The Future of Tourism

As destinations worldwide grapple with the political complexity and accelerating demands of sustainable tourism, few cities offer clearer roadmaps than Helsinki and Göteborg —two Nordic leaders whose long-term commitment to environmental, social, and economic stewardship has reshaped what meaningful progress looks like. On this episode of the Future of Tourism podcast, we’re joined by two global tourism leaders representing the top two destinations in the GDS-Index. Jukka Punamäki, senior advisor at Helsinki Tourism & Destination Management, and Katarina Thorstensson, stability strategy and destination development at Göteborg & Co., explore their sustainability journeys, how indexes helped measure success, and what impact sustainability has had on their destinations.

On this episode of the Future of Tourism podcast, Dr. Phil Xiang from Virginia Tech explores the evolution of smart tourism. This is the final installment of our Executive Insights Symposium series — catch up on previous episodes here: AI governance for DMOs and their leaders with Janette Roush, senior vice president of innovation and chief AI officer at Brand USA Rethinking DMO leadership in a new era of alignment and purpose with Adam Burke, president and CEO of Los Angeles Tourism You can download a report packed with executives’ insights into the transformational forces DMOs face here.

On this episode of the Future of Tourism podcast, Janette Roush, senior vice president of innovation and chief AI officer at Brand USA, explores the urgent need for destination executives to review how they strategically implement AI. Learn the opportunities, risks, and methodology behind effective and ethical AI governance for DMOs.

On this episode of the Future of Tourism podcast, Dr. Phil Xiang and Simpleview’s own Jason Swick discuss smart cities, digital disruption, and the emerging concept of “smart tourism” and where DMOs can dive right in.

On this episode of the Future of Tourism podcast, Brad Jones from Visit Bellevue Washington and Dr. Annie Rummel from Great Lakes Bay Airport Endowment Fund describe two trailblazing DMO projects.

The first annual PACE Forum was momentous in the evolution of community and stakeholder engagement. Tune into the Future of Tourism podcast to hear from two instrumental people about the conference.

On this episode of the Future of Tourism podcast, Ross Calladine from Visit England speaks about demystifying accessibility and developing initiatives to help destinations embrace accessible tourism.

David Peacock interviews Janette Roush, executive vice president of marketing and digital for New York City Tourism + Conventions, and Paul McLeod, director of analytics at Simpleview, about the current landscape of generative artificial intelligence (AI). Roush has spent decades in industry-leading organizations and modern media agencies. McLeod is a maverick in the data and insights space and runs Simpleview’s internal think tank known as “Insights Group.” Together, they discuss why AI is on everyone’s radar, where the technology is going, and the positive — and negative — applications of it.

When we look for inspiration and ideas that will help us optimize the success and sustainability of our own destinations, we often look to Europe. More than a decade ago, their early work on overtourism highlighted the need for a more engaged network of destination stakeholders who prioritized ensuring that tourism was a restorative and not a depleting force. After the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, these insights further informed a lot of great work on how to build resilient local stakeholder and citizen networks to help harness the restorative power of tourism. One vehicle this happens through is CityDNA’s seven knowledge groups. Simpleview’s David Peacock talks with Pablo Ortega Novillo and Adil Abbach. Novillo is the head of promotion for the tourism offices of Catalunya in Spain. He is co-chair of the CityDNA Tourist Information Centres Knowledge Group. Abbach is the managing director of hospitality and products with amsterdam&partners and a Tourist Information Centres Knowledge Group member.

This episode of Future of Tourism features Edmar Luiz Xavier Neto and Joel Marriott. Neto is the visionary creator of the Strong Farm & Rural Shores Destinations program, whose project aims to create new paths for sustainable development and empower families and businesses in rural communities. Marriott, an Indigenous entrepreneur from White Bear First Nations in Saskatchewan, Canada, is the founder of TOP Carbon Capture. Through sustainable options for various structures, TOP Carbon Capture is revolutionizing how we build— from single-family homes to large-scale projects in the US and Canada.

As destination organizations increasingly take on a leadership role in sustainability and regeneration, it's essential to learn from the successes of our peers in the meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions (MICE) industry. By leveraging their expertise and applying it to our destinations, we can drive progress toward a more sustainable future for our communities and the planet. Simpleview’s David Peacock talks with Peter Lee, Ph.D., and Matthias Schultze. Lee is the managing director of the Goyang Convention and Visitors Bureau. Schultze is the managing director of the German Convention Bureau.

On this Future of Tourism, David Peacock talks with Eliza Voss and David Holder about the model they’re designing to address visitor pressure and enhance the Aspen, Colorado, experience while preserving its small-town character. Voss is vice president of destination marketing at the Aspen Chamber Resort Association. David Holder is the CEO at Clarity of Place. David Peacock is senior advisor of the Future Tourism Group at Simpleview.