An American woman who, like a growing number of travellers, used an AI chatbot to plan her holiday, realised she’d been given some bad advice when she was directed to a museum that was closed.
Orit Ofri, a marketing consultant from Oregon in the US, used ChatGPT for travel advice on a recent trip to Paris.
The chatbot made multiple mistakes, including recommending visiting the Musée d’Orsay on Monday when it’s closed.
‘I also asked for restaurants that are within a 10-minute walking distance from the Eiffel Tower, and it gave me restaurants that were more than 20 minutes away,’ she said, according to USA Today.
It comes as the number of British holidaymakers turning to artificial intelligence for holiday inspiration has doubled in the past year.
According to research by ABTA, the proportion of people using AI to inspire their trips is up by four per cent to the previous year and the technology is now being used in this way by one in 12 people.
ABTA said the findings highlight how AI is ‘beginning to play a bigger role in shaping decisions about travel’.
Jonas Muthoni, an AI expert who analysed thousands of AI-generated content pieces, tested ChatGPT for a recent Kenya trip.
Orit Ofri, a marketing consultant from Oregon in the US, used ChatGPT for travel advice on a recent trip to Paris
The AI confidently recommended visiting Maasai Mara National Park during peak migration season without mentioning that road conditions make certain lodges inaccessible.
‘The AI pulled from outdated tourism websites rather than current local knowledge,’ he told USA Today.
Milton Brown, who manages digital marketing budgets, tested ChatGPT for a recent trip.
It recommended hotels 40 per cent more expensive than equally rated alternatives just three blocks away, according to the publication.
‘Those recommended hotels had aggressive digital marketing campaigns targeting the exact keywords the AI was trained on,’ he said.
ABTA said it ‘expects the number of people using AI to increase over the coming years’, as 43 per cent of people said they would be confident to some degree letting an AI tool plan their holiday, and 38 per cent said they would be confident letting it book for them.
However, its research revealed internet searches and recommendations from friends and family remain the most common ways to choose where to go.
They also found that ‘more traditional sources’, such as holiday brochures, are still used by a quarter of holidaymakers.
Jonas Muthoni, an AI expert who analysed thousands of AI-generated content pieces, tested ChatGPT for a recent Kenya trip
Mark Tanzer, ABTA chief executive, said: ‘The increasing use of AI as a source of holiday inspiration reflects how consumer behaviour is changing – both in travel and other industries.
‘For our sector, the challenge is to harness the potential which AI has to support our businesses, while continuing to celebrate and champion the value of the personal touch and expertise which comes with booking with a travel agent or tour operator.’
The increased use of AI comes as ABTA identifies a ‘very different and more gradual change in consumer behaviour’ that more people have been on a solo holiday over the past year than ever, with nearly one in five people taking a holiday on their own.
This is the highest level of solo travel recorded since ABTA started tracking this data in 2014 as part of its Holiday Habits reporting, when 13 per cent of people took a solo trip, and overtakes last year’s peak of 17 per cent.
ABTA’s Holiday Habits research was conducted by The Nursery Research and Planning, which surveyed 2,000 UK adults between July 21 and August 1.
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