AI's Travel Blunders Drive Travelers Back to Human Experts
As artificial intelligence makes costly planning errors, discerning travelers are increasingly seeking the personalized touch of human travel advisors.
The promise of instantaneous, free travel planning via artificial intelligence is increasingly colliding with reality, leading to costly mistakes and a resurgence in demand for human travel advisors. Travelers are discovering that AI-generated itineraries, while quick, can contain significant inaccuracies, outdated information, and a lack of personalized insight, prompting a return to the expertise of travel professionals.
Vladislav Guzey learned this firsthand when AI advised him that Russian passport holders did not need a visa to enter Taiwan. His reliance on this incorrect information led to him being turned away at the airport. "I relied on that information," Guzey stated.
Studies indicate the problem is widespread. According to one report, 43% of AI-generated travel itineraries contained at least one verifiable error. Despite these flaws, 74% of U.S. travelers have reportedly used AI for trip planning, seeking recommendations for hotels, activities, and shopping, with half even using it for real-time updates during their travels.
Robyn Levin, a seasoned traveler and author, encountered similar issues while planning a European vacation. ChatGPT recommended a hotel on the Baltic coast, assuring her it had been renovated in 2024. However, the hotel's last renovation was in 2008. In another instance, the AI suggested a luxury Lake Como hotel claiming it was a two-minute walk from a train station, when in fact, no such station existed nearby, and reaching the hotel required a ferry.
Andrew Hickey, while in Italy, used AI to find a restaurant and confirm its operating hours, only to discover upon arrival that it was permanently closed on Mondays. "When I went back to AI to tell them that this is inaccurate information, they replied, 'my bad 😂,'" Hickey recounted.
Even Hadis Hesabi, co-founder and CTO of an AI trip-planning startup, found AI recommending a seemingly plausible but ultimately nonexistent scenic waterfall near Banff. This experience influenced her company's approach, focusing on a knowledge graph of real places rather than relying on AI to invent geography.
Beyond factual errors, travel advisors note that AI struggles with personalization and pacing. Amy Norman, founder of bespoke travel agency Nellie, described an AI-generated Tokyo itinerary as the equivalent of suggesting Times Square and Central Park to a first-time visitor to New York. Her clients, she explained, seek originality and deeply personal experiences that AI cannot replicate.
This demand for unique, immersive travel is particularly strong in the luxury market. A significant majority of wealthy North American travelers value unique accommodations over standardized hotel chains. Consequently, luxury travel firms are seeing increased business from clients willing to pay annual fees for highly personalized service, vetted partners, and proactive problem-solving.
Stacy Fischer Rosenthal, president of Fischer Unlimited, stated that her clients seek expertise and personalized service, leading them to bypass AI altogether. She recounted an instance where a client planning a trip to Spain opted for a ChatGPT itinerary over a private guide, only for the AI-generated plan to include closed restaurants and outdated exhibitions.
Rob DelliBovi, owner of RDB Hospitality Group, highlighted how AI's inaccuracies can lead to substantial financial losses. One client lost thousands of dollars in tax refunds at Milan's airport because AI incorrectly advised that the refund counter was located after security, when it was actually before. DelliBovi's firm has also encountered clients with AI-suggested nonexistent tours, impractical flight routes, and mischaracterized hotels.
Despite these shortcomings, some travel advisors find value in AI-generated itineraries as a starting point. Julie Middlebrook-Levin uses them to understand a client's interests, subsequently fact-checking and refining the plans. She emphasizes that while AI can quickly produce an itinerary, creating a truly great trip requires human judgment, knowledge, and accountability.