Travelers use AI to plan trips despite illusions and trust gaps

For many travelers, the process of planning their trips is a grueling slog through endless price comparisons and confusing browser tabs. Increasingly, they are outsourcing the work to artificial intelligence.

According to travel platform Klook’s annual survey of 11,000 global users, nearly 91% of global travelers rely on AI travel planners.

Travelers use technology for a variety of reasons. Some turn to AI to find out what they want from a trip, and others to find the best deals to suit their needs, Klook’s research revealed.

The appeal partly “reflects a do-it-yourself culture, a sense of ownership and pride in building yourself,” said Lee Rowan of travel agency Sewanti Travel.

But trust remains a challenge. A separate report by Booking.com on consumer attitudes towards AI in everyday life and travel found that while 91% of respondents continue to be concerned about AI, only 35% fully trust its outputs.

A major hurdle is accuracy. AI tools built around large language patterns are known to produce ‘illusions’, a phenomenon in which false information is presented as reality.

Shine Yee Ho, director of tourism consultancy Horvath HTL, said her experience with AI has been largely devoid of illusions.

As a self-proclaimed “heavy user” of LLMs, Ho relied on tips from ChatGPT to find hotels within her budget and places that matched her interests when planning her six-month solo retreat. Those recommendations are “very clear and good,” he said.

While Ho’s experience with AI has been positive, the reliability of AI is a concern for many travelers.

Savanti Travel’s Rowan recalls a client who was in Paris on a business trip, arriving late for an appointment after ChatGPT failed to suggest a route that led to road closures due to construction. What was supposed to be a 10 minute transfer turned into a 45 minute journey.

“They seem like edge cases, but they’re actually very common,” Rowan said.

Industry experts say AI could reshape what destinations travelers see. Small businesses may be particularly affected because they lack the expertise or digital presence needed to appear in search results.

Older assets, especially independent ones, or those in developing countries, “will struggle even more because they don’t have the expertise, they don’t have the guidance,” Horwath HTL’s Ho said.

“It’s a shame, because arguably … they need more demand than ever, right?”

On the flip side, well-promoted tourist destinations may suffer from the effects of over-tourism in current iterations of AI.

AI tools should be used to introduce offbeat destinations, spread demand so tourism is not at too much risk, said Guy Llewellyn, associate professor at EHL Hospitality Business School Singapore. Many AI systems are being trained on “top 10 lists” of places to recommend, which is somewhat counterintuitive, he said.

AI tools can struggle with real-world nuances that experienced travel planners have to account for. These include seasonal weather and travel fatigue after long flights, Rowan said, while suggesting outdoor experiences.

“Multi-generational movement issues, you know, whole allergies, disabilities, intolerances, those things AI can’t handle really well,” he said.

He said that it will not be able to help you when things go wrong. When war broke out in the Middle East, several passengers were stranded after airspace in the region was shut down. AI is not going to get you to the top of the queue for the next return flight, he said.

However, as AI models improve and businesses become more savvy at integrating new tools, Llewellyn remains optimistic about their usefulness.

“As we integrate more with AI, they may have more up-to-date data than a traditional travel agent,” he said.

Llewellyn said the hospitality industry should prioritize structuring and opening up its data so AI can access it.

“It doesn’t have to be customer-facing; it can be completely back-end via an API call,” he added, referring to an “application programming interface” or gateway that allows outsiders to use company data for various purposes.

As long as there is access to AI, it will be able to provide realistic information to end users and reduce overall illusions, he said.

Despite the information gaps and deficiencies of existing AI models, the hospitality industry is pressing forward with the rollout of more smart tools. Booking.com, for example, has implemented various AI-powered solutions with OpenAI.

Llewellyn predicts that the digitization of information will continue to grow as more AI companies enter the market.

Passengers should benefit from this, as it reduces the frequency of hallucinations and improves the overall user experience.

“AI planners are going to happen,” Llewellyn said. “The first few iterations are going to be slow. They’re going to have some problems, but it’s a really impressive thing for the industry.”