Argo.berlin

Study · published 29 October 2026 · Authors: Roman Lange and Dietmar Fischer

Tourism Visibility Matrix DACH

Who is visible in which phase of the travel decision: in ads, in organic results and in Google’s AI answer. German-language searches in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, measured in September 2026.

0.6%
of accommodation searches get an AI answer from Google. In 89.4 percent, it shows ads instead.

Key findings

  1. Google splits the travel funnel in two: in destination research, 89.4 percent of searches show an AI answer and 17.8 percent show ads; in accommodation searches it is exactly the other way round, at 0.6 and 89.4 percent.
  2. 37.8 percent of the sources Google cites in travel AI answers are not among the organic results of the same search. In the inspiration phase the figure is 46.9 percent.
  3. In accommodation searches, independent hotels appear in 11.1 percent of organic result lists, in 6.7 percent of ad blocks and in no AI answer. Booking platforms appear in 99.4 and 86.7 percent.
  4. The AI answer cites content: editorial sources account for 31.1 percent of citations but only 0.8 percent of ads. The most cited single source is YouTube with 13.5 percent.
  5. In Germany, Google shows an AI answer for 52.5 percent of travel searches, in Austria for 40.0 and in Switzerland for 35.6 percent.

Share of travel searches with an AI answer, by phase

Source: Argo.berlin, Tourism Visibility Matrix DACH, September 2026; 180 searches per phase in DE, AT and CH · Licence CC BY 4.0

How we measured

360 German-language travel searches from six phases of the travel decision, 60 each: inspiration, destination research, accommodation search, package holidays, special-interest travel, and advice and problem cases. Collected on 4 September 2026 in Germany, Austria and Switzerland: 1,080 result pages in total, without location or personalisation. On every page, ads, organic results and the sources of the AI answer were recorded at the same time, and every domain was assigned to one of twelve provider types.

Limitations: A single measurement is not a time series. The query set maps the travel decision in a structured way but is not a sample weighted by search volume. Searches were run without a location, so local searches are under-represented. Provider types were assigned automatically and checked by sampling.

The full methodology with all counting rules is in the study (German).

Quotes

“Whether investing in AI visibility pays off depends on the phase of the travel decision in which your own guests are searching. For a destination, it is the key question. For a city hotel whose guests are looking for a room, there is currently nothing to gain there. The problem lies one level earlier, with the platforms.”

Dietmar Fischer, Managing Director of Argo.berlin

Downloads

Suggested citation

Argo.berlin (2026): Tourism Visibility Matrix DACH, September 2026. Authors: Roman Lange, Dietmar Fischer. https://argoberlin.de/studien/en/tourism-visibility-matrix/ · Licence CC BY 4.0

You may use the datasets and charts freely under CC BY 4.0. Please credit Argo.berlin as the source and link to this page.

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Contacts

Roman Lange

Roman Lange

Founder and Managing Director

Roman Lange founded Argo.berlin in 2016 and runs the agency as managing director. He advises hotels, tourism boards, SMEs and non-profit organisations on Google Ads, search engine optimisation and media planning. His clients include Visit Berlin. He built the travel portals 1001TravelTips and Findadive and teaches digital marketing at adult education providers.

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Dietmar Fischer

Dietmar Fischer

Managing Director

Dietmar Fischer is managing director of Argo.berlin and has worked in marketing and digital marketing for more than 20 years. Since 2003 he has taught marketing, digital marketing and entrepreneurship at universities in Berlin, Potsdam and Havana. He hosts the podcasts “A Beginner’s Guide to AI” and TOM, a podcast on tourism and online marketing.

Download press photo · Profile (German)

Press contact: Roman Lange · +49 30 447 146 88 · roman.lange@argo.berlin · We answer in English and German.