The Riyadh Declaration, adopted during the 26th UN Tourism General Assembly, brought together 148 Member States, including 90 Ministers of Tourism and 70 Ambassadors. For the first time, artificial intelligence has been formally recognized as a strategic priority for the sector.

“We are looking ahead to the next half-century. The sector will be transformed by innovation and artificial intelligence.”

said Zurab Pololikashvili, Secretary-General of UN Tourism.

This declaration sends a strong message to tourism boards and cultural institutions worldwide: integrating AI today is essential to remain competitive, deliver personalized experiences, and contribute to a more sustainable and resilient tourism model.

AI: A Strategic Driver for Tourism

Artificial intelligence enables the personalization of visitor journeys, optimization of tourist flows, enhancement of secondary destinations, and generation of precise insights to guide strategic decisions. Destinations that adopt AI gain the ability to anticipate visitor needs, elevate the experience, and strengthen their overall appeal.

At Ask Mona, we have supported multiple destinations in this transformation. Our projects range from consolidating information and delivering cultural mediation through intelligent conversational agents, to collecting and analyzing data to refine tourism offerings and optimize visitor pathways.

International Reach and Proven Solutions

In resonance with this global momentum, Valentin Schmite, co-founder of Ask Mona, presented our solutions at the 43rd UNESCO session in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. The focus was on the importance of ethical, trustworthy, and multilingual AI to democratize access to culture and support international tourism policies. The audience was unanimous on the need and  impact of such solution in the tourism industry nowadays and in the coming years.

Our French use cases, such as Ask Germain in Auxerre and Dame Alix in Les Baux-de-Provence, demonstrate how these solutions perform in real-world settings. They centralize information, engage visitors, and provide strategic data to better manage destinations, fully aligning with the priorities outlined in the Riyadh Declaration.

Turning Vision into Action with Ask Mona

Ask Mona helps destinations translate UN Tourism priorities into actionable initiatives:

• Intelligent conversational agents to assist visitors and distribute contextualized content.
• Data analysis to identify key segments and optimize tourism offerings.
• Immersive storytelling to create memorable visitor experiences.
• Support for sustainability efforts by balancing visitor flows and promoting secondary sites.

These solutions empower destinations to remain competitive, innovative, and aligned with international recommendations.

Conclusion

The Riyadh Declaration and the words of Zurab Pololikashvili highlight AI as a driving force for tourism in the next half-century. Institutions that adopt these solutions today position themselves as pioneers of a smarter, more sustainable, and more attractive sector.

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