About
Christian Watts is Founder & CEO of Magpie Travel and one of the travel industry's leading voices on artificial intelligence. A regular speaker at Arival and Phocuswright conferences, Christian co-hosts the "Experience This!" travel show and is recognized as an expert on generative AI, Google Things to Do, and the future of AI-powered travel search.
Before founding Magpie, Christian built City Sightseeing San Francisco from a single hop-on hop-off bus into a fleet carrying 200,000+ passengers annually. Originally from Newcastle, UK, and a University of Leeds graduate, he brings two decades of operator experience to his mission of helping the industry embrace AI-driven content and distribution.
Speaking Topics & Expertise
- ▸AI's transformation of the experiences sector
- ▸The clickless future and AI-powered travel search
- ▸Generative AI and Google Things to Do
- ▸OTA disruption and distribution strategy
- ▸AI-driven content and operational efficiency
- ▸Practical AI implementation for operators
Media & Speaking
Experience This! Travel Show
Co-host of the industry podcast covering trends, technology, and the future of the experiences sector.
Conference Speaking
Regular speaker at Arival and Phocuswright, focusing on AI transformation, distribution strategy, and operator innovation.
Previous Speaking Engagements:
Current Initiatives
Future-Ready Attractions
A 3-month pilot programme helping attractions leaders understand and navigate AI disruption. Launching January 2026.
AI for UK Inbound
A practical 4-part workshop series teaching UK inbound operators how to work faster and smarter with AI tools. Starting April 2026.
Alternative Bios
Christian Watts - Alternative Formats
20 Words
Christian Watts is Founder & CEO of Magpie Travel and a leading voice on AI's transformation of the tours and activities industry.
50 Words
Christian Watts is Founder & CEO of Magpie Travel and a recognized thought leader on AI in travel. A regular speaker at Arival and Phocuswright, he co-hosts the "Experience This!" travel show and advises operators on generative AI and Google Things to Do. Christian previously founded City Sightseeing San Francisco.
100 Words
Christian Watts is Founder & CEO of Magpie Travel and one of the travel industry's leading voices on artificial intelligence. A regular speaker at Arival and Phocuswright conferences, Christian co-hosts the "Experience This!" travel show and is recognized as an expert on generative AI, Google Things to Do, and the future of AI-powered travel search. Before founding Magpie, Christian built City Sightseeing San Francisco from a single hop-on hop-off bus into a fleet carrying 200,000+ passengers annually. Originally from Newcastle, UK, and a University of Leeds graduate, he brings two decades of operator experience to his mission of helping the industry embrace AI-driven content and distribution.
Magpie Travel - Alternative Formats
20 Words
Magpie is the AI-powered content platform for tours and activities. Save once, share everywhere—to OTAs, Google, and AI agents.
50 Words
Magpie is the AI-powered content management and distribution platform for tours, activities, and attractions. Our Knowledge Hub lets operators manage product content once and distribute it everywhere—to major OTAs like Viator and GetYourGuide, Google Things to Do, destination marketing organizations, and emerging AI-powered travel agents. Save once, share everywhere.
100 Words
Magpie is the single source of truth for the experience industry. Our AI-powered platform helps tour, activity, and attraction operators manage their content in one central Knowledge Hub and distribute it everywhere—to OTAs like Viator, GetYourGuide, and Expedia, Google Things to Do, destination marketing organizations, and the emerging world of AI-powered travel agents and LLMs. Founded by operators who lived the pain of managing content across dozens of platforms, Magpie eliminates duplicate work, improves content quality with AI optimization and translation tools, and ensures travelers always see accurate, compelling information. Better content means better conversion and fewer customer service issues. Save once, share everywhere.