Strategy in the Slop Era

Good Morning and Happy Monday, Dear Tourism folk bracing for another "interesting" week,

There’s a term floating around in tech and media circles right now that I think the tourism industry is about to run into headfirst.

AI Slop.

Slop is what happens when the internet becomes saturated with AI-generated content, scraped data, recycled takes, auto-written articles, and engagement bait that exists primarily to feed algorithms instead of humans. It’s the result of machines producing content at a scale the internet was never designed to filter.

In other words: the buffet is open, and everything on the table was made by robots.

None of it is poisonous. Most of it looks fine. But after a while, everything starts tasting the same.

People are just starting to realize:

Slop doesn’t just clutter the internet.

It reshapes expectations about reality.

The Expectation Gap

When enough synthetic content floods the system, perception starts moving faster than the real world can keep up.

• Every destination looks cinematic.

• Every itinerary looks seamless.

• Every town appears to have a dozen “hidden gems.”

• Every restaurant is apparently life-changing.

Meanwhile, the real place still has parking problems, weather, construction, a seasonal workforce, and a local Facebook group arguing about tourism policy.

Reality didn’t change.

The perception of reality did.

And the internet is moving so fast right now that governance, regulation, and even basic verification can’t keep pace. AI tools can generate destination imagery, itineraries, “reviews,” and travel recommendations in seconds. Entire content ecosystems now exist that have never actually experienced the places they are recommending.

Which leads to the traveler showing up expecting TikTok Amalfi…

…and finding Tuesday afternoon with seaweed and a closed gelato shop.

The UGC Iceberg We are About to Hit

For the last decade, destinations leaned heavily on UGC - user-generated content - as the authenticity layer in tourism marketing.

Real people. Real experiences. Real photos.

It worked because travelers trusted other travelers more than they trusted marketing.

But in the Slop Era, UGC is becoming… complicated.

Now a “travel recommendation” might be:

• AI-generated imagery • a creator who has never been to the place • paid content with no disclosure • recycled footage from a completely different destination • an account optimized to feed the algorithm rather than inform humans

What used to be a signal is starting to blur into noise.

Travelers show up expecting a destination to match the internet’s most edited version of itself.

The destination staff, meanwhile, are trying to deliver a good experience with a workforce shortage and a council meeting scheduled for Thursday where someone will ask why the DMO hasn’t solved housing.

Strategy Has a New Job

This is where the strategic layer becomes interesting.

Because in the Slop Era, the biggest risk isn’t bad marketing.

It’s miscalibrated expectations.

If perception inflates faster than operational reality can keep up, the destination pays for it.

In review scores. In frontline burnout. In resident frustration. In reputation.

Tourism leaders already juggle promotion, politics, place management, and public sentiment. Now we’re adding an information environment that manufactures perception faster than anyone can regulate.

That means strategy has a new responsibility.

Reality calibration.

Where are expectations being shaped? What parts of the experience are actually controllable? Where is the internet exaggerating the promise? Where are travelers encountering friction?

Those questions matter now more than ever.

Because if your strategy is reacting to the internet’s version of reality instead of the actual one, you’re not steering the system.

You’re chasing ghosts.

The Advantage of Staying Grounded

The destinations that stay sharp in the Slop Era won’t be the ones producing the most content. The machines already won that race.

The winners will be the ones who stay closest to reality.

They’ll understand their operational limits. They’ll understand their community tensions. They’ll understand where expectations are drifting away from what the place can actually deliver.

They’ll know the difference between signal and slop.

And that may quietly become the most valuable strategic skill in tourism over the next decade.

Because the internet can manufacture fantasy at scale.

But the actual experience of place is still stubbornly human.

Happy Monday.

I’m Jenn Barbee, reminding you to tip your waitstaff… and fire your agency. 😏