New Zealand artificial intelligence company Smart Planner has selected Queenstown as the first pilot destination for a tourism intelligence platform it is developing.
The platform is intended to combine generative AI, predictive analytics, personalised itinerary planning, accessibility-aware recommendations and sustainability information. It is designed to help travellers plan trips, while giving tourism operators and destination organisations data on visitor interests and demand.
Smart Planner co-founder Tales Melo said the company wanted the platform to support broader tourism outcomes, not just visitor numbers.
“Artificial intelligence should not simply recommend where people travel. It should help destinations become more sustainable, resilient and connected,” Melo said. “It is about creating better outcomes for everyone involved: better experiences for travellers, stronger opportunities for local businesses, better information for destination managers and better protection for the places people travel to experience.”
The company said Queenstown was chosen partly due to its regenerative tourism strategy, including a stated ambition to become a carbon-zero visitor economy by 2030, alongside pressures the region faces on transport, infrastructure and accommodation from tourism demand.
“Queenstown has a history of tourism innovation and is demonstrating leadership in regenerative tourism,” Melo said. “It also faces many of the same challenges that successful tourism destinations around the world are trying to address.”
Long-term goal
Smart Planner is currently developing a minimum viable product, with planned features including AI-generated itineraries, accessibility-aware planning, carbon-footprint awareness and predictive tourism analytics. The company said it intends to engage with tourism operators and destination stakeholders as development continues.
Smart Planner said its long-term goal was to expand the platform to other destinations across New Zealand, Australia and international markets, and that the technology was intended to support, rather than replace, tourism professionals and local expertise.
“Technology alone will not solve every challenge facing tourism,” Melo said. “But the right technology can give travellers, businesses and destination leaders better information. Better information leads to better decisions.”
