Growth spurt for the AI Club Tourism: Cooperation with the Baden-Württemberg Spa Association is expanding the network and knowledge about AI in tourism.
The AI Club Tourism launched in February 2025 as a new platform for DMOs (destination management organizations), TIs (tourist information centers), businesses, and interested tourism professionals. After starting with 12 pioneer members, including the DZT, the DTV, and visitBerlin, the network grew steadily. Thanks to AI initiatives by the Heilbäderverband Baden-Württemberg e.V. (Baden-Württemberg Spa Association) and, in parallel, the Tourismusverband Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Tourism Association), the number of members has now doubled.
Since its inception, the partners in the AI Club Tourism network have been working together on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in everyday tourism – from the first steps in prompting to concrete automation solutions and the development of their own AI agents. The network program relies on a mix of on-site workshops, webinars, digital practice updates, instructional videos, and a monthly consultation hour. Regular live meetings, joint project work, and a moderated exchange platform ensure that a vibrant learning and innovation community is formed.
“With the AI Club Tourism, we have created a unique network that combines theory and practice in an ideal way,” explains initiator Matthias Burzinski from destinetCHANGE. "Our goal is to prepare businesses and organizations for the rapid development of AI. At the same time, we are working with our members to set guidelines in terms of ethics and data protection so that AI is used responsibly and creates real added value for guests, locals, and employees. We see the special initiatives with the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Tourism Association and the Spa Association in Baden-Württemberg as a sign that we are on the right track."
In cooperation with destinetCHANGE, the Baden-Württemberg Spa Association facilitated access to the AI Club for its members in the state in order to send a signal for the future. Seven new members are joining the club in this way. “As a state marketing organization for health tourism, it is our job to identify developments at an early stage and to position the health, recreation, and wellness industry for the future,” explains Fritz Link, President of the Baden-Württemberg Spa Association. "By joining the AI Club, we are sending a clear signal: the participating spas and health resorts in Baden-Württemberg are taking on a pioneering role and actively shaping the future of tourism," Link continues.
At the beginning, tourism organizations, destinations, and associations came together in the AI Club Tourism, united by one thing: the realization that artificial intelligence will fundamentally change tourism.
The new members now open up further perspectives. On the one hand, there are new opportunities to form regional subgroups within the club. On the other hand, thematic clusters are forming, such as spas and health resorts. This also allows specific AI solutions, AI assistants, and agents to be conceived and developed.
Der KI-Club ist mit 32 Mitgliedern, Tendenz weiter steigend, mittlerweile das größte KI-Branchennetzwerk im Tourismus im deutschsprachigen Raum.
„Der größte Mehrwert aus dem KI-Club Tourismus ist jedoch ein anderer“, erklärt Matthias Burzinski. „Der Austausch untereinander ist das, was den Club so besonders macht, sozusagen die Human Intelligence als Ergänzung zu unserm eigentlichen Thema. Deshalb haben wir uns auch entschieden, das Programm durch ein reales Treffen zum jeweiligen Jahresende zu erweitern.“
At an AI camp, an evening and full-day gathering, the “hottest” topics and topics of interest to members will be discussed and classified live, face to face. Naturally, with AI as a sparring partner on site.
Unlike one-off training courses, the AI Club Tourism focuses on a continuous development program. All participants go through a step-by-step process that combines networking, concrete implementation support, and future-oriented scenarios. The program is complemented by a dedicated social network on the destinetLEARN community platform. This includes a knowledge database that provides presentations, guides, explanatory videos, and recordings around the clock. ALL employees of the participating organizations can join and network there.
A central component of the program is therefore a train-the-trainer concept that focuses on creating new structures within the participating organizations. Ultimately, the aim is not only to train participants, but also to enable them to integrate AI into their own organizations. The perfect symbiosis of human and artificial intelligence in tourism.
Die Mitgliedschaft im KI-Club Tourismus ist jederzeit möglich. Alle Informationen und Anmeldeunterlagen sind verfügbar unter: https://change.destinet.de/ki-club-tourismus
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