X. Design Week 2026

Meet tourism leaders in Brussels, 2–4 June 2026, for X. Design Week — an intensive 3-day AI event for destination organisations.

X. Design Week 2026 — The Destination AI Intensive

Every industry event nowadays has AI as a topic. X. Design Week 2026, in Brussels this June, goes much further: it brings digital, creative, and strategic teams together around the principle that progress is made by doing. This is a focused, intensive, and practical program where DMOs take significant steps in their AI strategy — through hands-on experimentation, high-quality expertise, and structured problem-solving. The entire event is designed with one clear goal: to ensure that every destination leaves with a credible, executable AI strategy and the capacity to realize it.

Participants gain in-depth insight into the direction AI is heading and the concrete steps needed to prepare for the next three to five years — including practical frameworks and templates that are immediately applicable when you return to the office. Building on shared challenges and the collective intelligence of like-minded colleagues, X. Design Week strengthens your confidence in AI governance by clarifying legal implications, policy, and approach. You leave not with inspiration alone — but with the practical techniques and expertise needed to take immediate action.

XDW 2026 is structured over three days, each focused on a distinct layer of AI strategy. The program begins by laying solid internal foundations, continues with sharpening the competitive position, and concludes with an in-depth focus on actual implementation. Instead of scattered breakout rooms, XDW is structured around four distinct zones. After impactful keynotes that set the agenda, participants rotate between the zones and choose the format that best suits their learning style and immediate priorities.

X. Design Week 2026 — Back in Brussels, 2–4 June 2026

X. Design Week returns in 2026 with a completely renewed model and takes place in Brussels from 2–4 June 2026. Organized by the Digital Tourism Think Tank (DTTT) , this flagship event is entirely focused on AI — a place where destination organizations can strengthen their AI strategies and explore the most urgent questions regarding the future of this technology.

This is an intensive, collaborative three-day program built around hands-on experimentation and high-quality expertise. Participants join a community of like-minded professionals to solve specific problems, test new workflows, and build a practical AI roadmap tailored to their organization’s needs.

Why participate in X. Design Week?

At the end of the event, each participant takes away the following:

1. Strategic clarity — A clear picture of the direction of AI and the steps needed for the next 3–5 years
2. Practical tools — Frameworks, templates, and approaches that are immediately applicable
3. Hands-on capability — Direct experience with various AI tools and techniques
4. Governance certainty — Clarity regarding legal implications, policy, and how to deal with them
5. Peer insights — Summarized conclusions from structured debates and shared challenges

A new model: four zones for learning

X. Design Week 2026 replaces traditional workshops with four dynamic zones for experimentation and AI-driven discussion. Participants move freely between the spaces and choose sessions that best align with their priorities.

1. Zone 01 – The Lab: Hands-on capacity building through direct action. Test AI tools, participate in guided experiments, and take part in live builds — from developing MCP servers to conducting GEO audits and testing content workflows.
2. Zone 02 – The Strategy Room: Guided planning sessions using proven frameworks to map out a clear AI integration path. Leave with a transformation playbook and a concrete action plan.
3. Zone 03 – The Debating Room: Structured discussions on the most contentious AI issues in tourism. Explore automation versus human judgment, risks and opportunities of AI content — tracked with pre- and post-polls.
4. Zone 04 – The Clinic: Collaborative sessions to solve specific organizational challenges, supported by expert briefings and experiences from similar organizations.

Program overview

1. Day 1 – June 2: Internal transformation — AI workflow automation, governance frameworks, team capacity building, and internal knowledge systems.
2. Day 2 – June 3: Competitive Position — AI-enhanced visitor experiences, destination visibility in AI search results, Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), and data access.
3. Day 3 – June 4: The Implementation Lab — Intensive, limited sessions (max. 40 participants) where participants work with experts on a specific challenge from their own organization.

Core themes

Internal Transformation (Day 1):

1. Workflow automation and AI augmentation
2. Governance, policy and ethics
3. Internal AI capability and training
4. Internal knowledge systems

Competitive Position (Day 2):

1. Destination presence in AI
2. Brand in the age of AI
3. Visibility and findability (GEO)
4. AI and data access

The program starts before arrival.

1. Submit challenges — Submit your specific AI challenges two weeks before the event to shape the Clinic sessions.
2. Collect use cases — Share AI implementations you have tried out; the best ones are highlighted and added to the shared Use Cases Library.
3. Position poll — Establish an industry baseline before the event that will be reviewed afterwards to see how collective thinking has evolved.

Speakers & Experts

X. Design Week brings together three types of contributors:

1. Key perspectives: Voices of leading AI organizations shaping the future of the industry.
2. Practitioner speakers: Destinations and brands sharing honest, practical AI implementation experiences — successes, setbacks, and lessons learned.
3. Zone Facilitators: Dedicated experts who are present throughout all three days and lead Lab sessions, strategy work, debates, and specialist consultations.

Speakers are announced continuously. The full program will be published in May 2026.

AI integration during the event

1. Real-time synthesis: Ambient AI recording captures every discussion and produces overnight synthesis and live debate conclusions.
2. Hands-on access to tools: Direct access in The Lab for live experiments in a supported environment.

What you bring

1. AI-supported documentation: Comprehensive follow-up report with strategies and recommendations that are immediately implementable.
2. Use Cases Library: Searchable collection of authentic AI implementations from destinations worldwide.
3. Solutions for challenges: A library of solutions for the most common challenges of destination organizations.

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