What the 2026 Marketing AI Report Means for DMOs

If you work at a DMO, you already know the reality: small teams, tight budgets, and a never-ending demand for content to keep your destination top of mind.

The new 2026 Marketing Talent AI Impact Report suggests that's about to shift in some pretty significant ways. Within the next year or two, AI won't just be something we dabble with. The report calls it the "baseline of the entire profession."

Here's what I think that means for destination marketers, and why I actually see it as good news for those willing to adapt.

From Making to Orchestrating

For years, DMO marketers have been judged by output. How many blogs written, ad performance, reels edited, emails sent. The report predicts that's changing as routine, lower-level work gets automated.

The new role? Orchestrator.

Instead of manually executing every task, you'll direct and verify AI workflows. This frees you to focus on the higher-level stuff: strategy, experience design, the work that actually moves the needle.

For a small DMO team that's always been stretched thin, this is basically the equivalent of gaining the headcount you've always wanted but couldn't afford.

Your Human Edge is Local Context

If AI can write a travel itinerary, do we still need DMO staff? I think the answer is absolutely yes, and the report backs this up. It emphasizes that while AI handles execution, human insight remains the differentiator.

AI hasn't tasted the espresso at your downtown cafe or watched the sunset from your favorite overlook. It lacks context. Your value now lies in the synthesis, judgment, and local knowledge that makes AI output actually useful. 

You provide the soul; AI provides the scale.

Treat AI Agents Like Digital Co-Workers

The report suggests we stop viewing AI as just software and start treating AI agents as teammates with defined roles.

For DMOs, this means mapping out your workflows and identifying where an agent can step in. Maybe it's an agent responsible for auditing partner listings for accuracy. Or one that drafts initial responses to meeting inquiries. The idea is to integrate them into how your team actually operates, not as a novelty, but as a resource that handles the repetitive stuff so you can focus on what matters.

Rethink Your Agency Relationships

DMOs have always relied heavily on agency partners. But as in-house teams use AI to handle more production and research, the need to outsource routine work is shrinking.

The report recommends asking your agencies directly: how are you using AI, and are efficiency savings being passed to us? Your agency dollars should be going toward high-level strategy and breakthrough creativity, not commodity production that you can now handle internally.

Curiosity is Your New Currency

You don't need to be a coder to navigate this shift. The report identifies curiosity and adaptability as the top traits for future talent. Leaders are now prioritizing candidates who can unlearn and relearn over those who simply have ten years of traditional experience.

What I've found is that the marketers who lean in on AI aren't necessarily the most technical (myself included). They're the ones who are curious enough to experiment and figure out where it actually helps.

The Bottom Line

The goal isn't to use AI to just crank out more content. It's to shift your focus from making things to orchestrating experiences. 

For DMO teams that have always done more with less, that shift might feel more natural than you'd expect.