Burgenland Tourismus – “Future Targeting for Burgenland Tourism”
Submitted by MEDIAPLUS Austria
Case Study Summary:
To address the growing trend of last-minute travel decisions—55% of travelers now book vacations spontaneously—Burgenland Tourismus, with Mediaplus Austria, launched an AI-powered autumn campaign designed to dynamically manage regional tourism demand. Traditional static media planning methods were no longer sufficient to respond to unpredictable booking behaviors.
The team leveraged myrate, an AI forecasting tool typically used in pricing, to predict accommodation occupancy levels across Burgenland’s three subregions. These AI-generated forecasts then dictated real-time adjustments to media spending across desktop, mobile, and Digital Out of Home platforms.
When predicted occupancy was low, advertising was increased in regions where tourists originate; when occupancy was high or exceeded thresholds, advertising spend was reduced or halted. This allowed for unprecedented responsiveness and resource efficiency in tourism media planning.
With a modest budget, the campaign achieved outstanding results:
- Occupancy forecasts for October 2024 were exceeded by 58%.
- Bookings (“2 people for 2 nights”) outperformed predictions by 82%.
This campaign now serves as a scalable model for smart tourism demand management, with plans to expand across other Austrian regions.
About Burgenland
Burgenland is Austria’s easternmost state, sharing borders with Hungary, Slovakia, and Slovenia. Known for its mild climate, sun-drenched landscapes, wine culture, and thermal spas, it’s a lesser-known but increasingly popular destination for European travelers seeking nature, wellness, and authentic cultural experiences.
While Burgenland has much to offer, it competes with more widely recognized Austrian destinations like Tyrol or Vienna. Its reliance on domestic and regional travelers means it must be agile in responding to shifting travel behaviors—especially the growing spontaneity in booking patterns, which is what drove the AI-enabled strategy in the campaign.
Key Insights
- AI-enabled forecasting can shift tourism media planning from reactive to proactive.
- Integration of real-time data allows for dynamic, hyper-targeted campaign adjustment.
- Smart allocation of modest budgets can yield outsized performance gains.
- Tourism can benefit from cross-industry AI applications—in this case, a pricing tool adapted for media planning.
- Scalability and automation are critical benefits, particularly for resource-limited regional tourism boards.
Why was AI used?
AI was used to solve a key problem: the unpredictability of last-minute travel behavior. With traditional media planning unable to adapt quickly enough, AI allowed for real-time forecasting of regional occupancy rates, enabling campaigns to target areas with underperforming demand.
How did AI work with human creativity and insights?
AI provided the analytical engine—real-time forecasts and performance data—while human strategists translated those insights into media planning decisions and creative executions. Human teams decided where and how to allocate spend, which platforms to prioritize, and how to tailor messages regionally, using AI as a guide rather than a replacement.
Would the initiative have been possible without the use of AI?
No, at least not with the same precision, speed, and impact. Manually monitoring demand and adjusting media spend daily or hourly across multiple platforms would be impractical and inefficient. AI enabled the automation and data synthesis required to optimize in real-time—a necessity for success in a highly dynamic travel environment.
