Artificial intelligence is on everyone’s lips, and not always with positive connotations. As with any tool, the reality is that it largely depends (or nearly everything) on the ends for which it is used. The Spanish company iUrban, a Spanish tech startup specializing in the digital transformation of tourist destinations through the use of AI, is already using it to relieve destinations and distribute wealth beyond the most saturated areas.
At the recent edition of Fitur, the company presented the real case of Madrid, a bustling capital full of cultural life and visitors who, nevertheless, face the risk of dying from success (and ending up displacing its own residents). To that end they introduced an intriguing concept: “destination AI,” whose aim is to redistribute visitors in real time, thus easing crowds and revitalizing neighborhoods, suburbs, and municipalities less recommended by traditional channels.
And the moment in our country is historic: according to the latest data from INE, up to November 2025 the country reached a record figure of 91.5 million international visitors. This poses a huge challenge in terms of resource management, transportation infrastructure… and enjoyment, plain and simple. We all want to travel and have a good time, but it isn’t efficient that everyone is in the same place at the same time. “McKinsey sums it up with a telling statistic: 80% of travelers visit only 10% of the world’s destinations,” explain from the iUrban platform. The consequence? Neighborhoods and metro stations overloaded, beaches where you can barely move, museums with interminable queues; even the mountains have become crowded.
AI-assisted planning has come to stay — according to Phocuswright, one in three travelers in the United States and Europe already uses generative AI to organize their trips —, and now the truly smart move would be to use it in a way that does not merely replicate what is most repeated on the internet. The algorithm must be on our side, or the funnel effect will become increasingly severe. The well-known paradox is that while some places become saturated, others are left empty: nearly 4,000 municipalities are at risk of depopulation.
