To Compete in an AI-Driven Tourism Future, Destinations Must Invest in Digital Foundations

AI is changing how people discover and engage with travel destinations. It can answer questions, guide decisions, and even spark a trip. But to be useful, AI needs to truly know your destination.

That means investing in a structured, searchable, AI-ready knowledge base.

A destination knowledge base is your digital brain. It holds everything from events and stories to facts, maps, and images—ready for machines and humans alike. The better it’s organized, the better AI tools can represent your brand and place.

Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) is the next leap forward. RAG lets AI pull accurate, localized answers straight from your destination content—rather than guessing or relying on generic web data. That’s how you stay on-brand and in control.

Without it, AI becomes a wildcard. It might miss key messages or promote the wrong experience. But with RAG and a rich content base, AI becomes your always-on local expert—answering visitors’ questions in real-time with your voice and insight.

This is more than a tech upgrade. It’s core digital infrastructure for the future of Destination Marketing, Place Branding, and the Visitor Economy. It requires clear content strategy, strong data hygiene, workflows to record and update knowledge consistently, and the right tools.

Destinations that invest now will lead tomorrow’s travel experiences. Those who wait may struggle to be heard.

At Brandkit, we help destinations get AI-ready by turning their content into structured knowledge that works across platforms.

Sources:

Digital Tourism Think Tank - Integrating AI Strategically – Why Intelligent Infrastructure Matters Now