Larry talks with Daniel Cohanpour, CEO of Trove Tourism Development Advisors, a New York agency that works exclusively with tourism boards and DMOs across marketing, research, and destination development. Daniel's core message: the industry has changed more in the last six months than ever, and the destinations winning right now are the ones treating traveler research as a living feed rather than an annual report. He makes the case for getting to the root of what travelers actually think and feel — by intent, sentiment, and browsing behavior — and turning that intelligence into segments a destination didn't even know it had.

Then come the receipts. A Jamaica campaign built around community-based tourism that brought roughly 120 locally owned businesses online and kept tourist dollars in-country; a Japan strategy that turned a sentiment study into luxury, wellness, and agritourism plays well beyond the Tokyo-Osaka-Kyoto golden route; and a long-game bet on an understated UAE destination before its first casino ever broke ground. Running through all of it is one stubborn truth Daniel keeps circling back to: AI can target and create at a level we've never seen, but it still can't replicate the relationships — with media, trade, and local partners — that actually move a destination forward.

In This Episode:

00:06 - Introduction to Aqua Talks
01:50 - Navigating Changes in Tourism Marketing
10:06 - Understanding Traveler Behavior in Changing Markets
15:49 - Understanding Destination Marketing and Relationships
19:56 - Exploring New Tools in Tourism

Key Takeaways:

The industry just shifted fast: More change in six months than ever, mostly driven by AI for targeting, sentiment, and creative — in an industry historically slow to adopt.
Research as a live feed, not an annual report: Traveler behavior moves too quickly for yearly studies, so Trove runs monthly and quarterly surveys to stay current.
Diversify by uncovering hidden segments: A Japan sentiment study surfaced luxury, wellness, and agritourism opportunities beyond the golden route.
Community-based tourism in Jamaica: ~120 locally owned businesses brought online and 700+ videos, keeping dollars local under the "Yad Love" campaign.
Booking windows are getting longer: People research for weeks now — target the whole journey, not just the moment of booking.
Distance doesn't matter, relationships do: New York to Malaysia works fine; what clients are really buying is trust and in-market connections AI can't replicate.
Small and understated destinations welcome: Much of the work is ad hoc rather than retainer — Daniel loves long-game rebrands like pre-casino Ras Al Khaimah.

About our guest:

Danny Cohanpour (LinkedIn)

CEO/Founder, Trove Tourism Development Advisors

Danny is a tourism development and marketing specialist with deep experience across government agencies and industry associations. He sets the vision and mission behind Trove, partnering with the team and a wide network of collaborators day in and day out to help destinations stand out. A regular voice on the conference circuit, Danny has spoken at the eTourism Summit, World Travel Market, Arabian Travel Market, SPTE, Caribbean Week, and many others.