For a long time, search engine optimization (SEO) was the cornerstone of digital distribution, enabling tourism offerings to dominate Google’s first pages and reach millions of potential travelers. With a well-crafted strategy, a hotel, a travel agency, or even a region could capture attention through targeted searches like “best riads in Marrakech” or “desert tours in Morocco.”
But this landscape is shifting. With the rise of AI assistants like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Alexa, search is becoming vocal, conversational, and often more intuitive. Users are no longer typing strings of keywords; they’re asking complex questions, expecting fast, personalized responses, and interacting with systems capable of tailoring suggestions to their needs.
This shift brings a dual revolution. On one hand, traditional SEO, which once focused on ranking high on Google’s search pages, is evolving toward optimization for these new voice-based assistants. The rules are changing: it’s no longer just about creating content visible to search engine algorithms but about structuring clear, rich information designed to answer queries like:
•“I’m not in the mood for hiking; what can I do in Marrakech for three days?”
•“Which cultural sites can I visit near Agadir without renting a car?”
On the other hand, this transformation presents Morocco with a unique opportunity to overhaul its tourism distribution model. Why not use this transition to build content that goes beyond visibility and aligns with a more inclusive strategy? For instance, why not integrate rural areas, often absent from global platforms, into these new automated responses? Why not highlight the offerings of artisanal cooperatives, local guides, or alternative accommodations via these assistants?
However, the questions don’t stop there. How would ChatGPT answer a seemingly simple query like, “I want to spend a weekend with my family in the Fez region—what do you recommend?” What sources does it draw from to provide these recommendations? Do these assistants rely on reliable and up-to-date information? These are essential questions, especially for the presidents of professional associations like FNRT, FNAVM, or the CRTs. The future of Morocco’s digital tourism distribution depends on these stakeholders’ ability to collaborate and enrich centralized, accessible datasets for these emerging AI tools.
On that note, a question arises for Mr. Achraf Fayda and his team at ONMT, who recently launched their regional tour in Marrakech with a creative challenge for local territories. How can this initiative embrace the digital revolution, where data structuring and AI assistant optimization are becoming critical success factors? Is this an opportunity to enrich Morocco’s digital content while connecting regions and their unique offerings to these new vocal ecosystems?
The key lies in structuring and accessibility. By centralizing information on a national platform, Moroccan tourism actors—both public and private—can ensure that the answers provided by these assistants reflect a diverse and authentic image of the country’s offerings. This would also be a chance to incorporate multilingual content, catering to French, English, and Arabic-speaking users, while promoting Amazigh cultural identity in an inclusive approach.
The question is no longer simply how to appear in search results, but rather how to become the preferred source for new conversational interfaces. It’s not enough to exist within this shifting ecosystem; all stakeholders—hoteliers, transporters, artisans, cooperatives, CRTs—must work together to build a digital presence that reflects Morocco’s richness and diversity.
And you, dear readers, what do you think of the answers provided by these voice assistants? Are you ready to become the architects of the new data foundations that will guide tomorrow’s travelers? The voice revolution is already underway. The only question left is whether we’ll simply follow it or help write its rules.
