Would You Allow AI to Arrange Your Upcoming Vacation?

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When Jason Brown planned his summer trip to Amsterdam and Ireland, he didn’t use standard travel guides or social media. Rather, he developed his schedule using ChatGPT, the generative artificial intelligence tool available from OpenAI. Using the AI, Brown, the creator of People Movers, a recruiting company, scheduled a 10-day trip for himself, his wife, their two sons (ages 20 and 16), and one of their buddy in July and August. “In the past, I have always used sites such as TripAdvisor, but I realized I had all the knowledge at my fingertips [through AI],” Brown said, characterizing the experience as “fantastic.” It spits out in 15 seconds.

AI-Created Perfect Itinerary
The itinerary created by artificial intelligence gave the group a comprehensive road map for their trips across Dublin and other areas of Ireland. It recommended morning until night activities included morning arrival in Dublin, daytime visits to Trinity College and Grafton Street, and evening stay at Temple Bar. ChatGPT advised highlights for Amsterdam including the Jordaan area, Van Gogh Museum, and the Anne Frank Museum.

Despite following many AI suggestions, Brown still relied on word-of-mouth recommendations from an online community of alumni from his college and a local friend in Amsterdam. “That way, we experienced a few things we wouldn’t have found using ChatGPT. But it gives a perfect skeleton of a trip and everything you need and want to see.”

The Rise of AI in Travel Planning
Artificial intelligence is making inroads into all areas of life, including travel. In addition to ChatGPT, there are other generative AI tools like Google’s Gemini, Microsoft’s Copilot, and dedicated travel AI sites such as Trip Planner and Ask Layla. These tools are becoming a part of travel planning for some people. According to a survey by Sainsbury’s Bank Travel Money, one in ten Britons have used AI for travel planning, and one in five are likely to use it in the future.

The Challenges of AI Travel Planning
AI for travel planning does not, however, present without difficulties. More than a third (38%), of respondents indicated AI produced generic responses; 37% noticed missing information; and 30% cited erroneous information. Head of travel and tourism research at Euromonitor International Caroline Bremmer noted that only if generative artificial intelligence is trained on current, objective, and reliable data will it be able to produce accurate recommendations. Should the data be erroneous or out of current, the artificial intelligence will reinforce these errors. “The challenge is ensuring real-time information that is factually correct. There are dangers if consumers do not undertake due diligence to verify the results provided by Gen AI with other sources, including talking to people in the know, such as local residents or travel agents,” Bremmer emphasized.

Ensuring Accuracy: The Human Touch
Co-founder of Berlin-based AI trip planner Just Ask Layla Sardar Bali underlined the need of accuracy. “We have inside tools,” Bali said. “All content goes through a two-step verification process, one of which is more automated and we have a more manual process where internal teams look at different content and research it a bit.” He did admit, though, that some mistakes—like wrongly marking sites—could pass through.

More businesses are joining the scene as artificial intelligence travel planning tools get better. Travel behemoth Expedia debuted Romie, an artificial intelligence tool for US consumers inside its iPhone app earlier this year. Senior vice president of data and artificial intelligence at Expedia Group Shiyi Pickrell pointed out that Romie can assist reduce vacation options by matching sites depending on themes, such family-friendly beaches.

Experiences and Warnings
Although artificial intelligence techniques can be quite useful, their outcomes are not always perfect. Rebecca Crowe, a 29-year-old freelancer from Liverpool, routinely plans trips using artificial intelligence. During a visit to Lecco, a town near Lake Como in Italy, she realized that the AI-generated itineraries offered travel paths that were incompatible with rail and ferry schedules. “Following this itinerary, we’d have spent more time on transport than anything else,” Crowe said.

Crowe also used AI to find gluten-free restaurants for a friend with celiac disease, only to discover that many recommendations were outdated or incorrect. “If I’m looking for seasonal things like ferry timetables in the shoulder season, AI just doesn’t seem to be up-to-date and accurate enough. Same for museums with seasonal opening times,” she noted.

AI as a Starting Point
Even with these problems, Crowe thinks AI can be useful as a starting point for planning trips. “There are blogs and websites with full guides and itineraries that are much more accurate and up to date.” If you want a rough idea of things to do in a certain city, it’s a great jumping-off point, but the amount of fact-checking it requires means that it doesn’t really save you much time in the long run,” she advised.

Conclusion
Including artificial intelligence to plan a trip provides both significant benefits and some fascinating challenges. Although systems such as ChatGPT provide a solid foundation for trip plans, their accuracy is contingent on the quality of the data they are taught. As artificial intelligence technology advances and new services emerge, the travel industry will likely see an increase in the number of sophisticated technologies capable of providing increasingly precise and personalized travel experiences. For the time being, however, combining AI recommendations with traditional research and personal counsel remains the best way to plan a fantastic trip.

For more information, visit BBC’s comprehensive article