Advancing Our Strategic Operations

The AI Transparency Framework is the working instrument behind the governance question that ran through Day 1 afternoon. The framework is open at ai.thinkdigital.travel, with the model documentation, the assessment structure and the underlying methodology available to any destination using or adapting it.

The next phase of work is development through application. Across XDW 2026 and the conversations alongside it, the framework moved through different organisational contexts. In some it acted as the structural spine for an organisation-wide governance build. In others it provided the shared language for vendor disclosure embedded in tendering and partnership agreements. Each context surfaces questions for the conversations shaping the framework's development.

The work stream on Day 3 took the framework through a structured conversation with the destinations engaged in its development. The framework has four disclosure models that attach to a piece of work as a record of AI involvement. Each model captures a different dimension of how AI contributed to the work.

Alongside the disclosure models, the framework holds organisational instruments that sit inside the organisation and capture maturity, capability and wellbeing dimensions. The full set is open at ai.thinkdigital.travel, with the documentation, the assessment structure and the methodology available to any destination using or adapting it.

The directions discussed at Day 3 covered broad themes for where the framework could go next. Disclosure could travel in two directions between DMOs and their agencies, with the framework giving both sides a shared language for the AI involvement on either side of the contract. The models could capture more of the value AI brings into a piece of work, with the dimensions beyond time saved getting the same weight as the headline figure. The supporting structure around the models could align more closely with how destinations operate, from output formats to benchmarking and the tooling that connects assessment with destinations' working systems.

The framework continues to develop through the conversations with the destinations engaged in that work. The regular meetings of the framework's panel give destinations a structured way to take part in the conversations shaping the next iteration.

DTTT is considering introducing focused workstreams as a way for destinations to engage with specific topics in depth. The idea is to give the membership a structured channel for the topics that surface repeatedly, with each workstream running over a defined period and producing shared outputs that the broader membership benefits from.

Vibe coding is one example of where a focused workstream could sit. The topic featured as a recurring thread across the XDW conversations, with destinations at different levels picking it up. Some are exploring the practice for the first time. Others are already shipping internal tools and asking the harder questions about when to vibe code and when to bring in a development partner.

The Day 2 afternoon conversation surfaced the operating distinction. At the internal team level, vibe coding is a powerful way to ship the tools that match the specific shape of the work. At the consumer interface level, where a product reaches hundreds of thousands of visitors, the questions of security, scale, performance and brand stay open and need answers before a vibe coded product goes live.

A focused workstream on vibe coding would run across these levels, with the structure built to support destinations at the beginning of the practice and the destinations further into it. The output sits with the membership, with the contributing destinations shaping the structure and the broader community benefiting from what comes out.