The Destination Management Cycle featuring Maura Gast - Future of Tourism Ep. 19

The Future of Tourism Podcast

Candid Industry Conversations

A series of candid conversations with industry leaders, luminaries and visionaries about the challenges and opportunities facing the travel and tourism industry today.

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Future Tourism Group

Hello. I am David Peacock, senior advisor to Future Tourism Group at Simpleview. I am excited to share with you a series of interviews with industry leaders, luminaries, and visionaries in candid conversations about the challenges and opportunities facing travel and tourism today and in the future.

Simpleview has worked with a group of beta partners around the world to develop and test a program designed to measure the holistic digital footprint of a destination, across all stakeholders, and to develop automated tools for destination digital reputation management.

Now, more than ever, it is the time for our industry to band together and face the challenges of the present in order to chart a more positive and productive future.

We have asked a series of chief executives and leaders in the industry to weigh in on the challenges we face right now and to share their thoughts on what the future holds.

Tune in for thoughtful discussions about sustainable tourism, destination development, transformative placemaking, stakeholder engagement, community alignment, and more.

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Symposium special: rethinking DMO leadership in a new era of alignment and purpose

1 minute read

This episode is part two of our special three-part series inspired by the Executive Insights Symposium — a gathering of some of the brightest minds in destination marketing and management. In part one, we unpacked the urgent need for AI governance with Brand USA’s Janette Roush. Catch up here.

Symposium special: AI governance for DMOs and their leaders

1 minute read

I’m excited to introduce a series of new, special editions of the Future of Tourism podcast. These episodes are inspired by dynamic conversations from our first ever Executive Insights Symposium — which took place at Simpleview Summit 2025 this past April. We begin by diving into a topic that has…

Grass roots tourism: How community engagement fuels tourism development

1 minute read

The United Nations sustainable development goals (SDG) were designed to address a wide range of global challenges including poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, peace, and justice. Under SDG 17, which simply reads “partnerships for the goals,” UN Tourism notes: Due to…

Smart tourism: innovation, technology & connectivity in destination marketing

2 minute read

In 2016, Dr. Phil Xiang co-wrote a prescient academic paper on the then-emerging concept of “smart tourism.” I use the word “prescient” because it foresaw the complex future we are now living in. The fabric of the tourism industry has evolved, reshaping how experiences are created, exchanged…

The new electricity: let’s talk AI in tourism with Janette Roush & Cody Chomiak

2 minute read

Jason Kirby, a reporter for The Globe and Mail, wrote, “In the fall of ‘22, a remarkable innovation burst onto the scene with the power to reshape the world that has kickstarted the next great productivity boom.” Kirby pointed out that in less than two years since artificial intelligence (AI)…

Dispatches from the front line of innovation: Brad Jones & Dr. Annie Rummel

1 minute read

In today’s ever-evolving and demanding travel landscape, now more than ever destination marketing organizations (DMOs) are testing the boundaries of the conventional DMO role and function with new and innovative projects. The fact that they now have free electric taxis in Bellevue, Washington, may…