UAE tourism in the AI era: What cultural brands need to do now

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TL;DR: AI has opened a new avenue for discoverability. As tourists use AI tools to help them plan their trips, they’ll be asking for recommendations on where to go and what to do. Getting mentioned in AI answers has the power to improve brand awareness, online traffic and physical footfall for cultural centres. The organisations that are proactive in optimising their online presence for AI algorithms will get the most out of this new opportunity to attract tourists. So, what exactly does that look like?

Imagine a tourist stepping off the plane in Dubai, Abu Dhabi or another bustling city. They’re excited to start their trip and discover the sights, food and cultural experiences of the UAE. How will they decide where to go and what to do?

Will they explore famous French art and admire the grand architecture of the Louvre Abu Dhabi?

Will they discover local artists at the SIKKA Art Fair?

Or will they look for more niche cultural experiences like the chai diner at Cinema Akil?

When travelling abroad, a lot of people have an itinerary planned way before they leave for the airport or if they’re more type B than type A, a list of recommendations. If you wait until they’re in their hotel room to start marketing to them, you might have lost your chance. 

There is a way you can let tourist know about your museum, gallery, festival or other cultural hub as they’re planning their trip and position it as a must-see attraction wherever they are in the world. 

The new travel concierge is AI. Around 60% of travellers in the UAE now trust AI to plan every aspect of their trips, from hotels to dinner plans. AI-powered travel is particularly prevalent among those visiting the Middle East, with nearly 6 in 10 having used AI for travel planning and 21% having used it for their most recent trip.  

Whether tourists are reading the AI summary at the top of Google searches or using a dedicated AI travel planner to pull their itinerary together, AI is giving out recommendations for cultural experiences in the UAE. 

This is an amazing opportunity for all kinds of tourist attractions if they take it with both hands… After all, getting added to an AI-generated itinerary isn’t guaranteed. 

How AI will change the cultural sector in the UAE

The cultural sector in the UAE is already flourishing under the extra interest and support from the National Strategy for the Cultural and Creative Industries. To keep up the momentum of growth, we need a future focus. Sooner rather than later, cultural events and organisations will feel the effects of how AI is changing the game for tourists and the way they engage in cultural experiences. 

‘Just for you’ recommendations

In the past, tourists relied on generic travel guides to find places to go and things to see, cherry-picking what seemed to appeal to them. Now they can get personalised travel guides generated in a matter of seconds by asking AI to make recommendations based on their specific needs and interests. Whether they are looking for experiences that are family-friendly, within a specific budget or meet their interests in both fashion and architecture, tourists can design a visit that’s made for them. To avoid being left out of this new version of travel planning, cultural centres need to be visible in AI search.

The rise of niche experiences

The level of personalisation that’s now possible when researching destinations opens the door to smaller and lesser-known museums, galleries and tourist attractions. These organisations may have been a footnote before, as recommendations were dominated by the most popular travel experiences. Now, they can get to the top of the list in answers to AI queries about their specific niche. Ensuring they are discoverable in AI search will help spread the growth in the UAE’s cultural sector more evenly as it drives awareness, online traffic and physical footfall to more places around the country. 

Global discoverability

A major advantage of tourists planning their travels through an AI tool is that they can do so in their own language which provides a much more intuitive user experience. It essentially breaks down language barriers between destinations and interested travellers. Discoverability in AI search doesn’t just attract domestic tourists or even English-speaking tourists. AI serves the world’s tourists. This helps cultural centres diversify their audiences and reach more people without having to run hundreds of marketing campaigns in different countries.

Event promotion 

The recommendations AI tools give budding travellers aren’t static. With each new query, it assesses the information available to come up with the best answer. That means AI-powered travel will impact time-sensitive cultural events too. Based on when the user is travelling to the UAE, AI can give recommendations of events and experiences that will be on. The real-time updates AI provides are a great opportunity for exhibitions, concerts and festivals so it’s not just museums and galleries that can benefit from getting on board with AI discoverability. 

How to market cultural experiences in the age of AI

It makes sense for cultural centres across the UAE to add an AI discoverability strategy to their marketing plan so they don’t miss out on getting found through AI search. Here’s how you can start building your strategy for adapting to AI-powered travel. 

• Measure your current discoverability. Complete our brand visibility score to find out where you stand in AI search now and receive recommendations for boosting your score.

• Compile AI queries. Research what tourists are currently searching for when building their travel itineraries and create content aligned with relevant queries. Think about how travellers might personalise their search and the niches you fit into. 

• Optimise your content for AI algorithms. Write in a way that’s easy for AI algorithms to find, interpret and turn into answers. Using clear structures, conversational language and author bios to boost credibility all help here. We’ve got templates to get you started with writing AI-friendly content. 

• Review your brand content. Go over your about pages and FAQs to make sure the content that tells AI about your organisation is rich with culturally significant storytelling it can use to understand what you offer and recommend you in a compelling way. 

• Look for PR opportunities. Showing up on travel guides and ‘best places to go’ lists on other websites improves your credibility with AI algorithms. It gives additional context and validation from other sources about what you have to offer its users. 

The UAE have diverse and dynamic cultural experiences to offer its visitors. AI can shine a light on this like never before. It’s in the perfect position to spread the word about unique and memorable tourist attractions and support the continued growth of the cultural sector. With endless options for personalisation, this is the time for hidden gems to shine and find themselves on more and more tourists’ itineraries. 

One of the most important parts of AI discoverability is creating AI-optimised content that appeals to the humans reading it too. At decipher. we’ve found the balance between writing for robots and writing for people so your organisation is discoverable in the age of AI. Drop us a line to find out how we can use optimised copy to help you put your name on the map and ultimately, attract more visitors.