Visit Orlando, the tourism association for the most visited destination in the US, has rolled out a new mobile app for tourists.

Utilising specialist ‘cognitive computing’ technology from WayBlazer, the app offers personalised recommendations of Orlando experiences that best fit an individual’s needs and preferences.

Travellers begin their app experience by speaking or typing in natural language into their mobile device.

Once a user asks a question, the app narrows available options based on individual-specific factors, such as the traveller’s interests, time of day, location and weather.

It then further refines the final recommendations by applying insights from numerous data sources, including media stories, consumer and expert blogs, third-party travel resources and Visit Orlando’s extensive database.

The Visit Orlando App uses IBM Watson’s Natural Language Classifier and Alchemy Language services to enable this personalised and natural language experience.

Because of WayBlazer’s Watson-enabled machine learning capabilities, the app also continuously learns from previous interactions and gains knowledge about user preferences, helping further refine its recommendations over time.

In addition to its advanced search capabilities, the Visit Orlando App also features augmented reality experiences for visitors to explore, have fun and earn savings.

“As the first destination to create a mobile app using this advanced level of cognitive computing, our goal is to help visitors maximise their Orlando vacation in a way that is personally meaningful to them,” said Visit Orlando president and CEO, George Aguel.

“Visitors to Orlando can be awed and sometimes overwhelmed at the array of unique attraction, dining, shopping and entertainment options. This innovative technology is like having your own personal Orlando expert, 24/7.”

Now in public beta, the app can be downloaded in Apple App and Google Play stores.