Discover how leading destinations are revolutionising tourism with AI - from Puerto Rico's smart itineraries to Germany's AI influencer.
As part of our extended feature on digitalisation with a comprehensive focus on artificial intelligence, the Digital Tourism Think Tank has identified several outstanding examples of destinations implementing AI solutions in their consumer-facing platforms. These case studies represent some of the most innovative approaches to AI integration in tourism, each with distinctive characteristics that set them apart from conventional implementation.
To complement our analysis, we embarked on a unique experiment. Given that this feature focuses on AI, we decided to put OpenAI's Operator, probably the most noteworthy example today of agentic AI, to the test, tasking it with conducting a human-like qualitative assessment of these leading AI solutions. The experiment sought to evaluate whether an AI system could effectively analyse other AI systems, providing nuanced insights into their functionality, user experience and strategic value.
The video accompanying this article showcases Operator navigating these platforms independently, interacting with each system and formulating observations. This meta-analysis, AI evaluating AI, offers a fascinating perspective on the current capabilities and limitations of agentic systems in performing complex, qualitative assessments.
Operator's analysis highlighted several significant trends in consumer expectations and the varied approaches to AI integration in tourism. Modern travellers increasingly demand seamless, personalised experiences with instant access to information, tailored recommendations and effortless planning capabilities. The experiment demonstrated that while all the systems evaluated offer valuable functionality, they differ substantially in their approach to meeting these expectations.
Discover Puerto Rico's implementation of MindTrip represents one of the most focused applications of AI in destination marketing. Unlike general-purpose chatbots, MindTrip is specifically designed for itinerary planning, with an architecture optimised for translating visitor preferences into coherent, personalised travel plans.
What Makes It Unique:
MindTrip demonstrates the strategic value of focused AI implementation. Rather than attempting to create a generalist AI assistant, Discover Puerto Rico has deployed a specialised tool addressing a specific, high-value visitor need. This approach aligns with broader industry trends toward purpose-specific AI tools that excel in narrower domains rather than attempting to be all-purpose solutions.
The implementation also showcases how destinations can differentiate their digital presence by offering capabilities that extend beyond information provision to active planning assistance. As visitor expectations shift towards more personalised, convenient planning experiences, such focused examples may represent a significant competitive advantage.
The German National Tourism Board's 'Emma' represents one of the most innovative approaches to AI personality development in the tourism sector. What distinguishes this implementation is its omni-channel strategy. Emma exists both as an AI influencer on Instagram and as a chatbot on the destination website and it feels like there's still plenty more to come from Emma.
What Makes It Unique:
This approach demonstrates a sophisticated understanding of how AI can transcend traditional platform boundaries. By establishing Emma as a recognisable personality across channels, the German National Tourism Board has created a cohesive digital presence that feels more engaging and personable than typical AI chatbots.
The omni-channel strategy also addresses a critical challenge in destination marketing, connecting social media engagement with direct planning assistance. Emma serves as a persistent guide throughout the visitor journey, potentially increasing conversion from inspiration to active planning.
Switzerland Tourism's AI chat assistant exemplifies sophisticated integration of data visualisation and contextual information within the conversational interface. Their approach stands out for its seamless incorporation of dynamic content elements that enhance the conversational experience.
What Makes It Unique:
Switzerland's approach demonstrates a sophisticated understanding of how conversational interfaces can be enhanced with contextual information without disrupting the natural flow of dialogue. By incorporating visualisations natively within the conversation, Switzerland Tourism creates a more informative, engaging experience that addresses the limitations of text-only interactions.
This approach significantly enhances the utility of the AI assistant by providing information in the most appropriate format for the specific query, rather than forcing all responses into a purely text-based interaction. The result is a more natural, helpful interaction that more closely mimics how human guides would share information, supplementing conversation with visual aids when appropriate.
Destination Toronto's '6ix' chatbot, powered by Guidegeek by Matador, represents one of the most widely adopted approaches in destination marketing. While the technical platform is used by numerous destinations, Toronto's implementation stands out for its distinctive local personalisation.
What Makes It Unique:
This case study highlights an important strategic consideration in AI implementation, the choice between pioneering custom solutions versus adopting proven platforms. Destination Toronto's approach demonstrates that even with standardised technology, destinations can create distinctive experiences through thoughtful content curation and local personalisation.
The '6ix' implementation also underscores the importance of matching technological choices to organisational capabilities and strategic priorities. For many destinations, focusing on content quality and consistent performance may deliver more value than pursuing technological differentiation that exceeds organisational capacity to maintain.
Slovenian Tourist Board's 'Alma' represents perhaps the most innovative interface design among the approaches evaluated. Named after a well-known Slovenian explorer, Alma goes beyond standard chatbot interactions to create a rich, full-screen experience that significantly enhances user engagement.
What Makes It Unique:
Alma demonstrates how thoughtful interface design can transform the AI assistance experience from a simple question-answer format to a comprehensive exploration tool. By integrating multiple interaction modalities, conversation, filtering, visual browsing, Slovenia has created an experience that accommodates different visitor preferences and exploration styles.
This approach also highlights the strategic value of developing AI solutions that address both inspiration and planning needs within a unified experience. Alma successfully bridges the gap between high-level destination exploration and specific activity recommendations, creating a more cohesive visitor journey.
Across these five case studies, several strategic patterns emerge that offer valuable insights for destinations considering AI implementation:
Specialisation versus Generalisation
The different approaches demonstrate varying positions on the spectrum between specialised and generalised functionality. Discover Puerto Rico has opted for a highly specialised implementation focused exclusively on itinerary planning, while Switzerland and Slovenia have developed more comprehensive systems addressing multiple visitor needs. Each approach offers distinct advantages, specialised systems typically deliver superior performance in narrower domains, while generalised systems offer greater convenience through unified access.
Personality and Identity Development
Several of the examples demonstrate sophisticated approaches to personality development. Germany's Emma represents the most comprehensive identity strategy, extending across platforms, while Slovenia's Alma leverages cultural heritage to create a distinctive personality. These approaches suggest that effective AI implementations often transcend purely functional considerations to create experiences that feel distinctive and engaging.
Interface Innovation
Slovenia's Alma demonstrates how interface innovation can significantly enhance the AI experience, moving beyond the limitations of traditional chat interfaces. Switzerland similarly shows how thoughtful integration of visualisation can enrich conversational interactions. These implementations suggest that interface design represents a significant frontier for differentiation in how destinations are approaching AI.
Implementation Approach: Custom versus Platform
The case studies reveal different approaches to implementation, from highly customised solutions to adaptations of standardised platforms. Toronto's implementation of Guidegeek represents a platform-based approach that prioritises reliability and established functionality, while Slovenia's Alma demonstrates a more customised development strategy. These different approaches reflect varying organisational priorities, capabilities, and resources.
These leading implementations demonstrate that AI in destination marketing has evolved beyond experimental applications to become a strategic capability with significant implications for visitor experience and destination management. The most successful implementations share several characteristics: they are strategically aligned with broader destination objectives, thoughtfully designed for specific visitor needs and carefully integrated with existing content and brand strategies.
Looking forward, we anticipate continued innovation in several areas:
The experiment with OpenAI's Operator demonstrated both the remarkable capabilities of agentic AI systems and their current limitations in conducting nuanced qualitative analysis. As these technologies continue to evolve, we can expect increasingly sophisticated applications not only in visitor-facing interfaces but also in strategic planning and analysis functions within destination organisations.
The journey toward truly intelligent destination infrastructure continues, with these pioneering approaches providing valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities ahead. The destinations featured in this analysis are not merely adopting new technologies, they are fundamentally reimagining the relationship between visitors, information and places in an increasingly digital tourism landscape.
As part of our extended feature on digitalisation with a comprehensive focus on artificial intelligence, the Digital Tourism Think Tank has identified several outstanding examples of destinations implementing AI solutions in their consumer-facing platforms. These case studies represent some of the most innovative approaches to AI integration in tourism, each with distinctive characteristics that set them apart from conventional implementation.
To complement our analysis, we embarked on a unique experiment. Given that this feature focuses on AI, we decided to put OpenAI's Operator, probably the most noteworthy example today of agentic AI, to the test, tasking it with conducting a human-like qualitative assessment of these leading AI solutions. The experiment sought to evaluate whether an AI system could effectively analyse other AI systems, providing nuanced insights into their functionality, user experience and strategic value.
The video accompanying this article showcases Operator navigating these platforms independently, interacting with each system and formulating observations. This meta-analysis, AI evaluating AI, offers a fascinating perspective on the current capabilities and limitations of agentic systems in performing complex, qualitative assessments.
Operator's analysis highlighted several significant trends in consumer expectations and the varied approaches to AI integration in tourism. Modern travellers increasingly demand seamless, personalised experiences with instant access to information, tailored recommendations and effortless planning capabilities. The experiment demonstrated that while all the systems evaluated offer valuable functionality, they differ substantially in their approach to meeting these expectations.
Discover Puerto Rico's implementation of MindTrip represents one of the most focused applications of AI in destination marketing. Unlike general-purpose chatbots, MindTrip is specifically designed for itinerary planning, with an architecture optimised for translating visitor preferences into coherent, personalised travel plans.
What Makes It Unique:
MindTrip demonstrates the strategic value of focused AI implementation. Rather than attempting to create a generalist AI assistant, Discover Puerto Rico has deployed a specialised tool addressing a specific, high-value visitor need. This approach aligns with broader industry trends toward purpose-specific AI tools that excel in narrower domains rather than attempting to be all-purpose solutions.
The implementation also showcases how destinations can differentiate their digital presence by offering capabilities that extend beyond information provision to active planning assistance. As visitor expectations shift towards more personalised, convenient planning experiences, such focused examples may represent a significant competitive advantage.
The German National Tourism Board's 'Emma' represents one of the most innovative approaches to AI personality development in the tourism sector. What distinguishes this implementation is its omni-channel strategy. Emma exists both as an AI influencer on Instagram and as a chatbot on the destination website and it feels like there's still plenty more to come from Emma.
What Makes It Unique:
This approach demonstrates a sophisticated understanding of how AI can transcend traditional platform boundaries. By establishing Emma as a recognisable personality across channels, the German National Tourism Board has created a cohesive digital presence that feels more engaging and personable than typical AI chatbots.
The omni-channel strategy also addresses a critical challenge in destination marketing, connecting social media engagement with direct planning assistance. Emma serves as a persistent guide throughout the visitor journey, potentially increasing conversion from inspiration to active planning.
Switzerland Tourism's AI chat assistant exemplifies sophisticated integration of data visualisation and contextual information within the conversational interface. Their approach stands out for its seamless incorporation of dynamic content elements that enhance the conversational experience.
What Makes It Unique:
Switzerland's approach demonstrates a sophisticated understanding of how conversational interfaces can be enhanced with contextual information without disrupting the natural flow of dialogue. By incorporating visualisations natively within the conversation, Switzerland Tourism creates a more informative, engaging experience that addresses the limitations of text-only interactions.
This approach significantly enhances the utility of the AI assistant by providing information in the most appropriate format for the specific query, rather than forcing all responses into a purely text-based interaction. The result is a more natural, helpful interaction that more closely mimics how human guides would share information, supplementing conversation with visual aids when appropriate.
Destination Toronto's '6ix' chatbot, powered by Guidegeek by Matador, represents one of the most widely adopted approaches in destination marketing. While the technical platform is used by numerous destinations, Toronto's implementation stands out for its distinctive local personalisation.
What Makes It Unique:
This case study highlights an important strategic consideration in AI implementation, the choice between pioneering custom solutions versus adopting proven platforms. Destination Toronto's approach demonstrates that even with standardised technology, destinations can create distinctive experiences through thoughtful content curation and local personalisation.
The '6ix' implementation also underscores the importance of matching technological choices to organisational capabilities and strategic priorities. For many destinations, focusing on content quality and consistent performance may deliver more value than pursuing technological differentiation that exceeds organisational capacity to maintain.
Slovenian Tourist Board's 'Alma' represents perhaps the most innovative interface design among the approaches evaluated. Named after a well-known Slovenian explorer, Alma goes beyond standard chatbot interactions to create a rich, full-screen experience that significantly enhances user engagement.
What Makes It Unique:
Alma demonstrates how thoughtful interface design can transform the AI assistance experience from a simple question-answer format to a comprehensive exploration tool. By integrating multiple interaction modalities, conversation, filtering, visual browsing, Slovenia has created an experience that accommodates different visitor preferences and exploration styles.
This approach also highlights the strategic value of developing AI solutions that address both inspiration and planning needs within a unified experience. Alma successfully bridges the gap between high-level destination exploration and specific activity recommendations, creating a more cohesive visitor journey.
Across these five case studies, several strategic patterns emerge that offer valuable insights for destinations considering AI implementation:
Specialisation versus Generalisation
The different approaches demonstrate varying positions on the spectrum between specialised and generalised functionality. Discover Puerto Rico has opted for a highly specialised implementation focused exclusively on itinerary planning, while Switzerland and Slovenia have developed more comprehensive systems addressing multiple visitor needs. Each approach offers distinct advantages, specialised systems typically deliver superior performance in narrower domains, while generalised systems offer greater convenience through unified access.
Personality and Identity Development
Several of the examples demonstrate sophisticated approaches to personality development. Germany's Emma represents the most comprehensive identity strategy, extending across platforms, while Slovenia's Alma leverages cultural heritage to create a distinctive personality. These approaches suggest that effective AI implementations often transcend purely functional considerations to create experiences that feel distinctive and engaging.
Interface Innovation
Slovenia's Alma demonstrates how interface innovation can significantly enhance the AI experience, moving beyond the limitations of traditional chat interfaces. Switzerland similarly shows how thoughtful integration of visualisation can enrich conversational interactions. These implementations suggest that interface design represents a significant frontier for differentiation in how destinations are approaching AI.
Implementation Approach: Custom versus Platform
The case studies reveal different approaches to implementation, from highly customised solutions to adaptations of standardised platforms. Toronto's implementation of Guidegeek represents a platform-based approach that prioritises reliability and established functionality, while Slovenia's Alma demonstrates a more customised development strategy. These different approaches reflect varying organisational priorities, capabilities, and resources.
These leading implementations demonstrate that AI in destination marketing has evolved beyond experimental applications to become a strategic capability with significant implications for visitor experience and destination management. The most successful implementations share several characteristics: they are strategically aligned with broader destination objectives, thoughtfully designed for specific visitor needs and carefully integrated with existing content and brand strategies.
Looking forward, we anticipate continued innovation in several areas:
The experiment with OpenAI's Operator demonstrated both the remarkable capabilities of agentic AI systems and their current limitations in conducting nuanced qualitative analysis. As these technologies continue to evolve, we can expect increasingly sophisticated applications not only in visitor-facing interfaces but also in strategic planning and analysis functions within destination organisations.
The journey toward truly intelligent destination infrastructure continues, with these pioneering approaches providing valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities ahead. The destinations featured in this analysis are not merely adopting new technologies, they are fundamentally reimagining the relationship between visitors, information and places in an increasingly digital tourism landscape.
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