{"slug": "the-journey-is-the-destination-reinventing-travel-marketing", "title": "The Journey Is the Destination: Reinventing Travel Marketing", "summary": "Travel brands are redefining the journey by creating personalized, culturally relevant experiences, as discussed on ADWEEK's Adspeak podcast with Sheretha Bell of Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau, Eliot Hamlisch of Amtrak, and Brad Hiranaga of Marriott International. The episode highlights how Amtrak's social strategy, Atlanta's handwritten postcard activation, and Marriott's Bonvoy ecosystem combine technology, data, and human connection to drive engagement, loyalty, and revenue, with AI and ChatGPT increasingly influencing travel discovery.", "body_md": "Travel brands are redefining the journey by moving beyond destinations to create personalized, culturally relevant experiences at every touchpoint.\n\nOn this episode of Adspeak by ADWEEK, host Jenny Rooney brings together Sheretha Bell of Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau, Eliot Hamlisch of Amtrak, and Brad Hiranaga of Marriott to explore how the industry is responding to changing traveler expectations.\n\nThe conversation examines how transportation brands are turning the journey itself into part of the experience, while destinations connect with travelers through passions, identity, and culture.\n\nThe guests also discuss personalization, first-party data, loyalty ecosystems, and the growing influence of AI and ChatGPT on travel discovery.\n\nFrom Amtrak’s unexpected social strategy to Atlanta’s handwritten postcard activation and Marriott’s expansive Bonvoy ecosystem, the episode reveals how brands can combine technology and data with creativity and genuine human connection to drive engagement, loyalty, and revenue.\n\n**What you’ll learn:**\n\n- How to pivot from transportation to hospitality\n- Why values-driven travel is reshaping destination marketing\n- The personalization imperative in hospitality\n- How to build culturally relevant social strategies for Gen Z\n- The critical role of content quality in AI-driven discovery\n- How loyalty programs and media networks drive scale\n- Why blending AI-powered tools with human connection wins\n\n**About the guests:**\n\nBrad Hiranaga is global SVP of brand and design experiences at Marriott International, bringing expertise in experience design and brand strategy across hospitality. With a background spanning packaged food and apparel, Hiranaga leads initiatives to innovate hotel experiences, from the newly launched outdoor collection to wellness-focused services, leveraging Marriott’s scale of 10,000+ properties. His work demonstrates how loyalty data and design thinking unlock new revenue opportunities and consumer insights in hospitality.\n\nEliot Hamlisch is chief commercial officer at Amtrak, responsible for transforming the nation’s rail operator from a transportation utility into a hospitality brand. Over two years in the role, Hamlisch has spearheaded initiatives to redefine train travel as an end-to-end experience, from digital booking to onboard partnerships (including collaborations with celebrity chefs like Steven Starr), while driving measurable engagement and ridership growth through unexpected, Gen Z-focused social campaigns.\n\nSheretha Bell is SVP of marketing and brand strategy at Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau (Discover Atlanta), where she has driven strategic evolution over 25 years. Bell leads efforts to position Atlanta as a premier destination for conventions and leisure travel, integrating AI-powered advertising tools with authentic content and experiential marketing, such as the “World’s Largest Postcard” campaign, to reach travelers at critical decision moments while maintaining the personal touch that drives loyalty.", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/the-journey-is-the-destination-reinventing-travel-marketing", "canonical_source": "https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/the-journey-is-the-destination-reinventing-travel-marketing/", "published_at": "2026-08-14 09:37:49+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-08-14 13:46:09.999058+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["artificial-intelligence", "generative-ai", "ai-tools"], "entities": ["ADWEEK", "Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau", "Amtrak", "Marriott International", "Sheretha Bell", "Eliot Hamlisch", "Brad Hiranaga", "ChatGPT"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/the-journey-is-the-destination-reinventing-travel-marketing", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/the-journey-is-the-destination-reinventing-travel-marketing.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/the-journey-is-the-destination-reinventing-travel-marketing.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/the-journey-is-the-destination-reinventing-travel-marketing.jsonld"}}