🎉 WeArisma joins forces with NielsenIQ (NIQ) to, for the first time ever, measure the impact of Creator Marketing on sales.
Published On: September 24, 2025
There’s been a seismic shift in the way travelers discover, choose, and remain loyal to brands. Are you ready for the change?
Travel is back in full motion, with UN Tourism figures showing that 1.4 billion tourist arrivals were recorded globally in 2024.
This recent lift in international movement has resulted in the travel industry experiencing a 99% recovery from pre-pandemic levels. As momentum continues, these figures will likely rise throughout 2025 and beyond.
But while travel and tourism are thriving once again, the landscape has shifted – and it’s driven by evolving traveler perspectives.
We’re witnessing an undeniable change in the way wonder lusting consumers discover, choose, and remain loyal to travel and hospitality brands.
Here we look at the current state of travel and how to respond, based on insights from our ‘Uncovering Hidden Brand Advocates: Find Authentic Guests With AI and Increase Bookings’ webinar.
Let’s get moving.
Today’s travelers and guests rarely tag hotels. Instead, they post untagged photos and videos, sending quiet, authentic signals that traditional social listening tools often miss.
This lack of insight creates significant visibility gaps at the moments that matter most. The outcome? Hidden value, overlooked traveler sentiments, and a limited view of true creator campaign impact.
Hotels and resorts struggle to uncover and leverage authentic, organic guest-generated content, leaving them blind to:
To push yourself ahead of the travel or hospitality pack in the new age of travel, gaining true visibility and tapping into emerging trends is key.
Read: Luxury’s new frontier: the rise of hospitality partnerships
Our unique insights show that traditional creator marketing tools and techniques miss up to 90% of organic brand mentions.
Finding a clear path to visual discovery is vital to connecting with this wealth of meaningful consumer moments and uncovering your most loyal brand advocates.
The key to uncovering the 90% of organic brand mentions and authentic traveler content typically missed by traditional tools lies in AI.
Visual content is a powerful force and it shapes traveler decisions. Leveraging AI-powered video and visual recognition will help you surface all organic content related to your brand, even when it isn’t tagged or mentioned.
Discovering this universe of previously unexplored content will also give you an objective view of how travelers or guests perceive your brands.
You’ll also connect with real guest conversations, previously hidden consumer reviews, and moments that reveal true brand perception as they unfold. That’s the real insight.
Book a demo and to discover our AI Organic Measurement technology and how it will lead your brand to the 90% of unexplored content that will drive loyalty, increase bookings, and help you thrive in a new travel economy.
Our proprietary platform has helped a wealth of travel, hospitality, and luxury brands including Louis Vuitton and Marriott increase their visibility by up to 10x.
Without relying on manual content discovery processes and traditional tools to measure impact, travel or hospitality brands will gain a greater understanding of what really resonates.
In addition to gaining a wider view of the impact your creator content delivers by uncovering untagged brand mentions and organic content, you can connect with emerging travel trends.
You’ll understand the visuals and messaging that evoke the most powerful emotional responses from your audience and can use these insights to optimize your creator marketing strategy for consistent success.
Harnessing the power of AI also means you can identify best-fit creators and brand advocates in moments instead of weeks, harnessing their influence to grow stronger communities.
The stronger and more engaged the community surrounding your brand is, the more loyalty you’ll inspire and the faster your presence will expand.
Using AI-powered creator tools as your strategic partner will also help you assess the brand risk that a potential creator may pose if you decide to partner with them.
AI enhanced functionality can help you assess a potential partnership by uncovering past creator campaigns or content faster and at scale. That means you can connect with any questionable or ‘red flag’ content and make a confident assessment on whether it will be beneficial to partner with a particular creator.
Reach beyond well-trodden vanity metrics and hone in on the real insight by focusing on guest or traveler sentiment analysis:
Influencer Perception: Understand how your brand is being perceived across key influential sources, including creators, celebrities, and the press.
Audience Perception: Gain insights into the overall sentiment of your audience towards your brand by analyzing comments and reactions, helping you to gauge public opinion accurately.
80% of users booked with a single online travel agency (OTA) or brand in 2023 alone, showcasing strong loyalty once finding a preferred brand or OTA. This is a testament to the fact that travel loyalty is strong if you know how to earn it.
Travel is about seeking experiences and making memories. In most cases, the most meaningful content is shared ‘in the moment’ and isn’t influenced by any form of brand incentive.
The travel and hospitality brands that win going forward will harness emerging trends including #BucketListStays to join in with current conversations and remain at the forefront of consumer consciousness. Those that gain the most visibility and cement long-lasting brand loyalty will consistently create authentic experiences that linger long in the minds (and feeds) of their guests.
People want excitement, authenticity, and experiences that make them want to take action. They want to tap into memorable moments, and as a travel or hospitality brand, that’s exactly what you should deliver. Doing so consistently will accelerate your commercial growth and boost your bottom line.
Here are two stand-out experiential examples for your inspiration.
Internationally-renowned hotel chain Marriott has elevated its brand presence among younger travel cohorts with a series of music activations at its collection of ‘W Hotels.’
Offering an original balance of immersive music and lifestyle experiences worldwide, W PRESENTS has put the hospitality blend on the map. This harmonious hybrid of well-positioned musical creator partnerships, visually-inspiring cross-channel content, and ‘share-worthy’ guest experiences has earned droves of engagement to date.
By building an experiential platform that positions participating event artists as influential campaign partners and inspires a flow of user-generated content, Marriott has hit the mark with this forward-thinking experiential initiative.
Airbnb has partnered up with FIFA to become its ‘Official Alternative Accommodation and Experiences Booking Platform’ for forthcoming tournaments, including the FIFA World Cup 26™.
During this three-year collaboration, Airbnb and FIFA will team up to offer fans a series of immersive travel experiences. These initiatives will provide dedicated fanatics with a new way to celebrate their favourite sports through the perfect blend of connection, travel, and culture.
Like Marriott, FIFA, and Airbnb will amplify these experiences through influential creator partnerships and inspirational user-generated content.
Speaking about the partnership, Airbnb’s CEO, Brian Chesky, explains:
“The World Cup brings the world together – and so do we. Airbnb is proud to collaborate with FIFA to offer fans once-in-a-lifetime experiences during the tournaments, while welcoming hundreds of thousands of guests during the FIFA World Cup 26 and producing a meaningful economic impact for local communities.”
“More and more, experiences have become powerful decision drivers for travelers: the possibility of a life-changing travel moment motivates people to book a trip.” – McKinsey & Company
Today’s guests and travelers crave community and live for experiences. We’ve also seen a stronger focus on wellbeing and sustainability, with a growing demand for brands that value eco-conscious practices. Consumers have more choice than ever before, so creating meaningful connections and showcasing your values are crucial to your success as a travel or hospitality brand.
Delivering a consistent stream of ‘mini moments’ will elevate your brand presence while cementing loyalty and driving more bookings.
Based what we’ve discovered during this journey, here’s what you can do to act on the change:
The bottom line? Creating ‘mini moments’ for your guests will make your brand stand out, resulting in repeat visits and a higher lifetime value. Leveraging hotel features like room service or immersive in-house experiences will inspire the memorable ‘mini moments’ that put your name on the map.
Focus on fortifying your community and uncovering your true value, and you’ll earn sustainable success in the new age of travel and hospitality.
If you didn’t get the chance to attend our webinar, you can sign up and get access to the full recording which includes a host of additional trends and insights.
You’ll also get exclusive access to our insider list of the ‘Top 10 Travel and Hospitality’ creators driving the most industry influence right now.
Access timely cultural trends, strategic creator guidance, and industry best practices.
Discover the most groundbreaking entertainment marketing insights from our eye-opening panel discussion at ‘The State of Influence 2025 and future-proof your brand for tomorrow’s creator economy.
Media Value drives visibility, but cultural heat drives desire.
Join our community and get cultural insights, creator strategy guides, and real-world best practices.
