“Without data, SMEs can’t scale. Without SMEs, the ecosystem loses meaning.”
By the time the SME-focused panel on “Smarter Tourism: Scaling Strategies For Success” was held on the third and final day of TOURISE in Riyadh, one message had been echoing across the corridors – it is time the longtail of travel become the show of travel, and not the sideshow it’s long been.
After all, they make up 80% of the industry, deliver the human connections travellers crave and the experiences that define destinations and are most responsible for creating jobs on the ground for locals. Yet they’ve often been overshadowed by the industry’s giants.
So is this the golden age for SMEs or the beginning of the end – given that AI favours those with scale and data, I challenged my four panellists.
Tao Tao, co-founder and COO of GetYourGuide, was unequivocal about it. “This is going to be the golden age for SMEs.”
He said over 60% of GetYourGuide’s 35,000 operators already use AI daily, not to replace humans, but to scale operations, improve workflows, and level up quality.
Holibob’s CEO and co-founder Craig Everett added, “GenAI has the ability to pull all the elements of travel together and generate the personalised, seamless experiences travellers crave.”
Holibob is part of the newly formed GenAI coalition announced at TOURISE and Everett sees this as the start of a long-overdue infrastructure layer for experiences.
Andrea Grisdale of IC Bellagio, a luxury destination management company based in COMO, Italy, added a human perspective: “AI takes away the tasks that don’t need heart. It lets us focus on the passion, the care, the positive impact.”
For her 36-person DMC where people multitask constantly, AI is already eliminating repetitive work and elevating craft, she said.
Federico Pievoni, CEO APAC & MENA, Globant, also part of the GenAI coalition, framed the opportunity in macro terms: “SMEs can innovate faster. But only if they get the right tools and if we solve interoperability and data connectivity.”
AI, he said, will help create “good, authentic, condensed experiences” – but only if SMEs are part of the data flow.
Andrea Grisdale of IC Bellagio: “We need agreements on how data can be shared between big players and SMEs. Without data, SMEs can’t scale. Without SMEs, the ecosystem loses meaning.”
Data flow needed within the ecosystem
But there is no running away from the hard question: Is this new AI era just going to make the big get bigger?
Tao didn’t hesitate. “No. Because the fastest-growing segment we see is SMEs… It’s the human connection that cannot be replaced.”
Nine out of 10 reviews on GetYourGuide cite the tour guide as the defining factor. Not the attraction. Not the app. The guide.
Everett echoed it: “Travellers want the experiences SMEs provide. Big players and SMEs need each other, and tech must help enable that.”
Pievoni added the missing puzzle piece: interoperability. “We need agreements on how data can be shared between big players and SMEs. Without data, SMEs can’t scale. Without SMEs, the ecosystem loses meaning.”
Tao Tao, co-founder and COO of GetYourGuide: “This is going to be the golden age for SMEs.”
A reality check: What’s holding SMEs back?
A live poll asked the audience for the biggest barriers to scaling: Financing? Tech complexity? Data gaps? Digital skills? Brand visibility?
Grisdale cited brand visibility. Other than the individual challenges of building a brand, she called out an industry-wide weakness: “Travel doesn’t do the best job of communicating what an amazing sector we are… how many lives we touch.”
Everett pointed out the skills gap: “Digital skills is the biggest challenge. There are businesses still running on Excel or paper diaries.”
Tao went broader, connecting brand building with data: “SMEs need data, partnerships and connectivity. Technology lets them tell deeper stories of their destinations.”
Pievoni tied it all together: “You can’t scale without understanding what travellers like, when they’re arriving, who they’re with. Data builds the brand. And the brand drives growth.”
Federico Pievoni, CEO APAC & MENA, Globant: “SMEs can innovate faster. But only if they get the right tools and if we solve interoperability and data connectivity.”
Asia and Middle East: The new frontier of experiences
Tao shared an inside look at GetYourGuide’s recent Unlocked Summit in Asia and why both APAC and the Middle East are frontiers of explosive growth. “These are by far the fastest-growing regions. We’re doubling growth compared to other markets.”
GetYourGuide already has 50,000-60,000 experiences in the region but demand is outpacing supply. The millennials and Gen Z travellers from Asia and the Gulf are becoming the dominant global travel force, he said.
Holibob’s CEO and co-founder Craig Everett: “GenAI has the ability to pull all the elements of travel together and generate the personalised, seamless experiences travellers crave.”
Scaling without losing the soul
Grisdale brought the panel back to what travellers remember most: care, authenticity, and the power of human exchange.
With an average staff age of 31, she sees the next generation as both the challenge and the opportunity but only if they’re brought along. “The biggest challenge is scaling without leaving people behind. We take them with us as we grow.”
And she made a point that resonated: “We create extraordinary experiences for our guests but also extraordinary opportunities for the people we work with on the ground.”
That’s the ripple effect of SMEs. Platforms can scale distribution. Tech can scale operations. But only SMEs can scale local benefits on the ground.
The challenge, panellists agreed, is scaling without losing the soul.
