“There are airfields here, untouched battlefield bunkers, and immersive museum experiences that bring this chapter of our history to life.”Refining travel plans The platform allows visitors to plug in their starting point of Darwin or Alice Springs, and their preferred trip length. They can refine their itinerary to include specific sites, tours, accommodation or activities they would enjoy – from aviation museums to hidden oil storage tunnels, or even a flight in a World War II aircraft retracing the route flown by Japanese forces during the raids.Whelan says the AI trip planner is designed to be simple and interactive, providing prompts on suggested activities and allowing itineraries to be shared, saved, printed, downloaded or emailed.“What we also added was a way for visitors to connect directly with regional tourism organisations and visitor information centres across the territory.”She says there has been a significant shift in how travellers research and plan holidays, with more people now turning to AI-assisted tools as part of that process. “People are increasingly planning inside these AI environments.“For destinations, that changes how content needs to be structured, surfaced and experienced digitally.”Travellers are expecting more conversational and personalised digital experiences, rather than navigating large volumes of static content, Whelan adds.The Military AI Trip Planner draws from Tourism and Events NT’s curated itineraries and destination content, while also accounting for the region’s scale and remoteness of travel.“This is vetted and governed by us, so it remains aligned to trusted territory tourism information and experiences,” Whelan says.This initiative forms part of the Northern Territory government’s 10-year, $3 million military tourism strategy aimed at growing visitation and strengthening awareness of the territory’s wartime history. The strategy includes dedicated investment to help tourism operators develop and enhance military heritage visitor experiences.Minister for Tourism and Hospitality Marie-Clare Boothby has stated the government wants to establish the territory as a “must-do military tourism destination”. “We want to tell the world: if you’re looking for war history, you come to the Northern Territory,” she said last year.Military history at its core The government has also pointed to several high-profile events, including the annual Bombing of Darwin Day commemorations, and Exercise Pitch Black, as evidence of strong interest in military history and defence-related experiences.Exercise Pitch Black, held every two years, is a multinational defence exercise conducted primarily from RAAF Base Darwin and RAAF Base Tindal, and includes a major flying display over Mindil Beach.Darwin Aviation Museum. Tourism Events NTAccording to Whelan, travellers can incorporate such events into their AI trip planning, alongside a range of military heritage experiences across the territory, including the Darwin Military Museum, Darwin Aviation Museum, the Royal Flying Doctor Service Darwin Tourist Facility, the Adelaide River War Cemetery, and wartime heritage sites throughout Katherine and Central Australia.While the Northern Territory’s importance in defence continues today, the AI trip planner aims to help increase awareness of the past, allowing visitors to experience military history where it happened.Tourism and Events NT sees the initiative as an early step in evolving how travellers discover, plan and engage with these experiences, with opportunities to expand AI-assisted planning across additional visitor interests and journey types over time.“We know traveller expectations are evolving quickly,” Whelan says. “This project has given us valuable insight into how AI-assisted planning can support more personalised visitor experiences.”For more information, visit tourismandeventsnt.com.au