Artificial intelligence systems are becoming the first point of contact between the traveller and the destination. ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overview, next-generation search engines: more and more often, the choice of destination starts with a conversation with a language model, not a traditional search. And in that conversation, destinations that do not exist as structured, readable, and verifiable data for AI systems are not discouraged. They are ignored.
The talk explores what it means for a DMO to operate in this scenario. On the one hand, the challenge of visibility: how do you build a relevant presence in AI systems? What makes a destination quotable by a language model? What content, data structures, and editorial logic determine whether a destination exists or not in the age of AI search?
On the other hand, a deeper issue: the role of the DMO itself. Destination stewardship, the management of a destination as an ecosystem to be protected and not just promoted, becomes even more urgent when algorithms amplify demand uncontrollably. More visibility without strategy means more pressure on resources, communities, and the landscape.
The DMO of the future isn't just a marketing office. It's the custodian of a territory's digital narrative in the AI era, and at the same time, guarantor of its sustainability. Those who succeed in holding these two roles together have a future. Those who don't will disappear, in the literal sense of the term.
