The AI genie is well and truly out of the bottle. From rapid content generation to in-depth data analysis, AI is helping places do more with less. However, there are a lot of questions – do you use an existing tool or build one in house? How much do you need to invest? And then there’s the environmental impact; initial research suggests that the carbon footprint of a single large language model is the equivalent of 125 round-trip flights between New York and Beijing.

It’s critical that any foray into artificial intelligence is done strategically, and with clear understanding of what you want to achieve and how it aligns with your values. With that in mind, we reached out to our Expert partners to discover how AI technologies can play a role in delivering more effective place marketing strategies.

Balance Artificial Intelligence with Authentic Insight

AI is creating a new intermediary in place marketing – the place “concierge.” Part travel planner, part relocation advisor, and scout for nomadic talent looking for their next perch, place branders will need to factor in this digital “intelligence” as an audience that needs to be cultivated as much as any others. Create easy-to-digest, authoritative content – itineraries, key facts, rankings, local “must see” lists and “reasons why" – that bots can easily find and share. (See "Generative Engine Optimisation” strategies.) Equally important, equip your “champions" with the same tools to leverage the other essential form of AI –the “Authentic Insight” of your network of stakeholders. Giving bots and people the right storytelling tools will always be a sound investment.

Jeannette Hanna, Chief Strategist, Trajectory

Power your nation brand strategy with AI-driven analysis

New technologies like generative AI play a crucial role in strengthening place branding strategies by providing in-depth insights and enabling more effective planning. Within the context of country branding and place branding, AI tools, including generative AI, help by analysing data, forecasting trends, and tailoring messaging for specific target audiences. The collaboration between Bloom Consulting and Essential Costa Rica showcases a pioneering use of AI in developing a future-informed country brand strategy. This innovative approach highlights the importance of leveraging AI to create compelling narratives and ensure the enduring relevance of a nation’s brand globally. You can find out more about the Costa Rica case study here.

Jose Filipe Torres, CEO, Bloom Consulting

Deliver hyper-personalised marketing

The generative AI boom will help destinations and place marketers finally realise the dream of delivering exactly (and only) what visitors want to know when they're making a decision. We've long known that each potential visitor has unique set of specific criteria they're looking for answers on. For example, a certain type of traveller might only be interested in a location that offers golf; another might only be interested in one that offers authentic culture. Gen AI technology can analyse the preferences, travel history, and circumstances of a visitor to generate tailored marketing messaging that resonates on a deeply individual level. By remixing existing content into unique narratives, visuals and recommendations for each potential visitor, generative AI can significantly enhance the relevance and appeal of destination marketing efforts. This capability allows destinations to move beyond broad demographic targeting and speak directly to the specific interests, needs and desires of each prospective traveller, increasing engagement, conversion rates and ultimately, visitor satisfaction.

CA Clark, Vice President of AI, Miles Partnership

Repurpose your content to elevate the traveller experience

Generative AI can be a powerful tool for engaging travellers at nearly every stage of their journey. For me, I see the greatest benefit in using this technology to enhance personalisation. It has been a trend for several years and this technology is a game-changer in this space. An example that stands out to me is how Lonely Planet leverages Generative AI to sift through 50 years of travel content, including thousands of guides and expert recommendations, to create tailored itineraries for each user. The ability to generate detailed, personalised, and unique itineraries at the click of a button is simply amazing. Recently, Condé Nast announced a partnership with OpenAI to expand the reach of their content and protect the credibility of their travel stories. This is an exciting and responsible use of AI technology.

I don’t think it is a stretch for destinations to follow the lead of Lonely Planet and Condé Nast by exploring their own generative AI solutions to offer customised and credible recommendations and itineraries. By utilising existing and historical content, along with trusted third-party sources including national tourism boards, regions can elevate the traveller experience with minimal effort.

Charlotte Prouse, Director, Destination Marketing Store

Develop a granular understanding of how visitors interact with your destination

I think destinations have got smart already with new tech like generative AI using chatbots to handle common questions like "What time does the museum close?" or "Where can I park?"— as well as to input in to trip itineraries. But this is just the start.

The next real game changer is utilising technology solutions for real time visitor tracking within a destination itself. By monitoring how people move through a destination, locations can better manage crowds, improve the visitor experience, and support sustainable tourism for their local communities.

Toby Morris, Senior Business Development Director – Travel, Epsilon

Anticipate trends and prepare accordingly

Generative AI is pivotal in enhancing place marketing strategies by enabling more personalised, data-driven, and creative approaches. It allows destination marketing organisations to generate highly targeted content tailored to specific audiences, improving engagement and conversion rates. Through AI-powered analysis of vast datasets, DMOs can anticipate travel trends, optimise marketing campaigns, and create immersive experiences that resonate with diverse visitor segments. Furthermore, AI tools streamline content creation, reducing costs and increasing efficiency, making marketing efforts more scalable and impactful.

Mirko Lalli, CEO, The Data Appeal Company

Foster vibrant places through digital interconnectivity

In 2016, Dr. Phil Xiang, Head of the Howard Feiertag Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management at Virginia Tech, wrote a prescient academic paper on the then emerging concept of smart tourism. It foresaw a complex future based on ever increasing digital interconnectivity where the physical and governance dimensions of destinations and tourism enter the digital playing field.

Or to put it simply, the emerging opportunity to connect cities, citizens, travellers and businesses to create vibrant and sustainable places that we want to live and to visit is already here. What do we do with it?

Smart cities and smart tourism promise the opportunity for the kind of coordination and alignment that is key to the future of thriving regenerative destinations. As usual, the big questions that loom are what is the role of function of the destination organisation and how do they get started on that journey?

David Peacock, Senior Advisor, Future Tourism Group, Simpleview

Streamline your work, but make sure to prioritise the human touch

Delivering effective place marketing strategies involves stages from market research, brand positioning, to campaign execution. While generative AI is advancing rapidly, its main contribution today is in streamlining tasks like content generation, data analysis, and personalisation. By processing large datasets, AI helps scale campaigns efficiently. However, AI-generated content risk becoming generic if not guided by human properly—especially local knowledge, creativity, and strategic insights, which remains vital for ensuring strategies and campaigns are authentic and culturally relevant. Looking ahead, as AI continues to evolve, we can expect more sophisticated models and further integration of human creativity and AI's computational power, enabling more tailored and immersive marketing experiences. The key will be balancing automation with the need for human-led differentiation to truly capture the essence of a place.

Enke Huang, Senior Researcher & Analyst, TOPOSOPHY

Optimise for AI, but don’t forget SEO best practices

As AI tools become crucial for trip planning, destinations and tourism boards must optimise content for AI interactions to stay competitive. This means creating structured, up-to-date content with metadata and clear language that AI can easily interpret and use to provide personalised traveller responses. However, maintaining SEO best practices remains essential to ensure destinations stay visible even as travellers increasingly rely on AI for their travel needs.

Sigvard Alarcon, Director of Digital Campaigns, Trove Tourism Development Advisors

Partner with organisations who can leverage large data sets

Data plays a crucial role in crafting personalised offers and impactful messaging, especially when powered by artificial intelligence (AI). Data allows destinations to predict travel patterns. By working with advertising partners who leverage these technologies alongside large data sets, Destination Marketing Organisations can more effectively connect with travellers and inspire memorable trips. Amadeus’ advertising technology powers decision making on content distribution based on factors such as the likelihood to interact, viewability (an advertising quality metric), conversion prediction, and price prediction, among others, to achieve the best possible results.

Tom Starr, Vice President of Global Destinations, Hospitality, Amadeus