Question
Are destinations ready for AI search?
Short answer
Not yet. 22% of DMOs offer AI trip planning on their site and 26% have a documented AI strategy, while around 40% of European national tourism organisations have a dedicated AI team or monitor AI use.
- DMOs producing AI-formatted content64%
Sojern · 2026 · Global
- European NTOs with dedicated AI teams or AI monitoring~40%
European Travel Commission · March–April 2025 · Europe
- DMOs with a documented AI strategy26%
Sojern · April 2026 · Global
- DMOs offering AI trip planning on their website22%
Sojern · April 2026 · Global
Destination organisations are the clearest documented case of the industry trailing its own audience, because the same study measured both sides in the same month.
In April 2026, 54% of travellers had used AI to plan a trip. In the same month, 22% of destination organisations offered any AI planning capability on their own website. Sixty-three percent of travellers said they would use one if it existed.
Europe's national tourism organisations sit in a similar place. Around 40% have a dedicated AI team or monitor AI use, which the European Travel Commission attributes to skills and resources rather than scepticism. Note the weaker claim: having a team is not the same as running AI in operations, and the report publishes no sub-regional breakdown.
There is one countersignal worth weighing. 64% of destination marketers now produce AI-formatted content — lists, FAQs, structured answers. The content layer is moving faster than the product layer, which is rational: being correctly described in an AI answer is cheaper and more urgent than shipping a planner.