What do visitors really say about your destination?

How is travel planning becoming more and more common?

A visitor to your city wants to grab a drink somewhere. She doesn’t open a brochure or visit the tourist information website. She asks her AI assistant: “Where’s the best place around here to get a good cup of coffee?” In a matter of seconds, that AI assistant weighs hundreds of reviews against each other—from Google, TripAdvisor, TheFork, and ten other platforms, in multiple languages. And then it gives one answer. One coffee shop. The others aren’t mentioned.

The question for every destination has thus shifted. It’s no longer just, “How glamorous and inspiring does our destination look?” but rather, “What do visitors really say about us?” And… how does this shift toward “answer machines” affect our visibility?

You can’t market your destination to a good reputation

In their book *The Good, The Bad, and The Emoji – Mastering the Art of Review Data*, Menno Beker, Hans Keukenschrijver, and Dr. Wouter Hensens show how review data has become the most powerful marketing tool of our time.

Their key message for destination marketers is clear: you can no longer market your way to a good reputation. Reviews are demonstrably decisive—95% of travelers read them before booking, and 93% let them influence their choice. And 49% trust reviews just as much as personal recommendations. (BrightLocal Consumer Survey 2026).

A destination with consistently low review scores won’t attract visitors, no matter how large the marketing budget is.

But review data also reveals where the opportunities lie: which sectors are underperforming, which type of visitor is least satisfied, and which hidden gems are ready to grow. It’s not a retrospective judgment, but a tool for steering the future.

From Isolated Reviews to Reputation Intelligence

Almost every destination collects reviews somewhere. Few actively work with them. That’s the difference between noise and intelligence. Data—often spread across various review platforms—is abundant, but it’s rarely translated into analyses and plans for improvement.

DataFQ analyzes reviews from over 50 platforms in 38 languages, using AI sentiment analysis at the level of each individual location—not just for hotels, but also for restaurants, attractions, retail, and local experiences. Not just one business at a time, but the sentiment across an entire city, region, or country. (The founders previously built the review data platform Olery.)

The vision behind it is important, especially in the age of AI. AI is opening up more and more possibilities for visualization and insight—but the foundation must be a solid dataset. Data that can be correctly interpreted by AI models, thereby becoming operationally usable. Not a one-off snapshot, but a reliable, continuous source. That’s the difference between a pretty graph and data-driven work.

This is what the industry now calls Reputation Data as a Service and Destination Intelligence: reputation data as a continuous, structured service that informs your destination policy—not a report that disappears into a drawer once a year.

AI doesn’t diminish reputation—it actually makes it more important

It seems as though the whole world will be booking their vacations through an AI agent tomorrow. That’s partly true—but adoption is uneven. One traveler lets ChatGPT plan an entire trip; another reads reviews as if they were literary fiction and still walks into a travel agency. A trip isn’t an impulse purchase: it involves emotion, money, time, and expectations. That’s when people want certainty.

That’s why reputation is becoming more important, not less. Once AI starts recommending destinations, hotels, restaurants, and experiences, the question will shift from “Can I be found online?” to “Am I trustworthy enough to be recommended?” Reviews, sentiment, ratings, service quality, and price perception will fuel AI-driven recommendations.

Three Shifts in Tourism

Mirko Lalli (Data Intelligence & AI Expert and Destination Intelligence Pioneer) summarizes the transformation in tourism as three shifts, occurring at three different paces:

1. The tech shift—loud and already very noticeable. Discovery has gone from searching to asking questions to delegating. About 59% of American travelers already use generative AI to plan a trip. Search engines and your website are losing ground. Travel website Kayak took a $457 million write-down, which was linked to a loss of traffic due to Google’s AI Overviews. The message: you’re either machine-readable, or you’re machine-invisible.
2. The shift in expectations—the silent shift. Travelers no longer buy the landmark, but the afternoon: the meal, the experience, that one thing you can’t get anywhere else. If your marketing still opens with the skyline, you’re answering a question people no longer ask.
3. The trust shift—the slow shift, and according to Lalli, the one on which you should build a business. Only ~36% say they trust AI results, and yet they still let AI make the decision—convenience brings trust along with it. Trust is shifting from the brand and individual reviews to the agent. And it’s now happening at machine speed.

This is exactly where reputation comes into play. Because where does that agent get their trust from? From reviews, sentiment, and ratings. The shift in trust doesn’t diminish the value of review data—it actually increases it.

Still, some nuance is in order. Menno Beker, co-founder of DataFQ, offers a sobering observation: rapid adoption isn’t the same as lasting behavior. Inspiration, planning, and booking are different phases; many people still double-check AI recommendations elsewhere; and a large group of people over 40 are familiar with AI but use it only occasionally. A 2025 report from ABN Amro also shows that (independent) travel agents are becoming more popular among young adults. A travel agency or travel agent eliminates uncertainty and instills confidence.

The lesson for your destination: whether the shift happens quickly or slowly, the direction is the same. Reputation is becoming the currency in which both people and AIs measure trust. You don’t have to guess who will be right—you just need to have your reputation in order before the clock running against you runs out.

Why Review Data and AI Visibility Converge

This is where two trends intersect. And that’s exactly where it gets interesting for your destination.

• Review scores are becoming a trust signal—for both humans and AI. An average review score across multiple platforms, displayed next to a location, helps visitors make a choice. But that same score, in a structured and machine-readable format, also helps the AI assistant make a choice. A destination that neatly provides its reputation data is cited more often in AI responses. This is GEO—Generative Engine Optimization—in practice: the new SEO.
• Review data makes texts “more authentic.” AI writes beautiful location descriptions. But does it also sound like how visitors actually experience it? By feeding review data into our AI writing assistant, the description is grounded in real signals: for example, the peaceful atmosphere that visitors mention, the friendly service, and good wheelchair accessibility. The result is more specific, more credible, and more in line with reality—rather than the marketer’s flowery words and images that may not quite match up with reality.
• Review data drives policy. Which neighborhood is performing less well? Which industry is lagging behind the neighboring region? Where is there dissatisfaction that’s leading to declining visitor numbers? And who are the standout performers, and what are they doing right? Reputation data gives you a real-time pulse of satisfaction with your destination. Straight from the people who matter most: your visitors.

For smaller destinations in particular, reputation is everything

More and more travelers are turning away from crowded hotspots and seeking authentic experiences, local culture, and meaningful interactions. This growing “Tiny Tourist” mindset is a huge opportunity for smaller cities, towns, and regions. But there’s a key difference from major destinations: a small destination can’t rely on global brand recognition. Visitors evaluate the destination as a whole—not just individual hotels or restaurants. And today, that perception is largely shaped by online reviews. Reviews have thus become the deciding factor in whether or not you visit a destination.

For smaller destinations, reviews are therefore the ultimate “marketing weapon” for competing with major cities on a small budget. Positive reviews serve as digital proof of reliability and authenticity—exactly what it takes to convince a hesitant visitor to choose that “hidden gem.”

Yet many small destinations face the same challenge: a large portion of local businesses generate very few reviews. Hotels often actively collect feedback, but restaurants, attractions, museums, and retailers do not. As a result, part of the destination remains digitally invisible. And this isn’t just an individual business problem—it’s a destination-wide issue: every positive review strengthens not only the business but the entire destination—and boosts the entire region’s ranking in Google search results and visibility in the citations within AI Overviews.

Reputation management is therefore not a standalone business activity, but a collective growth strategy. Destinations that help local businesses turn positive experiences into a visible online reputation simultaneously increase satisfaction, discoverability, and the overall appeal of the destination as a whole.

The DMO of Tomorrow: From Promoter to Director

The role of DMOs is undergoing a fundamental shift: from mere promoter to director of the entire tourism ecosystem. In addition to marketing and branding, new responsibilities are emerging—advocacy for stakeholders, sustainable development, and, notably, data management and research. Recent research commissioned by the European Commission shows that many DMOs are not yet ready for this shift; it is primarily the larger, better-organized destinations that already understand it.

At the same time, the sector’s use of AI remains superficial. According to Sojern’s State of Destination Marketing 2026, 63% of destinations use AI to create content, but only 11% use it for personalization and targeting. And—as expected—content generated purely by AI will actually be ignored by future AI models. Those who simply press the “generate” button will eventually fade from view.

Mirko Lalli summarizes the new rules of the game in two levers for visibility in the AI era:

• Quality content: unique, recognizable, with a human touch. Review data helps make that content accurate and authentic.
• Reputation: When content quality is equal, AI systems make choices based on online reputation. Reputation management is therefore more important than ever.

The message for the DMO: become the director who oversees the quality and reputation of the entire ecosystem. Or, as Lalli puts it: if you don’t ignore the AIs, the AIs won’t ignore you.

What this means for your destination

You don’t need to build a review infrastructure for this. The data already exists; the key is to collect it reliably, enrich it intelligently, and distribute it in the right places.

• Measure your reputation. Start with a baseline assessment: how does your destination score across all platforms, by sector, compared to similar destinations?
• Make your content “authentic.” Let review data help shape your location descriptions so they align with what visitors experience. This benefits both the reader and search engines.
• Become visible to AI. Provide your average review score as structured data so that AI assistants can find, understand, and trust your locations.
• Empower your businesses. Help local businesses—especially restaurants, attractions, museums, and retail—collect reviews. Every new review makes not only that business but the entire destination more visible.

Destinations that measure their reputation can act on that data. The rest are left guessing.

How can I find out what visitors really think about my destination?

As a DMO: Request a free reputation baseline assessment: the DataFQ City Report. You’ll see at a glance how visitors rate your destination—by sector and compared to similar destinations. At no cost and with no obligation.

As a hotel, restaurant, attraction, or other venue: Request a free baseline reputation assessment: the DataFQ Hospitality Report. You’ll see at a glance how visitors rate your venue. No cost and no obligation.

What the report provides:

• A clear picture of your destination’s reputation, based on reviews from over 50 platforms in 38 languages.
• Insights by sector: where you’re performing well (hotels, hospitality, attractions, retail) and where opportunities lie.
• A benchmark against comparable destinations, so you know where you stand.
• Concrete action steps to increase your visibility among visitors and AI assistants.

It’s the fastest way to assess whether your reputation is ready for the AI era—and the foundation for every next step.

Request your free DataFQ Report today: fill out the form with no obligation or ask your question about the report.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Reputation Intelligence?

Reputation Intelligence is the structured collection, analysis, and interpretation of review data to derive actionable insights. It goes beyond simply counting stars: using AI sentiment analysis across multiple platforms and languages, it reveals what visitors value, where things go wrong, and how you compare to similar destinations. It transforms individual opinions into actionable insights.

What’s the difference between Reputation Data as a Service and a standalone review report?

A standalone report is a snapshot—valuable, but quickly outdated. Reputation Data as a Service (RDaaS) delivers reputation data continuously and in a structured format, so it remains integrated into your own systems and decision-making processes. The difference is between a snapshot and a reliable, up-to-date source that continuously informs your strategy.

What is GEO (Generative Engine Optimization), and how does reputation relate to it?

GEO is the process of optimizing your discoverability in AI-generated answers (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini), much like SEO did for Google. AI assistants factor reputation into their recommendations. Therefore, providing an average review score in a machine-readable format increases the likelihood that your locations will be mentioned in AI responses.

About this article and sources used

This blog is a collaboration between Event Connectors (technology partner to over 27 Dutch DMOs, city marketing organizations, and municipalities since 2015) and DataFQ (reputation intelligence, founded by the creators of the review data platform Olery). We’re sharing this because destinations that measure their reputation demonstrably make better decisions—regardless of which provider they work with. This blog was written using AI based on selected sources and edited by a human. We’d also love to hear your “review” of this blog.

• Menno Beker, Hans Keukenschrijver & Dr. Wouter Hensens — The Good, The Bad, and The Emoji: Mastering the Art of Review Data ()
• Impact of Online Travel Reviews — 2026 Statistics
• Mirko Lalli — Articles on the transformation of tourism by AI (including “The Future of Tourism: The Three Shifts”): )
• Sojern — State of Destination Marketing 2026 (AI usage by destinations)
• DataFQ — Reputation Intelligence, Destination Data & Review Awareness Reports
• Travel Agents Growing in Popularity Among Young People, NOS, Nov. 2025