Why Travelers Choose Experiences Before Destinations
Today’s travelers crave rich experiences first — and destinations second. These four DMOs excel at attracting them by showcasing the “what” beyond the “where” — and by clearly defining the experiences their destinations are best positioned to own.
By Paul Peterson
Destination marketing isn’t just about location anymore. Today’s travelers, who crave memorable moments and adventures, are researching possible getaways based on what they’d like to do, not where they’d like to go. Experiences have become one of the strongest drivers of travel intent, and these DMOs have developed smart ways to spotlight their region’s possibilities to drive visitation.
This shift has implications far beyond campaign creative. Travelers increasingly discover destinations through search engines, AI-powered tools, social media and recommendation platforms that surface experiences rather than geography. A traveler may search for “best family beach vacations,” “foodie weekend getaways” or “wellness retreats in the Southwest” long before choosing a destination.
For DMOs, experience positioning, content strategy and search visibility are becoming inseparable. The strongest experience-driven destinations don’t start with content creation alone. They begin by identifying the experiences that best align with their destination, audiences and competitive strengths. Content, itineraries, campaigns and websites then work together to reinforce those positioning decisions.
Experience marketing is both a positioning and content challenge. Destinations must first determine which experiences they want to be known for, then build the content ecosystem that helps travelers discover and engage with those experiences. We see this most clearly and extensively with our hospitality clients, like Marriott.
The most effective destination organizations aren’t simply creating more content about activities and attractions. They’re identifying the experiences that differentiate their destination, organizing content around those themes and making it easy for travelers — and increasingly AI systems — to connect those experiences to their destination.
Visit Arizona: Own the Experiences That Define Your Destination
With Arizona’s legendary landscapes, it would be easy to rely on imagery of the state’s natural beauty to draw visitors. Visit Arizona, however, uses curated experiences to appeal to prospective visitors looking for the “what” beyond the “where.” Rather than presenting Arizona as a collection of attractions and landscapes, the site organizes content around distinct traveler motivations and interests. This approach helps prospective visitors quickly find relevant experiences while strengthening Arizona’s association with categories such as outdoor adventure, culinary travel, wellness and cultural exploration.
Customized recommendations for each persona — foodies, history buffs, wellness seekers, outdoor adventure enthusiasts and more — help travelers envision exactly how they could experience the state based on their preferences. The accompanying “Travel Like a Local” section, filled with suggestions from notable residents and recreationists, conveys even more information about how visitors can experience Arizona. (See case study.)
Choose Chicago: The Power of Getting More Specific
Choose Chicago invites travelers to “Come Find Your Place” with tailored itineraries for everyone from first-time visitors to architecture buffs. Itineraries are separated by interest: “Experiences” focus on overarching themes such as “Black Culture in Chicago” and “Hidden Gems,” while “Interests” go deep in specific categories such as architecture and history or Chicago sports. The result? An easy-to-navigate travel resource where prospective visitors can plan their visit to the Windy City based on what’s meaningful to them.
Perhaps most importantly, Chicago resists the temptation to be everything to everyone. By organizing content around specific interests and communities, the destination creates clearer pathways for travelers while strengthening its authority around distinct experience categories.
Visit Oakland: Differentiate Within Your Competitive Set
While many DMOs opt to play it safe around cannabis tourism, Visit Oakland has embraced it with an award-winning Cannabis Trail campaign. Similar to the way Napa and Sonoma have built destination experiences around wine trails, Oakland uses the Cannabis Trail to introduce visitors to a broader ecosystem of local experiences, from restaurants and bars to arts, culture and outdoor recreation.
More importantly, the campaign reflects Oakland’s larger positioning within the Bay Area. While nearby destinations may be known for luxury, wine country, iconic landmarks or coastal escapes, Oakland leans into its creative energy, diverse communities, thriving food scene and eclectic spirit. The Cannabis Trail isn’t the destination’s entire story — it’s one expression of a distinctive, edgier Bay Area experience that helps Oakland attract travelers looking for something authentic, unexpected and uniquely local.
Brand USA: Tailor Experiences to Different Markets
Even at the national level, experiences are key to winning over international travel markets. Global travel brands increasingly recognize that different audiences are motivated by different experiences. Rather than promoting the same destination story to everyone, sophisticated organizations are investing in audience-specific content, localized itineraries and experience-led storytelling that aligns with how travelers actually research and plan trips.
Brand USA takes an experience-driven approach to not just appeal to diverse international travelers but to welcome them through content that speaks to what these audiences want and need in a trip to America. One recent campaign included curated itineraries that spoke directly to an Indian audience, including “Stars Over Texas” and “Beach-Hopping Around Boston” itineraries. Brand USA also welcomed foreign travelers with custom content around WorldPride.
For DMOs, the question is no longer whether experiences matter, but which experiences your destination should own. As traveler discovery becomes increasingly influenced by search engines and AI-recommendation platforms, destinations that clearly define and consistently promote their strongest experience categories will have an advantage over those that rely on broad, generalized messaging.
The most successful destinations are creating clear connections between positioning, content strategy, website structure, editorial planning and search visibility. They’re helping travelers — and the technologies guiding those travelers — understand exactly why their destination deserves consideration.
Are Travelers Finding the Experiences That Make Your Destination Unique?
From content strategy and website planning to SEO, AI visibility and campaign development, we help DMOs connect travelers with the experiences that inspire visitation.
Paul oversees client service at Casual Astronaut, working with our account management team to shape content and digital marketing strategies for clients. His nearly 20-year career in marketing and public relations ranges from healthcare to hospitality, consumer products to government relations, high-tech communications to entertainment. Paul’s worked with brands such as Nike, Disney, Johns Hopkins and Cleveland Clinic to build measurable, audience-engagement strategies.
A father to two boys, Paul usually spends his weekends at flag football games, chess tournaments, bowling leagues and coaching soccer (all of which may happen in the same Saturday). And when snow starts to fall in the mountains, he looks for any excuse to hit the slopes.