Industry research results
As part of an industry-wide study, we analyzed more than 500 websites across destination management organizations (DMOs), medical tourism providers, hotels, resorts, and related services.
The goal of the research was to assess the actual level of digital readiness in the industry — not based on claims, but on measurable indicators: performance speed, SEO, AI visibility, multilingual readiness, platform architecture, and accessibility.
An analysis of 500+ websites across tourism and medical tourism reveals a systemic gap between formal optimization and real digital effectiveness.
560
websites analyzed
78.4%
SEO score ≥ 85
77.5%
AI Visibility = Low
65.5%
not multilingual
43.9%
mobile speed < 50
23.9%
accessibility ≥ 90
SEO: Formally strong, structurally ineffective
78.4% of websites have a high SEO score (≥ 85), yet 66.3% of those sites receive fewer than 1,000 organic visits per month.
The industry has largely reached a checklist-based level of SEO maturity: technical optimization is in place, errors are resolved, and metrics appear “healthy.” However, this does not translate into sustainable organic demand. SEO without an ecosystem results in local optimization without growth effects. Without integration with content strategy, user journeys, AI channels, and analytics, SEO stops being a growth driver and becomes a formal compliance metric.
AI visibility: a new blind spot for the industry
77.0% of analyzed sites have AI Visibility = Low.
Among sites with SEO scores ≥ 85, 78.9% still show low AI visibility.
Even well-optimized websites are largely absent from AI-generated answers, LLM-based search, and zero-click scenarios. User behavior is evolving faster than website architectures: answers are increasingly delivered before the click, and destination or clinic selection often begins in AI interfaces rather than traditional SERPs. The industry remains optimized for a legacy search model. Low AI visibility means losing demand at the decision-formation stage - before users ever reach the site.
Mobile performance: real users receive a worse experience
22.2% of sites have low desktop speed (< 50)
43.9% of sites have low mobile speed (< 50)
Mobile usage is critical during travel, on location, and in medical support scenarios, yet mobile experiences consistently underperform compared to desktop. Slow mobile sites increase bounce rates, reduce trust, and directly impact conversions in real-time decision scenarios such as choosing activities, clinics, or routes. The industry continues to design digital products with desktop-first logic, while users already operate in a mobile-first reality.
Language readiness: a global industry with local websites
65.5% of websites are single-language
34.5% support multiple languages
As a share of all measured sites: 4+ languages: 17.7%
Even in the global tourism and medical tourism sectors, digital presence remains largely local. Within multilingual sites, support for 2–3 languages acts as a ceiling rather than a baseline standard. The lack of scalable multilingual architecture limits international demand, reduces relevance at global exhibitions, and complicates entry into new markets without a full platform redesign.
CMS and infrastructure: hidden growth constraints
34.3% of websites run on outdated CMS versions
42.5% rely on custom or proprietary solutions
The industry’s technology stack is fragmented and often unsuitable for scaling, multisite management, API integrations, and AI initiatives. Outdated CMS platforms and custom-built systems increase security risks, slow down updates, and create barriers to market expansion.
Structured data ≠ AI visibility
52.2% of websites use structured data
Yet 79.1% of those still have AI Visibility = Low
Structured data helps interpret content but does not determine priority in AI-generated responses. AI systems select sources based on a combination of authority, completeness, freshness, and content coherence. Structured data is a supporting layer - not a visibility solution.
Accessibility: a barrier for a growing audience
A “green” accessibility level (≥ 90):
– achieved by only ~30% of sites on each platform
– consistently across desktop and mobile: just 23.9%
Accessibility issues are widespread. With an aging population and the growth of age-friendly tourism, accessibility gaps are becoming a direct constraint on demand and trust - not merely a compliance concern.
Full industry Benchmark report
The full Benchmark report provides a broader, more systematic view of the industry’s current state, common technological and product limitations, and the structural gaps between user expectations and the actual effectiveness of digital channels.
The industry appears locally optimized, but this optimization remains isolated and has limited impact on demand, international visibility, and conversion. Platform fragmentation - outdated CMS platforms, custom solutions, and limited multisite and API capabilities - significantly complicates scaling and market expansion.
At the same time, AI-channel presence remains low. Even websites with high SEO scores rarely appear in AI-generated answers and zero-click scenarios, where user decisions are increasingly formed.
Combined with insufficient readiness for real-time mobile usage, personalization, multilingual access, and accessibility for an aging audience, this reduces the effectiveness of digital channels as growth drivers.
The current site-centric model has reached its limits. For DMOs and medical tourism organizations, the next stage of evolution is a shift from individual websites to a unified digital ecosystem, where data, content, AI channels, performance, accessibility, and scalability function as a connected system rather than a set of isolated solutions.
54.5% of sites have traffic below 1,000/month
31.8% are multilingual
47.7% have AI Visibility = Low
Even official destination platforms often fail to fulfill their role in demand generation and international navigation.
87.0% of sites have SEO ≥ 85
95.2% have AI Visibility = Low
Median organic traffic to the homepage: 22 visits/month
In medical tourism, formal optimization often fails to translate into real demand due to limited digital visibility.