082⎢Planning 2026: Here's What 2025 Actually Revealed

About this episode

This episode discusses the impact of 2025 on tourism operators and the necessary insights for 2026.

2025 fundamentally shifted how tourism operators connect with customers. AI moved from background technology to active intermediary 70% of tourism searches now end without visiting a business website. This finale episode for 2025 cuts through the noise: what actually drove results versus what just looked busy? Despina shares the brutal clarity needed for 2026, addressing both the gradual digital transformation and the profound reminder from the Bondi Beach tragedy about what truly matters in leadership and community. Never miss a Tourism Hub Podcast Spotify: https://bit.ly/4nN1Faa Apple: https://bit.ly/47zOkM4 Institute of Excellence: https://www.instituteofexcellence.com/podcast/ Connect with Despina Karatzias https://www.despinakaratzias.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/despinakaratzias/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/despinakaratzias/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DespinaKaratzias TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@desikaratzias Connect with the Institute of Excellence Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ExcellenceHQ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tourismhubpodcast/ YouTube: https://www.instagram.com/instituteofexcellencehq/ LinkedIn…

People in this episode

Host: Despina Karatzias

Topics covered

• tourism
• digital transformation
• leadership
• community
• AI in tourism
• customer connection

Keywords

• tourism
• AI
• digital transformation
• leadership
• customer connection
• Bondi Beach
• 2025
• 2026

Sponsors

Institute of Excellence

Mentioned in this episode

Places: Bondi Beach

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• 080⎢Governance and the AICD Advantage with Greg Ewing · August 28, 2025 · 17 min
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• 078⎢What AI Can and Can't Do for your Tourism Business · July 31, 2025 · 24 min