VisitScotland wins FutureScot AI Challenge

Yesterday, VisitScotland won the FutureScot AI Challenge, a competition by FutureScot in association with Storm ID, designed to empower public sector organisations to solve-real world problems using artificial intelligence (AI).

Open to all public sector organisations in Scotland, the competition was whittled down to three finalists – NHS Grampian, Dumfries & Galloway Council and VisitScotland - who yesterday presented their AI solutions to attendees and judges at the Digital Scotland Conference in Edinburgh. Despite tough competition from the other finalists, our team were delighted to have their idea announced as the winner.  

 Our winning entry was a multilingual AI travel companion which can help visitors plan their perfect trip to Scotland.

VisitScotland staff smiling with the trophy at the Digital Scotland Conference.

A more personalised experience for users

For visitors, the tool provides the quick and detailed results that AI tools are now offering, but with the added benefit of being able to suggest authentic experiences and more personalised results based on users preferences such as:

• when they are looking to visit Scotland
• what types of activities they’d like to experience
• what type of accommodation they’d be looking for

The tool would also encourage users to consider how they travel around Scotland, suggesting different sustainable travel options based on data available from VisitScotland and partners. This type of localised information is a benefit to this tool that is not necessarily accurate or trustworthy with bigger AI platforms.

Benefits for Scotland’s visitor economy

The AI travel companion provides benefits for Scotland’s visitor economy too. With VisitScotland’s knowledge and expertise, the tool can encourage regional spread – encouraging visitors to visit lesser-known destinations.

Not only would this support visitor management in “tourist hotspot” areas but bring attention and awareness to regions and businesses that may not make it to the top of the list on bigger, more global platforms.   

Encouraging regional spread and also encouraging visitors to consider visiting Scotland outside of the peak summer months would be programmed into the tool, with the aim of supporting the industry throughout the year, providing more economic resilience.