(Posted 28th April 2025)
Industry research shows Google’s golden age is coming to an end. The search landscape is shifting – fast. With AI Overviews, Large Language Model (LLM) generated content, and Google’s evolving algorithm, traditional SEO strategies are no longer enough.
Join Discover Africa’s Andre Van Kets, Magpie Travel’s Christian Watts, and Cape Town Tourism’s Briony Brookes for a thought-provoking session on what’s replacing Google’s golden age – and how travel businesses can adapt to stay ahead.
“For almost 20 years, Google has shaped how travellers find and book trips,” says Andre Van Kets, Co-Founder of Discover Africa.
“Understanding how to win at search through traditional SEO is still essential, but new opportunities are being created with AI-powered recommendations. And knowing how to optimize for it has immense potential to drive more quality direct bookings,” explains Andre.
With two decades of experience scaling digital-first travel companies, Andre will unpack Discover Africa’s approach to navigating the changing search landscape.
He’ll be joined by Christian, who brings deep insights into content structure and distribution in the age of AI, and Briony, who offers a destination marketing perspective on staying searchable and strategically relevant in a fast-evolving digital world.
This session will explore:
- The rise (and fall?) of Google’s dominance
- The key SEO shifts: What still works in SEO – and what doesn’t
- AI-powered opportunities travel brands can’t afford to ignore
Date: Thursday 8th May, 2025.
Time: 1400 UK | 1500 EU & Southern Africa | 1600 East Africa
Please click button below to book your place.
Andre Van Kets
Andre is a travel tech entrepreneur and digital strategist with over 20 years of experience building and scaling online travel companies selling travel across Africa. As the Co-Founder of Discover Africa, he’s led the charge in using technology to create seamless, high-conversion travel experiences.
With a background in Information Systems from the University of Cape Town, Andre combines technical expertise with a deep understanding of traveller behaviour. In this session, he’ll explore how AI disrupts traditional search, why SEO alone is no longer enough, and what travel brands can do now to future-proof their visibility and bookings
Christian Watts
A veteran of the tours and activities space and the founder of Magpie Travel – Christian is a leading voice unravelling the impact of AI on travel businesses. With 20+ years of experience and over 150 distribution partnerships, Christian brings practical, boots-on-the-ground knowledge of what drives discoverability and bookings. His focus? How content quality, structure, and accessibility will define success in an AI-driven search era.
Briony Brooks
Briony leads the global PR strategy for Cape Town Tourism, crafting campaigns that shape international perceptions of one of Africa’s most visited destinations. Her expertise in media relations, brand storytelling, and stakeholder engagement gives her a front-row seat to how destination content must evolve. She’ll explore how travel brands can create content that’s engaging and built to perform in the new search reality.
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