Rapid Fire with Gareth Matthews of Dida

As we count down to Phocuswright Europe, taking place in Barcelona from June 10 through June 12, PhocusWire is shining the spotlight on a selection of conference speakers in a series of Q&As.

Gareth Matthews, chief marketing officer of Dida, will take part in an executive panel called “Around the World of WiT.” The session will focus on markets including Asia, Africa and the Middle East as younger, more tech-savvy travelers rise and as artificial intelligence begins to play a bigger role in the sector.

Below, Matthews shares his thoughts on agentic and generative AI, opens up about his priorities and shares his insights for those new to the industry. 

How do you anticipate marketing will change in the coming years with agentic and generative AI?

I think we are likely to see significant shifts in three key areas:

• Hyper-personalization:AI agents will have the ability to analyse consumer behavior in real-time and develop dynamic and personalized ads, emails, product recommendations and campaigns, while generative AI will have the capability to create personalized content variations (text, images and video) tailored to micro-audiences.
• AI marketing and sales agents: In the not-so-distant future autonomous AI-driven customer service bots will have the capability to handle complex queries, negotiations and even sales. AI agents will also be useful in terms of automating campaign optimisation, adjusting bids, audiences and creatives in real-time without human intervention.
• AI-generated content: Due to the cost efficiencies brands will increasingly rely on AI-generated videos, blog posts and social media content. Deepfake and synthetic influencers are likely to become more common, which obviously raises some ethical concerns but also offers new engagement opportunities. 

What are your priorities this year?

In addition to continuing to consolidate our leading position across China and APAC [Asia Pacific] markets, our priority this year is to develop our product portfolio, brand positioning and awareness across both European and Americas destinations and source markets. To achieve this we are growing our footprint and local teams in these regions and investing significantly more in brand awareness activity.

If you could change one thing about your business/and or the industry overnight, what would it be? 

A key topic for the wider industry would be the full adoption of seamless, unified technology infrastructure across all travel distribution channels. Although there have been improvements, fragmentation still exists in systems, APIs and data standards, leading to inefficiencies for suppliers, distributors and travelers. A global framework would help eliminate redundant processes, reduce costs and enable real-time inventory, pricing and personalized offers at scale. For Dida, as a B2B travel distribution company, this would help enable faster innovation, smoother partnerships and the ability to deliver even greater value to our clients worldwide.

What's one thing about travel you would tell newcomers to the industry?

What makes the travel industry extra special is that despite significant developments in technology, the travel industry is still very much a “people” industry. In my experience, compared to many other industries, it's relatively easy to build lifelong relationships and friendships. Once somebody starts working in the travel industry there is a strong likelihood they will want to continue to develop their career in travel due to this.

I've just returned from the ATM [Arabian Travel Market] show in Dubai and it's a perfect example of the importance of relationships in the travel industry. It's difficult to walk more than 20 meters without bumping into somebody you know. It's a wonderful industry!