FAQ
Answers to the most important questions about Open Data
Open data is a central building block for the digital transformation in tourism. Open, structured and standardized data increases the visibility of tourism offers, improves findability in digital channels and creates the basis for innovative services. Open data not only means transparency, but also strategic sustainability: data becomes interoperable, internationally connectable and AI-compatible.
Common standards – including within the framework of the ODTA – are creating a networked data ecosystem that makes destination information efficiently exchangeable and machine-readable. This can lead to new applications such as intelligent travel assistants, personalized recommendations and data-based forecasts.
In this FAQ collection you will find answers to key questions on definitions, benefits, standards, licensing, the legal framework and current future topics such as artificial intelligence and data-based innovation in tourism.
Open Data
Users are all companies such as global players, startups, higher-level organizations, partners and all actors inside and outside tourism who create products and services for users from the data.
Both initiatives are in exchange with each other. Differences between the initiatives exist in the way the data is prepared. GovData provides the data in tabular form. The Open Data project for German tourism will prepare and make available its data in the form of a knowledge graph. In this way, an initial, use-oriented preparation of the data takes place even before the data is distributed.
GovData is the data portal for Germany. Here open data of the administrations of the federal government, the federal states and the municipalities are published.
In the Open Data landscape, it is a matter of contents for the above-mentioned data types (such as POIs, tours, regional information, dynamic information, etc.). The DSVGO protects personal data, which may only be published with consent. It can become problematic when it comes to contact data.
Existing KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) such as visits and page views no longer apply if content and data from third-party providers can be used freely. New KPIs need to be developed here.
The decisive factor is not how often content is viewed, but how intensively data is used, networked and reused.
Relevant KPIs are therefore shifting:
- API usage and data downloads
- Number of external integrations (platforms, apps, AI systems)
- Data quality and standard compliance
- Use in AI-supported applications
- Degree of networking in the Knowledge Graph
The focus shifts from output (“published”) to impact (“used and further developed”).
Freely available data is an essential prerequisite for the further development of new technologies such as conversational interfaces, mobility and the Internet of Things, as well as the development of new tourism offers and services. The user and guest will benefit from this.
Data must be provided with appropriate open licenses so that every market participant (e.g. global player, startup, service provider) can use this data as unrestrictedly as possible. The data must be made accessible as structured and linked data on the Internet to enable use. Open data can therefore be automatically read, interpreted and used.
Open Data creates the preconditions for the digital transformation towards artificial intelligence. Thus, we are securing Germany as a tourism location, strengthening its competitiveness, and particularly promoting tourism regions as well as digital innovations in tourism and beyond. Last but not least, we increase the brand presence of the Destination Germany at home and abroad.
Open data increases digital visibility, enables platform integration, promotes innovation and new business models, improves data quality through standardization and creates the basis for AI applications. Open data is therefore not an IT project, but a strategic infrastructure decision.
Open Data are all data sets that are made accessible and usable without restriction to further share and use in the interest of the general public.
Open data is freely accessible, machine-readable, published under an open license, structured and standardized. Only if these criteria are met can data be efficiently reused and networked.
The Open Data Tourism Alliance (ODTA) is an international initiative for the harmonization of open data standards in tourism. The aim is to make tourism data available across borders in an interoperable, machine-readable and quality-assured manner.
Through common specifications and harmonized data models, the ODTA creates a uniform basis for the exchange and further use of tourism data. This facilitates cooperation between national and regional tourism organizations and strengthens the international visibility of destinations.
The ODTA is strategically relevant for organizations such as the GNTB, as standardized open data is a prerequisite for digital innovation, platform integration and AI-supported applications in global tourism.
AI & Open Data
AI systems require structured, high-quality data.
Open data enables training bases, semantic linking and transparent use.
Without open standards, AI remains isolated and not very scalable.
Data must be machine-readable, structured, semantically unambiguous, of high quality, provided with open licenses and well documented (e.g. metadata, schemas). Without these criteria, AI cannot make meaningful use of the data.
Open data forms the basis for data-driven innovations in tourism. Structured, standardized and openly licensed data makes it possible to efficiently develop, train and deploy AI applications in a scalable manner. This creates an innovative digital ecosystem.
Typical fields of application are
– Intelligent travel assistants
AI-based assistants combine open data on places of interest, events, mobility or infrastructure and provide contextual answers in real time – for example on interests, season or location.
– Personalized recommendations
By linking structured tourism data with user preferences, individualized suggestions for experiences, routes or offers are created – scalable across markets.
– Demand and visitor forecasts
Open data on events, seasonality, capacities or mobility can be analyzed with AI to predict demand trends and better manage resources.
– Automated content generation
Structured open data enables the AI-supported creation of target group-specific texts, travel suggestions or inspirational content – consistent, up-to-date and multilingual.
– Dynamic route planning
The combination of open POI, mobility and event data creates adaptive route suggestions that take into account factors such as opening times, weather and capacity utilization.
The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is a standardized approach that describes how AI models can access external data sources in a structured and controlled manner.
This is particularly relevant for tourism because AI applications should not only rely on statically trained data, but also need to access up-to-date, quality-assured information – for example on events, offers or infrastructure.
In combination with Open Data, MCP:
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AI systems can access standardized, open interfaces directly.
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Data remains up-to-date and traceably integrated.
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Control over data sources and use remains with the organizations providing the data.
This is strategically important for the GNTB and the ODTA because standardized data models and interoperable interfaces form the basis for trustworthy, scalable AI applications in international tourism. Put simply, this means that open data provides structured information. MCP ensures that AI systems can use this information in a contextual, up-to-date and controlled manner.
Knowledge Graph
The term Knowledge Graph was coined by Google for the knowledge base used by Google and its services to enrich the results of its search engine with information related to the search term from a variety of sources. The information is displayed to users in an info box next to the search results or output via Google Voice Assistant.
In the meantime, the term Knowledge Graph has become established for corresponding products, also from other creators. A Knowledge Graph is therefore a knowledge base in network form – similar to a semantic network, in which individual knowledge points and their descriptions are placed in a semantic relationship. Knowledge graphs can be the basis for many artificial intelligence applications. The best known Knowledge Graph is Google’s Knowledge Graph.
In order to make all structured tourism data available in one place, e.g. for artificial intelligence applications or other applications, the LMOs, the GNTB and a large number of tourism service providers in Germany would like to create their own open tourism knowledge graph.
In a first step, the data from the local and regional “data silos” must be uniformly labelled or this uniformity must be realised via interfaces.
In the next step, the data is made available via a central graph database (Knowledge Graph). A graph database is characterized by the fact that it provides the data for the application area of artificial intelligence semantically unambiguous, structured and powerful. Interested users can then use the data from the Knowledge Graph.
Technology & Standards
Structured data must follow a standardized shared language for use in semantic contexts. An established ontology for this is “schema.org”. Schema.org is an initiative of the major search engines Bing, Google, Yahoo! and Yandex. It provides a description system so that data can be provided in a particular structure. So within schema.org there are schemas that can be used to describe different types of data (about a hotel, an event, a POI, etc.).
When it comes to open data in tourism, the focus is primarily on standards that ensure interoperability, international connectivity and AI readiness. The aim is to provide tourism content in such a way that it can be seamlessly processed both nationally and internationally.
1. semantic web standards (in particular Schema.org)
Schema.org forms the central basis for structured, machine-readable tourism data. Content such as places of interest, events, routes or travel offers are modeled in such a way that they can be correctly interpreted by platforms, search engines and AI systems. For the GNTB, this is crucial in order to make content internationally visible and connectable.
2. tourism-specific data models based on common specifications
Tourism-specific specifications are being further developed and harmonized as part of the Open Data Tourism Alliance (ODTA). The aim is to create a common “language” for tourism data that works across national and organizational boundaries. For the GNTB, this means higher data quality, better scalability and simplified international cooperation.
3. metadata and quality standards
Standardized metadata plays an important role in ensuring that open tourism data can be found and used. Standardized descriptions of data records ensure transparency, reusability and strategic controllability. This is relevant for systematically integrating data into digital ecosystems.
4. clear open data licensing
Standardized, open licenses create legal certainty and enable the reuse of tourism data – for example for platforms, start-ups or AI applications. A clear licensing strategy is a prerequisite for open data to actually promote innovation in tourism.
The Open Data Tourism Alliance (ODTA) is an international initiative for the harmonization of open data standards in tourism. The aim is to make tourism data available across borders in an interoperable, machine-readable and quality-assured manner.
Through common specifications and harmonized data models, the ODTA creates a uniform basis for the exchange and further use of tourism data. This facilitates cooperation between national and regional tourism organizations and strengthens the international visibility of destinations.
The ODTA is strategically relevant for organizations such as the GNTB, as standardized open data is a prerequisite for digital innovation, platform integration and AI-supported applications in global tourism.
License types
Content services are either produced in-house or purchased. In both cases, it is recommended that an agreement be reached with the authors that the purchased services (contents or “data”) can be used without restriction in terms of time and content.
Accordingly, care must be taken to ensure that data is prioritised with the CC0 licence or alternatively the CCby licence.
Further information can be found in the “Sample contract for a commissioned production with photographers”.
Existing content should be upgraded to CC0 license whenever possible if it is strategically and operationally relevant.
The intellectual property of data is regulated differently by different national laws. For this reason, meaningful licences have been created for the digital world as an orientation to which conditions the handling of corresponding data is linked or even how open a use is possible.
The best known licensing system is called Creative Commons. The most useful license types that have become established for actors who want to use Open Data are:
- CC0: all rights are waived, the data can be used as desired, i.e. completely open.
- CC-by: when using the data, reference must be made to the author.
- CC-by-sa: when using the data, reference must be made to the author. The work may only be distributed under the same license.
All other types of licenses are too limited, make usage very difficult and are not very useful.
Further information can be found in the article “The legal implications of Open Data”.
Rights of use
The move to Open Data will mean that tenders and content purchase contracts will have to be revised in order to obtain the appropriate rights of use. Educating existing partners about this innovation will be important, as until now an unrestricted right of use has come at a price. As expected, some of the existing partners will hold back for the time being or offer more expensive services, but new applicants will also come forward at conditions comparable to the current ones. Over time, it is likely that existing partners will return to offering at original prices.
Data and content may be used for purposes that cannot be controlled. However, the danger always exists with published content on the Internet and experience shows that in reality it is very small. In our view, the possibilities and opportunities offered by Open Data far outweigh the risks.
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