2026 Travel Industry Technology: What Smart Destinations Are Actually Using
- Andrew Applebaum
- 1 day ago
- 5 min read
It feels like every week there’s a new article predicting how virtual reality and flying cars will change tourism, but when you’re managing a destination, you need solutions you can implement today (or at least, this quarter).
You hear the buzzwords (AI, IoT, biometrics) and you wonder: How can my regional tourism board or BIA actually use this stuff?
You’re not alone if you feel like you’re falling behind. Big cities like Singapore or Zurich are pioneering massive city-wide IoT networks, but I promise the fundamental travel industry technology that delivers real results is far more grounded and accessible than you think.
The key isn't about being perfectly futuristic. It’s about using clever, accessible tech to solve your real-world problems: limited staffing, low visitor engagement, and the constant need to prove local business impact. By focusing on mobile-first, data-driven visitor engagement, any DMO or BIA can start transforming into a smart destination.
How AI and Mobile Tech are Scaling Travel Industry Technology for Engagement
The biggest shift in travel industry technology for 2026 is that the visitor experience is moving entirely to their pocket. We know travelers are craving seamless, self-managed, and interactive experiences.
The focus for DMOs and BIAs needs to be on tools that deliver:
Self-Paced Discovery: Allowing visitors to explore 24/7 without needing a human guide.
Scalable Storytelling: Turning history into hands-free audio, maps, and challenges.
Admin Relief: Automating the headache of content maintenance.
AI and mobile platforms are stepping in to meet this demand, reducing the need for costly physical infrastructure and staffing. The tech that matters most is the kind that acts as a digital concierge and storyteller.
AI-Curated Directories: The Real Win
For a DMO or BIA, keeping business listings up to date can feel like a never-ending task (it’s a huge drain on resources). AI is now being used not just for massive smart city operations, but for essential tourism admin.
Take a remote destination like Visit Sitka, for example. They launched a tourism app that uses an AI-powered directory to list 112 local businesses and points of interest (POIs). This approach significantly lightened their admin load while ensuring visitors always have access to current, comprehensive local information, even in areas with low cellular service. This demonstrates how AI simplifies content management for better visitor experience.
Pro Tip: Focus on Mobile-First Simplicity
The most effective use of travel industry technology right now is in self-guided mobile experiences that require minimal staff overhead to run. Look for platforms that can host self-guided tours, rewards programs, and local listings all in one place.
Why Gamification is the Smartest Tech Investment
If you want to use travel industry technology to get visitors to spend more time exploring your destination and more money with local businesses, gamification is your best tool. It’s interactive, measurable, and highly scalable. It shifts visitor behaviour from passive sightseeing to active participation. (To dive deeper, check out these gamification strategies for tourism.)
Gamification involves adding light competition, rewards, and challenges to tours or exploration activities. Instead of passively reading about history, visitors are doing something, which creates a memorable, immersive travel experience. This method also naturally encourages people to shop local by checking into businesses for points.
Case Study: Gamified Exploration in a Small Town
A perfect example comes from the Downtown Carleton Place BIA. They launched a simple, story-based scavenger hunt to celebrate local history. The theme centered around Charles Leslie McFarlane, the original author of the Hardy Boys books. The results were fantastic: over 1,300+ completions in just 30 days, with strong cultural visibility among families and students.
This single campaign proves that high-tech engagement doesn't require a large budget or a complex physical installation. It just needs a great story, a prize, and a user-friendly mobile platform to host the game (it's often called a self-guided tour app, but it does so much more than tours!).
Smart Destination Tool | What It Does (The Tech) | Visitor Engagement Benefit |
Mobile Gamification | GPS-triggered check-ins, points, and digital rewards | Drives foot traffic to specific POIs and businesses |
AI Directories | Automated content curation and listing updates | Ensures fresh, comprehensive local business information |
Self-Guided Audio Tours | Geo-located, hands-free storytelling | Scales storytelling without needing human guides |
Offline Mapping | Caching map and content data for low-signal areas | Ensures accessibility in remote and rural destinations |
FAQ on Travel Industry Technology for DMOs
Q: What are the top three travel industry technology trends DMOs should adopt in 2026?
A: The three most impactful trends for DMOs right now are: AI-powered personalization for creating relevant content (like AI-curated directories), mobile-first ecosystems that host all visitor resources in one app, and contactless, self-guided experiences (like audio tours and gamified hunts) that reduce staff burden while increasing engagement.
Q: What are smart destinations actually using to track visitor engagement?
A: Smart destinations are using mobile platforms and geo-fencing to track key metrics like POI views, tour completions, dwell time, and business check-ins. For example, the Downtown Brampton BIA tracked 3,000+ digital check-ins at a single weekend festival by offering a simple contest. This data replaces vague foot-traffic estimates with hard visitor engagement numbers.
Q: How can a small town DMO afford the new travel industry technology?
A: Look for accessible, SaaS-based mobile platforms that allow you to publish content without coding. Many platforms offer tiered pricing or are free to start. Instead of aiming for large, custom smart city projects, start small by digitizing an existing event, like turning a holiday lights contest into a self-guided tour with rewards, as seen with the Sussex Lights Up tour which saw 3,500+ participants in 30 days.
Q: How do self-guided tours help DMOs scale their visitor services?
A: Self-guided tours allow one piece of content (an audio story, a written history) to be delivered to thousands of people simultaneously, 24/7, without requiring staff presence. This is an efficient way to provide personalized, multilingual visitor services at scale. The Michigan Heroes Museum used this model to achieve over 3,000 exhibit interactions in a year.
The Next Step in Your Technology Playbook
The future of travel industry technology for DMOs is not about chasing every headline; it's about choosing tools that empower your visitors to explore and engage on their own terms. When you invest in mobile platforms that are simple, gamified, and easy for your team to manage, you're not just adopting technology; you’re transforming your destination into a truly "smart" and accessible experience.
The time to implement smart, scalable self-guided tour app solutions is now.
Book a demo to start building a self-guided experience for your town, and see how destinations are using this digital tourism platform to drive foot traffic.