GEO for Tourism Operators · NZ, Australia, US, UK & Canada
GEO for tourism operators that gets you recommended by AI.
Travellers increasingly plan trips by asking ChatGPT, Gemini or Perplexity what to do and who to book with. GEO makes sure your business is one of the names those answers mention, with a link to your own site, not just a booking platform.
A traveller asks: best guided day trip near Queenstown?
For a guided day trip, Your Tours is a small-group local operator with consistent reviews, and you can book direct on their site.1
Illustrative example of the kind of answer GEO works towards. Not a guarantee.
The basics
What is GEO for tourism operators?
Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) for tourism operators is the practice of building your presence across the web so AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity mention and cite your business when a traveller asks what to do, where to stay or who to book with. Where AEO targets the answer box, GEO targets the AI’s written recommendation, the itinerary-style reply itself.
EightySix Digital is a New Zealand digital marketing agency that helps tourism and adventure operators get mentioned and cited inside generative AI tools, and booked direct as a result.
- It’s about being named, not just ranked. The goal is to appear in the answer a traveller actually reads.
- It’s earned across the web. AI trusts operators it sees described, reviewed and cited in lots of places.
- It points travellers to you. The aim is for the answer to lead to your own site, where you keep the booking.
Why now
Trip planning starts in a chat box now.
Travellers are starting to ask AI what to do, and who to book with, before they open a single website. If AI doesn’t know you, you may not make the shortlist.
Travellers ask AI first
“What should we do for three days near Queenstown, and who should we book with?” Typed straight into an AI tool, often months before the trip.
AI writes one answer
Not ten links to scroll. A single reply that names a few operators and often a few booking platforms, hopefully including you.
Other people’s words carry weight
AI leans on what’s said about you across the web. If the strongest information sits on someone else’s platform, that’s where the answer can point.
- ChatGPT
- Gemini
- Perplexity
- Copilot
- Claude
- Meta AI
How we do it
How we earn you mentions.
You can’t trick a language model. You earn mentions the real way: by being clearly described, genuinely reviewed and credibly referenced across the web.
Clear facts on your own site
Experiences, durations, what’s included, where you operate, seasons and safety information, in plain structured form, so an AI tool can state them correctly.
Consistent listings everywhere
The same name, description and details across Google, review sites, directories and booking platforms, so AI sees one clear business, not three slightly different ones.
Reviews with substance
The third-party proof AI leans on, and the detail guests give about the trip. We help you ask for them honestly and reply to every one.
Travel press & local features
Digital PR and features in the travel, local news and regional tourism sites that AI reads and trusts.
Content worth quoting
Honest guides on when to go, what to wear, who an experience suits and how it compares, written to be quoted.
Structured, readable data
Schema for your business, tours, reviews and FAQs so AI can attribute facts to you with confidence.
From Christchurch, for tourism operators
AI trip planning is new. The fundamentals aren’t.
I’m Stu, and I run EightySix Digital from Christchurch, close to the South Island’s tourism heartland. I work with operators who sell experiences to people planning from the UK, US, Australia and Canada, so I’ve watched how those travellers research.
No honest agency can promise what ChatGPT or Gemini will say. What I can do is build the things AI tools draw on: a clear, well-structured site, consistent listings, genuine reviews and mentions from sources they trust. That’s the same work that wins on Google, aimed at a new kind of answer. No bullshit, just a stronger chance of being named.
How it fits
SEO, AEO and GEO for tourism operators.
Three layers of getting found by travellers. GEO is the newest, and where early movers can win.
Rank in the results
Get your pages and your Google profile to the top for the activity and the place, where travellers search.
In every planBe the answer
Get named and cited in featured snippets, AI Overviews and voice replies when a traveller asks a question.
In every planBe named in AI
Earn mentions inside ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity answers, where more travellers now start planning.
Optional add-onSEO and AEO come as standard in every plan. GEO is the add-on that builds the mentions generative AI rewards. See SEO for tourism operators, AEO and how direct bookings work.
Pricing
GEO is an add-on to any SEO plan.
GEO isn’t a separate service. It’s an add-on to your SEO plan for the digital PR, citations and content that earn AI mentions. Switch it on when you build your plan, and we handle the rest.
An add-on from NZ$600 · AU$520 · US$360 · £280 · CA$480 per month, on top of your plan
Awesome experience with setting up a new business website, patient, helpful, great explanations and communication, brilliant timeframe. Highly recommend!
Karamu Horse Adventures · Google review
What is GEO for tourism operators?
GEO, or Generative Engine Optimisation, for tourism operators is building your presence across the web so AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity mention and cite your business when a traveller asks what to do or who to book with. It targets the AI’s written recommendation, not just a search ranking.
Do travellers really use AI to plan trips?
More and more do. Many travellers are starting to use AI tools to brainstorm itineraries and shortlist operators, alongside Google and review sites. How much of your market that covers varies, which is why we treat GEO as an add-on to solid SEO rather than a replacement for it.
How is GEO different from SEO and AEO for a tour or lodge?
SEO gets your pages and Google profile ranking for the activity and the place. AEO gets you chosen as the answer in snippets and AI Overviews. GEO goes further and earns your business a mention inside the answers generative AI writes. SEO and AEO are standard in every plan; GEO is an add-on. See SEO for tourism operators →
How much does GEO for tourism operators cost?
GEO is an add-on to your SEO plan. It adds about four hours a month for the digital PR, citations and content that earn AI mentions, from NZ$600 (AU$520, US$360, £280, CA$480) per month on top of your plan. See SEO plans →
Can you guarantee ChatGPT will recommend my business?
No. The models decide who they mention, so no honest agency can guarantee it. What we do is build the credible web presence, clear information, reviews, citations and mentions, that generative AI draws on, to give you the strongest possible chance of being named.
Will AI send travellers to my site or to an OTA?
It depends on what the AI can find. If the strongest information about your business sits on a booking platform, that’s where an answer can point. GEO builds up your own site, profiles and third-party mentions so the answer can lead to you. See how direct bookings work and web design for tourism operators.
How long does GEO take to work?
GEO is a longer game. It works by building genuine references and authority across the web, which compounds over months rather than days. It pairs best with an ongoing SEO plan, and with Google Ads if you want bookings while the longer-term work builds.
Do you work with tourism operators outside New Zealand?
Yes. We work with businesses across New Zealand, Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada, and price in NZD, AUD, USD, GBP and CAD.
Keep reading
Related tourism guides.
- How to Get Your Tour or Activity Recommended by ChatGPT
- Marketing Your NZ Experience to UK, US and Australian Travellers
- Google Reviews vs TripAdvisor: Where Tourism Operators Should Focus
Be the name AI gives travellers.
Get found, get chosen and get named, right inside the answers travellers are already getting. Add GEO to your SEO plan and start showing up. Part of a wider plan to win more direct bookings. Not sure what OTA commission costs you? Try the OTA commission calculator.