X. Awards · Day One evening · 02 December

The first
AI-Positive
Industry Awards.

The X. Awards recognise the strongest destination branding, marketing and digital work of the year. Entries are open worldwide and judged to one published standard, with every result reasoned and published.


What it recognises

The first awards to be explicit about how AI takes part in the work and in the judging.

Entries declare the role AI played in the work. The judging reads every entry against the same published standard, first by a defined AI system and then by a senior human panel. People make every final decision and sign every reasoning note.

Why enter
01
The highest bar in the sector
The methodology is public and applied identically to every entry worldwide. Every result is reasoned, signed and on the record. An X. Award is explained, not just announced.
02
Expert judging, disclosed in full
A senior panel of destination brand and marketing leaders reads every finalist. The AI pre-read is applied first and published alongside the human verdict. No black box, no private scoring.
03
A new standard for awards
The combination of AI pre-read and senior human panel is new to the industry. The full methodology is published before entries open and applied consistently to every entrant worldwide.
The judging

The X. Awards introduce a judging process that is new to the industry. A single published standard is applied to every entry, first by a defined AI system and then by a senior human panel. Both reads are reconciled, the panel decides and the reasoning behind every result is published alongside it. The methodology is available in full before entries open and the same for every entrant, worldwide.

The categories

Ten judged categories, each assessed against the same published criteria and weighted for what matters most to the work.

Stand-out awards
Published with every winner

The reasoning note.

A short note from the judges on why the work won, signed and published with the award. The decision set out in plain terms and on the record.

Reasoning note · Sample

"A clear winner in a strong field. The team built AI into their content work and were open about exactly how it was used. The tone of voice held across fifteen languages and the results were well evidenced. The judgement in how the tools were used is what set the work apart."

AI in Destination Marketing · The judges, X. Awards 2026
Key dates
Entries open
1 July 2026
Entries close
16 October 2026
Shortlist announced
3 November 2026
Award Ceremony
2 December 2026

Work is eligible if it was delivered, launched or substantially active since 1 January 2025, up to the entry deadline. A single window applies to every category. An entry may be submitted to up to three categories.

Entries are open to DMOs, industry organisations and those supplying to destinations worldwide.