ENTER26 shows how AI is radically transforming tourism
During ENTER26 in Breda, it became clear how rapidly tourism is changing under the influence of far-reaching digitization and artificial intelligence. A common thread emerges from the series of articles we published: the sector is at a tipping point. AI is no longer an experiment, but a decisive force that is completely reshaping decision-making, guest experience, sustainability, business models, and skills. Above all, the conference made it clear that those who dare to invest in data, collaboration, and digital maturity now will make the difference in the future—and those who wait will inevitably fall behind.
Key lessons from the keynotes
- Dimitrios Buhalis (Bournemouth University)
Recommendation: Stop “sleepwalking” through technological developments and develop an AI strategy that connects entire ecosystems.
According to Buhalis, AI is changing not only information provision, but intelligence itself. Destinations must evolve into real-time, hyper-personalized, and data-driven ecosystems—or they will become irrelevant. Article: Smart Tourism in the AI-Era: evolve or become irrelevant - Antonio Lopez de Ávila (UN Tourism)
Recommendation: Make AI skills and digital education a top priority, otherwise a gap will emerge that will put countries and companies at a disadvantage.
Travelers are already using AI on a massive scale, but the sector and education are lagging behind. UN Tourism warns that without massive investment in skills, curriculum renewal, and collaboration, countries will lose their competitive edge. Article: Tourism courses should embrace AI - Sanne van Let (NBTC)
Recommendation: Accelerate digitization by breaking down fragmentation and pursuing a single, joint digital course.
In the Netherlands, almost half of tourism organizations have no digital strategy. NBTC is therefore strongly committed to collaboration, a national data layer, and practical programs to help SME entrepreneurs in particular. Article: Digital Vision in Motion: How NBTC is accelerating the digital transformation of the Dutch leisure sector - Sergey Patsko (Capgemini)
Recommendation: Trust, governance, and data integration are the new conditions for AI to really work in operations.
The hype is over: organizations are struggling with black box models, data scarcity, and legacy systems. Only when data is in order and AI is deeply integrated into operational processes will “smart hotels” and agent-to-agent commerce emerge. Article: The AI transformation of tourism: opportunities, bottlenecks, and a new reality - Dolores Ordóñez (Any Solutions / EU projects)
Recommendation: Build a mature data culture with standardized, real-time, and local data as the foundation for sustainable and smart destinations.
Europe is drowning in data but still has too little use for it. Data spaces, skills, and governance are crucial for managing sustainability, livability, and visitor flows in a future-proof way. Article: Many steps still to be taken for data-driven tourism