How Destination Canada’s AI Boosts Tourism Attractiveness


Kananaskis, Alberta © Destination Canada

CroisiEurope


With Aurora AI and its Traveller Twin, Destination Canada makes access to tourism data easier and helps professionals better understand their audiences, test their projects, and steer their business decisions more quickly. Canada is simplifying access to its data through Aurora AI.

In tourism, data is a powerful driver of performance. Yet for tour operators, online agencies, destinations, or activity providers, extracting value from it can still demand significant time and resources.

With Aurora AI, Destination Canada aims to make this knowledge more easily accessible and directly usable. This AI ecosystem enables tourism professionals to query reliable data in natural language and rapidly obtain insights that inform their decisions.

The objective is concrete: reduce the time spent on research and analysis, better target travelers, and mitigate risks before investing in a new product or a marketing campaign.

Tourism data accessible in seconds

Fruit of Canada’s tourism know-how, Aurora AI rests on an unmatched understanding of travel information at global and national scales. Built by Destination Canada, Aurora AI is a knowledge network that uses Gemini Enterprise and is fueled by the Canadian Tourism Data Consortium. This consortium provides validated research, reliable data sets, and insights from Destination Canada’s partners, ensuring credibility and relevance. It was launched in 2024 and won the Best Use of Artificial Intelligence for Nonprofit or Non-commercial Purposes at the 2024 DataIQ AI Awards.

Launched in November 2025, Aurora AI combines natural language querying, predictive models, traveler simulation tools, and AI agents in an integrated system that learns, adapts, and responds.



Le Jumeau Voyageur © Destination Canada

The Traveller Twin to test a project before launch

Among the features offered, the Traveller Twin lets you simulate how different traveler profiles would react. It builds on the segmentation program of the Canadian Tourism Data Consortium, created from research conducted with real travelers in Destination Canada’s ten major markets, including France.

“Its French version, launched in May 2026 at Rendez-vous Canada, can notably assist tour operators and reservation platforms marketing the destination.” explains Cyrielle Bon, CEO of Destination Canada in France

A professional can, for example, propose a stay idea, a new product, an advertising message, or a campaign concept. The Traveller Twin then helps identify the most receptive audiences, better understand their expectations, and anticipate their reactions.

The tool can also be used to refine a sales pitch or support a recommendation with structured traveler insights. The aim is to adjust a project upstream, before mobilizing production budgets or media buying.

A tool in service of return on investment

By easing the research, targeting, and testing stages, Aurora AI can help improve the effectiveness of marketing investments. It isn’t about predicting consumer behavior with certainty, but about providing extra data to make more informed decisions.

For tourism companies, the potential benefits show up in several ways: shorter analysis time, more precisely targeted campaigns, products more aligned with travelers’ expectations, and resources focused on the most promising opportunities.

This deeper understanding of audiences also serves as a differentiator. In a sector where travelers increasingly seek highly personalized offerings, the ability to quickly tailor products and messages can become a real competitive edge.

Commercial results already observed

Several Canadian tourism companies have already used the Traveller Twin to evolve their offerings.

Brett Soberg, co-founder and captain of Eagle Wing Whale Watching explains: “We leaned on the tool to identify new interests among our visitors and to explore experiences that complement our usual excursions.” By expanding their portfolio, they doubled the number of their specialized tours.

At Bay of Fundy Adventures, founder Jordan Jamison also used Aurora AI: it helped them identify refined globetrotters as the segment with the strongest potential to book guided experiences and stay in the region. They shifted their strategy from promoting individual activities to promoting a destination conducive to immersive experiences. This new approach was accompanied by a 200% rise in bookings compared with the previous year.

These results illustrate how a better understanding of traveler expectations can translate into product evolution and improved business performance.



Consortium de Données Touristiques canadiennes © Destination Canada


A technological expertise serving the industry

Participate in the development of Aurora AI

Aurora AI is developing new agents and continuously innovating to meet the evolving needs of the tourism sector. We want to hear your feedback on your experiences with Aurora AI.

Please send your questions, comments, and ideas to the Data Consortium team by writing your feedback here.



Record Year for Canada’s Largest Travel Trade Show


Stand de Destination Canada au salon Rendez-vous Canada 2026 © Destination Canada

CroisiEurope


Rendez-vous Canada est le plus grand salon touristique professionnel organisé par Destination Canada, l’office de tourisme du pays.

« In three days of meetings in Toronto, more than 60,000 appointments took place between international buyers and Canadian sellers, generating CAD 100 million in sales. » Gloria Loree, Senior Vice President of Marketing Strategy and Chief Marketing Officer for Destination Canada.

More than 500 international buyers traveled, 100 more than last year, from 24 countries including Destination Canada’s nine strategic markets: France as well as the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, Japan, China, South Korea, and Mexico. The invited buyers represent tour operators, travel agencies, OTAs and Canadian receptive operators.


Fifteen French buyers traveled to Toronto

Among the fifteen French buyers attending Rendez-vous Canada this year were the major players in travel distribution and tailor-made journeys: Cercle des Voyages, eDreams ODIGEO, FRAM, Imagine Canada / JMB Voyages, Interkal’Air, Kuoni / Vacances Fabuleuses, La Route des Voyages, lastminute.com, Les Maisons du Voyage, Naar, Travel Abroad and Voyage Privé.

One of them, Antony Enault, explains: “As Head of North America Production at Cercle des Voyages, I find Rendez-vous Canada essential for developing new partnerships with Canadian suppliers, discovering the latest trends in North American tourism, and enriching our product range through direct exchanges with key players in the Canadian travel industry.”

This French delegation illustrates the growing interest of the hexagonal market for a destination that focuses on authentic, immersive experiences deeply connected to nature, vast spaces, and human encounters that define Canada’s identity.


A strategic meeting for tourism professionals

The event is built on pre-scheduled ten-minute business meetings between buyers and sellers. An efficient organization that allows professionals to concentrate months of sales prospecting into just a few days.

“This year, buyers were able to meet more than 900 sellers representing 628 Canadian companies: destinations, receptive operators, accommodations, carriers and experience providers from across the provinces and territories. It’s a unique opportunity!” comments Cyrielle Bon, Chief Executive Officer of Destination Canada in France.

In addition to the business meetings, participants could discover the province of Ontario through several familiarization trips before and after the fair, and through tours of Toronto during the event. These programs allowed international buyers to experience authentic experiences, open to nature and the human encounters that characterize the Canada brand.


Toronto, Ontario © Destination Canada


Toronto and the province of Ontario: a showcase of contemporary Canada

A cosmopolitan city and international gateway to the country, with direct air access from France, Toronto provides an ideal setting for urban explorers. A multicultural and dynamic metropolis, it fully embodies the image of modern Canada: open, creative, and oriented toward human experiences.

Wildlife watching, slow mobility, nature-based accommodations, Indigenous experiences, and multi-activity stays were among the products most sought by the French buyers in Toronto.

The host city treated them well: it is an ideal starting point for exploring Ontario, with Niagara Falls and wineries just 1.5 hours by road; the Muskoka chalet region 2 hours north; exploring lakes, rivers and streams on the way to Kingston and Gananoque toward the neighboring province of Quebec; and of course a visit to Canada’s federal capital: Ottawa!


Calgary, Alberta © Destination Canada


Meetings scheduled for 2027

Rendez-Vous Canada 2027 will celebrate the event’s 50th anniversary: we look forward to welcoming many of you from April 28 to May 1, 2027 in Calgary, Alberta!

Travel agencies, OTAs, and tour operators based in metropolitan France, please contact Maryse Normandeau, head of trade partnerships for Destination Canada in France: [email protected]. She will provide you with all the essential information to plan your visit to this fair.