Sarah Slattery told the panel session at the 2025 Worldchoice conference at Johnstown Estate in County Meath that Instagram outperforms Facebook, with stories achieving 10,000 views compared to 600 on the same platform. Agents lag behind influencers and part-time sellers due to lower familiarity with reels and stories. She recommended multiple staff contributors and an office social phone to maintain consistency despite turnover. Expertise remains the agent advantage over influencers.
The panel discussion at the 2025 Worldchoice conference featured Sarah Slattery of the Travel Expert, Sascha Nau of Amadeus, and Aoife Gregg of United Airways, moderated by Eoghan Corry of Travel Extra. The 15-minute session addressed social media strategies for travel agents and the role of artificial intelligence in the industry. The moderator highlighted the challenge of translating conference insights into shop-floor actions and noted competition from non-traditional sellers on Instagram.
Sascha Nau urged agents to use AI for inspiration in content creation, recommendations, and mundane tasks like summarising emails or generating ideas during client consultations. He cautioned against direct publication of AI output, emphasising human moderation for accuracy and copyright. AI excels at complex queries and visual tasks but fails at authenticity, which Google prioritises in search rankings.
Aoife Gregg observed growing demand for experiences beyond cities, including Utah national parks, Montana, Yellowstone, and Pacific Coast Highway routes. Events like the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the USA and Canada drive interest in host and secondary cities with watch parties. Tailor-made itineraries suit agent strengths in complex connections. Agents should promote add-ons post-booking to enhance value.
Key takeaways include prioritising Instagram reels and stories, using AI as a moderated tool for efficiency, focusing on authentic expertise and experiences, and leveraging events for destination marketing. The panel encouraged experimentation with available AI platforms rather than waiting for industry-specific solutions.
“Instagram, if you’re not posting on the stories and you’re doing your reels, you definitely aren’t missing a trick. AI has no bed. AI is just a fucking machine. We’re seeing people want us to do more experiences now”
