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For the fifth time in a row, the German National Tourist Board (GNTB) in Frankfurt has impressed the jury of the ‘TOP 100 The most innovative SMEs’ competition with its digital processes and solutions for inbound tourism. In its application, the GNTB presented digital projects that were realised in close cooperation between management and staff and support the predominantly medium-sized companies in the industry in marketing Germany as a travel destination worldwide.

Petra Hedorfer, CEO of the GNTB, explains: ‘Digital transformation, and in particular the integration of AI-supported applications, is the key to ensuring the competitiveness of destinations in the global marketplace. We are proud that our targeted innovation management is making a substantial contribution to Germany's strong position as a destination for international tourism. At the same time, we share the experience gained from our innovation projects with the domestic tourism industry and thus support them in marketing their offers on the global markets.’

Specific projects with which the GNTB impressed the jury in the innovation competition included the ‘Sustainable Travel Trends to Germany’ data dashboard with extensive information on market-specific demand, emissions and modal split of modes of transport, the expansion of the Open Data/Knowledge Graph project as a basis for the development of AI-supported services, the introduction of an AI-generated chatbot that accompanies potential travellers to Germany as a digital travel companion ‘Emma’ and an interactive virtual reality application ‘German Natural Landscapes’.

Background
Since 1993, the TOP 100 seal has recognised special innovative strength and above-average innovation success of medium-sized companies. The centrepiece of the competition is a scientific selection process that participants have to undergo. On behalf of compamedia, the organiser of the comparison, innovation researcher Prof. Dr Nikolaus Franke and his team examine more than 100 innovation indicators from five categories: Innovation-promoting top management, innovation climate, innovative processes and organisation, external orientation/open innovation and innovation success.

The jury pays particular attention to the question of how important the innovation goal is in the company, whether routines and habits dominate or whether the company is able to question the status quo, think creatively and in new ways and successfully establish itself on the market.

The mentor of TOP 100 is the science journalist Ranga Yogeshwar. Project partners are the Fraunhofer Society for the Advancement of Applied Research and the BVMW association for small and medium-sized enterprises. As media partners, manager magazin, impulse and ZEIT accompany the company comparison. Further information is available at www.top100-germany.com.

Image Credit: © Achim Weidner Pixabay