Social-media platforms are playing an increasingly important role in travel discovery and planning, as users turn to places like video and community feeds rather than traditional travel sites to find inspiration. The panel at the Phocuswright Conference 2025 highlighted how content here isn’t just about seeing beautiful destinations—it’s becoming part of the search process, with users exploring and curating trips through social networks. For travel businesses this means adapting to formats built for engagement rather than just information, focusing more on authenticity, short-form visuals and social interaction over classic brochures. At the same time, this shift creates challenges around measuring impact, attributing bookings and optimising presence across increasingly fragmented platforms.
