is looking for fit and confidence.
event
Planning Higher weight
Practical answers. When to go, how long, what to do.
confirmation_number
Booking Higher weight
Conversion moment. Transport, stays, tickets.
schedule
Anticipation
Pre-arrival. Setting expectations and building excitement.
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Narrative shape

Score all five stages to see the destination's narrative shape.

The shape that emerges reveals where the destination owns the story and where the story is being told without it. Planning and Booking carry more weight in the recap because that is where AI is increasingly cited at the moment of decision.

3 / 7
lockScore all five stages to continue
radar Step 03 · Cross-platform authority

Where is the destination cited?

Eight citation surfaces AI systems read from. Rate the destination's current presence on each. The shape that emerges on the radar reveals where the reach is built and where it is thin.

forum
Reddit and forums
The #1 cited source across every major AI engine.
play_circle
YouTube
The single most cited domain in Google AI Overviews, via transcripts.
groups
Influencers and creators
Indexed creator content with consistent destination mentions.
mic
Podcasts and audio
Increasingly indexed via transcripts, slow-burn citation source.
newspaper
News and editorial
Forbes, Guardian, Conde Nast, national press, travel features.
menu_book
Wikipedia and reference
Foundational citation source for ChatGPT and entity authority.
map
Travel platforms
TripAdvisor, Google Maps content, structured review data.
public
Own website
Your own site with schema markup, the data you control end to end.
Reddit YouTube Influencers Podcasts News Wikipedia Travel data Own site
help_outline
Reach pattern

Rate all eight surfaces to see the destination's reach pattern.

The shape that emerges reveals where the destination's presence is concentrated and where it is thin. Reach is shaped by where the destination is cited, not just where its content is published.

4 / 7
lockRate all eight surfaces to continue
hub Step 04 · Ecosystem foundations

What does AI actually see when it looks at the destination?

Five data layers, three items each. Tap each item to mark whether it is exposed via schema, kept internal only, or missing entirely. The gaps reveal where partner data work is overdue.

Missing Internal only Exposed via schema or API Tap any item to cycle its state.
place
Places
event
Events
hotel
Accommodation
directions_transit
Transport
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Conditions
help_outline
Ecosystem readiness

Mark a handful of items to see the destination's ecosystem readiness.

A picture of what AI systems can actually read. Items that are missing or kept internal only do not feed AI Overviews. Items exposed via schema and APIs are the ones that surface when travellers ask practical questions.

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stacked_bar_chart Step 05 · Resource commitment

Which narrative claims is the destination ready to back?

Ten tokens to allocate across five candidate narrative claims. The pool is fixed, so every token spent on one claim is a token not spent on another. Forced trade-off feeds the recap as the priority signal.

Resource pool
0 / 10
10 tokens to allocate
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Inspiration authority
Be the answer when travellers are dreaming. Editorial features, Reddit threads, creator content.
0 tokens
event_available
Practical authority
Be the cited source for planning and booking. Schema, structured data, partner integrations.
0 tokens
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Local voice
Be carried by the people who live there. Creator partnerships, community contributors, local podcasts.
0 tokens
hub
Data backbone
Be the upstream source for partners and travel apps. Open APIs, structured open data, the source of truth.
0 tokens
newspaper
Editorial reference
Be the named authority in tier-one news and reference. Press relations, Wikipedia, expert briefings.
0 tokens
help_outline
Strategic posture

Allocate all ten tokens to see the destination's strategic posture.

The pattern of allocation reveals the strategic posture. A heavy concentration on one claim signals a focused bet. An even spread signals diversification but also dilution. The recap engine uses the top-allocated claim as the priority signal for the recommendations.

6 / 7
lockAllocate all ten tokens to continue
insights Step 06 · The recommendations

Where the work goes next.

Three recommendations adapted to the inputs across Steps 01 to 05. Save the PDF to take the full reasoning back to the team. (Full recap engine activates once Steps 02 to 05 are built.)

Query focus
Not yet picked
Narrative shape
Not yet scored
Reach pattern
Not yet rated
Ecosystem readiness
Not yet assessed
Top claim
Not yet allocated
Where you stand

A read of the team's current position.

Move through Steps 01 to 05 to see this card populate with a read on the team's current AI interface position, the strengths it carries and the gaps it carries with them.

Biggest unlock

The single biggest move available.

The unlock card surfaces the one move that would shift the team's position most. It looks at where the team is now and where it would need to sit to keep AI investment defensible over the next twelve months.

30 / 90 / 180

Cadence for the next six months.

30 days Complete the steps to populate.
90 days Complete the steps to populate.
180 days Complete the steps to populate.
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