There are some really dope things about to happen in Philadelphia, including FIFA World Cup matches and celebrations of 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. That means a lot more people coming to the city, a lot more attention on what Philly has to offer, and a lot more opportunities for tech to shape how visitors experience all of it.

And that got me thinking: What role will AI play in all of this, and how do we shape where it goes next?

To get insight, I reached out to Visit Philly and Philadelphia Soccer 2026 to see what type of AI innovations they had lined up for our city’s big year. I was honestly surprised by the response: nothing substantial or noteworthy to share at this time, they told me.

Now, that doesn’t necessarily mean we will not see any kind of AI use around the events of the summer. FIFA has highlighted AI-enabled 3D player avatars and a referee-view experience that uses AI-powered stabilization software on footage from referee cameras. Coverage of those features suggests they could level up how we watch matches, whether we are in the stadium or tuned in from home. 

Still, considering the first FIFA match in Philadelphia is less than 100 days away, it felt curious that nobody local wanted to talk about it.

AI is already touching nearly every part of travel and tourism. According to the World Economic Forum, artificial intelligence is reshaping how people plan trips, book transportation and hotels, and navigate destinations once they arrive. That could mean tools that help people figure out exactly when to buy a ticket, personalized recommendations based on what they want to do, or even translation tools that make cities easier to move through for international visitors.

On paper, that all sounds great. For a city preparing to welcome the world, it could make the visitor experience smoother and more personalized.

But it also raises a bigger question: What happens when your travel experience depends on your level of access to technology?

The next 250 years of tourism still come down to equity

For me, this is really an equity conversation.

If AI becomes more deeply embedded in tourism, then access to the best experiences may go to the people with the best devices, the strongest connectivity and the most familiarity with how to use these tools. Meanwhile, people without that same access could end up paying more, navigating less efficiently or missing out altogether.

That is especially concerning when you look at how AI is already being used for dynamic pricing, where prices change based on demand, timing or other factors.

As dynamic pricing becomes more common across the travel industry, it’s affecting what people pay for things like flights and attractions. In Las Vegas, hotel lobby shops have been charging different prices for the same items depending on demand. And AI could eventually use personal data and consumer behavior to tailor prices to individual travelers, according to researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder.

That means the future of tourism may not just be about better recommendations or cooler experiences. It may also be about whether two people looking for the same trip, the same attraction or the same product are offered very different prices.

So how will we make sure everyone has the same access to tourist spaces and experiences when they do not have access to the same tech?

That question is not only about visitors. It is also about whether cities are actually prepared to support this kind of innovation in the first place.

A smarter tourism experience will require real infrastructure

If cities want to lean into AI-enhanced tourism, they are going to need the resources to support them. 

At a minimum, Philly is going to need some strong public Wi-Fi.

That might sound basic, but public connectivity could become one of the most important building blocks of future tourism. 

If visitors are relying on AI-powered tools to navigate, translate, purchase tickets or get recommendations in real time, then stable and widely available internet access becomes part of the experience. Reporting from Government Technology Insider has looked at how public Wi-Fi can help turn smaller cities into destinations. It’s not hard to imagine why that would matter in a city like Philadelphia as global events bring in more tourists.

Infrastructure is only part of the story. The use of AI also brings up other issues, including data protection, facial recognition and whether the algorithms driving things like dynamic pricing are actually fair. Because once AI becomes part of how people move through public spaces, spend money and access services, the stakes get bigger than convenience.

That is why I think this moment is worth paying attention to. Philly is entering a high-profile stretch with major events that could showcase the city at its best. And even if local organizations are not yet ready to talk about major AI rollouts, the broader shift is already happening around us.

The real question is whether we are building toward a tourism future that works for everybody, or just for the people best positioned to tap into it.