The German National Tourist Board’s (GNTB) inaugural AI influencer project utilizes artificial intelligence to promote Germany as a travel destination on an international scale. With the launch of ‘Emma’ – an AI-generated influencer – the GNTB has created an interactive brand ambassador designed to virtually inspire potential travellers to visit the European country.
Available 24/7 to depict “real vacation experiences,” the GNTB says Emma will act as an addition to, rather than a replacement for, real-life influencers in its digital strategy and was designed to inspire travellers eager to explore innovative digital tools.
“Artificial intelligence applications are an invaluable asset, providing supplementary technological support for our brand communication,” says Petra Hedorfer, CEO of the GNTB. “Along the customer journey, Emma can act as an innovative bridge builder between potential travellers and real, unforgettable experiences in Germany as early as the inspiration phase.
“Emma will operate in conjunction with our established influencer marketing structures. By working with ‘traditional’ influencers, we were able to generate 148 million impressions on their social media channels last year. The GNTB’s AI strategy uses technological innovations which, however, cannot replace personal experiences and encounters in Germany as a travel destination, but rather optimize the customer journey of travellers in a service-oriented way.’
The GNTO describes Emma as a modern, cosmopolitan Berlin resident who feels at home in the digital world. In her mid-30s and with an affinity for technology and travel, she combines her love of new technologies with her passion for travelling through Germany.
On her Instagram channel @EmmaTravelsGermany, Emma inspires her followers to travel to Germany, accompanies them on their travels, and shares her experiences in an entertaining and informative way. In the long term, Emma will not only provide information, but also act as a personal travel companion and create personalized routes tailored to users’ individual interests.
The technical background
Emma is a fully AI-generated ‘digital human’. Thanks to advanced deep learning algorithms and large language models (LLMs), she is able to engage with her followers in a chat format in over 20 languages. By the end of the year, the AI assistant will also be able to access not only the information on germany.travel but also real-time data from the GNTB Knowledge Graph.
Growing importance of AI
With ‘Emma’, the GNTB says it is opening a new chapter in the use of artificial intelligence. AI is already used in many areas of the GNTB’s work: in collaboration with the international travel industry, in customer communications, and in marketing.
Global online travel agencies are increasingly leveraging AI to analyze and market tourism products worldwide, a trend the GNTB is supporting with its Open Data project: more than half a million machine-readable datasets on tourist attractions, tours and events, as well as infrastructure data, are already available in the GNTB Knowledge Graph. This data improves the visibility of Germany’s tourism offerings on international online platforms.
When addressing end consumers, the GNTO maintains that AI enables more precise customer understanding and the presentation of tailored offers. For instance, an AI-supported chatbot has been answering customer inquiries on the GNTB website continuously since 2020.
Furthermore, the GNTB has been utilizing AI to inspire end customers in the field of immersive technologies, including virtual reality, augmented reality, and smart speaker applications for a longer period of time now.
AI applications are already integrated into the GNTB’s day-to-day operations, such as the development and implementation of digital marketing tools, including the creation of images and videos, the generation of text, translation services, and graphic design.
The GNTB says it ensures that opportunities arising from AI applications are handled responsibly through transparent communication.
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