What if the people making tourism decisions could put traveller research to work simply by asking a question? Destination Canada's Aurora Traveller Twin is helping turn trusted traveller intelligence into action.
BizOps Collaboration in Action - Blog Submitted by the Business Operations Committee
Story Contributed by Destination Canada
For destination marketing organizations (DMOs), tourism businesses and other organizations across the visitor economy, the challenge isn't a lack of data. It's tuming that data into a decision while there's still time to act. What if you could test a campaign idea, explore a new audience or challenge an assumption simply by having a conversation with your ideal traveller?
That is the opportunity behind Destination Canada's Aurora Traveller Twin—and it points to a different way for Canada's tourism sector to put traveller intelligence to work.
"A lot of our members are amazing at offering tourism experiences, and sometimes they don't have a background in marketing. Aurora A/ makes it really easy for them, so they can spend more time offering great tourism experiences."
—Tom Babin, Indigenous Tourism Alberta
"With the Traveller Segmentation tools, and especially Traveller Twin, we can remove some of the bias people may have when gathering information and use these insights to help drive a higher return on investment."
—Amy McInnis, Tourism Saskatchewan
The Challenge: Turning Trusted Data into Faster Decisions
The Canadian Tourism Data Collective brings together more than 49 billion rows of data from over 280 sources. Its traveller intelligence provides a rich picture Of Canada's best guests. But turning that volume of information into a timely business decision can require dedicated time, analytical focus and specialized expertise.
That challenge looks different across the sector. A DMO might be deciding which message will resonate with a high-value audience. A tour operator might be looking for its next product opportunity. In a small tourism business, the owner may also be the marketer, guide and person answering the phone during the busiest months of the year.
The opportunity wasn't simply to give the sector more data. It was to shorten the distance between trusted intelligence and the decisions people need to make.
The Solution: Make the Intelligence Conversational
Destination Canada developed Aurora Al, built on the trusted intelligence of the Data Collective. Its flagship solution, Aurora Traveller Twin, transforms complex traveller intelligence into natural-language conversations with digital twins of ideal travellers.
Instead Of needing to know where to find the data or how to analyze it, tourism professionals can simply have a conversation. They can explore traveller motivations, values and preferences, apply those insights to marketing and destination strategies, and test ideas before putting limited budgets and resources to work.
The aim isn't to replace professional judgment. It's to make trusted intelligence easier to access, understand and act on.
"The future of data leadership is about bridging technology with business outcomes, ensuring that Al and data intelligence drive real-world impact and economic growth," says Meaghan Ferrigno, Interim President and CEO, Destination Canada.
The Outcome: One Tool, Different Business Decisions
Since its soft launch in November 2025, Aurora Al has generated more than 35,000 engagements, and 93% of surveyed Data Collective subscribers report that the platform's intelligence informs their decisions.
Across the industry, Aurora Traveller Twin is translating intelligence into real-world decisions. One DMO used it to test campaign messaging and shape a strategy that attracted high-value out-of-town visitors. A small tourism business used it to better understand a high-value traveller segment and reposition its marketing, reporting a 200% year-over-year increase in bookings. Other tourism organizations have used Traveller Twin to uncover emerging visitor interests, develop new experiences and identify opportunities to attract high-value travellers during the shoulder season.
The examples are different, but the principle is the same: intelligence becomes more valuable when teams can move from understanding to action.
Explore more Aurora Traveller Twin use cases.
What They'd Tell You
Aurora Traveller Twin doesnt ask tourism professionals to learn a new analytics platform or wait for a new research study. It lets them ask the questions they already have in plain language and get data-grounded insights quickly enough to inform the decision at hand.
"Aurora Al represents an important evolution in how we're building Al capabilities to empower Canada's tourism industry. By combining the trusted intelligence of the Canadian Tourism Data Collective with conversational Al, we're making complex data and insights more accessible and actionable for DMOs and tourism businesses of all sizes." —Olga Goldin, Senior Program Manager, Technology & Digital Transformation, Destination Canada
The Takeaway
Tourism intelligence becomes more useful when people can explore it quickly and apply the answers to the decisions in front of them. With Aurora Traveller Twin, a national marketing team, a DMO and a small tourism operator can all ask questions relevant to their own business and audiences.
Instead Of intelligence sitting in a report or dashboard, Traveller Twin puts it within reach through a conversation with the traveller you're trying to understand. The technology may be sophisticated. The experience is intentionally simple: ask a question, explore the answer and
use that intelligence to help decide what comes next.
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