U.S. travel consumers are scouring their mobile apps for airfare deals this holiday season, and many of them are outsourcing the entire itinerary management to AI.
A recent Adobe study shows that nearly three in 10 U.S. travelers now use generative-AI tools to plan excursions, a rise that approximates the 3,500% spike in AI-driven traffic to travel sites over the past year.
As the holiday chaos mounts in early December, trip planning is quickly becoming the latest everyday task Americans hand over to algorithms. A Matador Network survey of 1,000-plus travelers found that 30% say they’re likely to use AI to plan or assist with their holiday travel this year.
Travel can unravel when using AI to plan a holiday trip
Before breaking out your favorite credit card for that trip to Lisbon, technology experts want a word with you about rising risks associated with AI-powered travel tools.
“People must verify everything,” said Juan Luis Nicolau, a business professor at Virginia Tech. “AI is excellent for idea generation and trip inspiration, but it can be risky to make decisions without independent confirmation. Think of it as a smart first draft, not the final word.”
What risk does AI bring to the travel planning table? Here’s a snapshot.
Outdated and inaccurate information
AI might pull information from the previous availability and hours, but many places have different availability or hours during the holidays.
“When we used AI to plan a New Year’s Eve trip to Tokyo’s Shibuya district, AI didn’t update that the event was canceled altogether,” said Dana Yao, co-founder at Dana Yao Media, a Japanese destinations travel services platform. “We found it’s always smart to check the official website or call ahead.”
Missing local traditions and cultural context
AI might miss seasonal customs that could impact your travel plans. Yao said in Japan, Kentucky Fried Chicken is the go-to for Christmas dinner. “If you want KFC around Christmas, you need to pre-order weeks in advance or there will be no dinner left,” she said. “AI won’t provide that information unless asked, and your holiday evening might end up a lot different from what you’d planned.”
Oversimplified travel logistics
AI often overlooks key real-world variables such as weather, traffic, airport layout, or typical congestion patterns.
“For example, it may recommend a flight connection that doesn’t account for the distance between arrival and departure gates, or provide an idealized drive time that ignores areas known for consistent delays,” said Casey Keller, co-founder at Wandering Everywhere, a travel services platform.
Limited awareness of international requirements
When traveling abroad, AI generally does not verify passport validity rules, visa requirements, or other entry restrictions. “That can lead to serious, last-minute complications,” Keller noted.
When Holiday demand is high, AI can underdeliver, or worse
The stakes are higher during holidays when availability is tight, and prices surge. Goedele Mangelaars, founder and CEO at Pink Notebook, a New York City-based travel services company, cites these additional AI-related travel planning risks.
Phantom availability. “LLMs scrape outdated information and confidently recommend fully booked hotels,” Mangelaars noted.
Pricing hallucinations. “An LLM trained on summer data might suggest a ‘reasonably priced’ Christmas market hotel at $150 a night when the actual rate is now $450,” Mangelaars added.
Currency confusion. “AI travel tools can mix up exchange rates or misunderstand local pricing norms,” Mangelaars said.
Use these tips to protect and optimize your AI-powered holiday trip planning
It’s perfectly fine to use AI to help plan a holiday excursion, as long as you’re aware of the operational risks and apply some due diligence to the process.
After some trial and error and having now established her own trip-planning workflow, here’s what Yao recommends when using AI for travel itineraries.
Use AI for idea gathering first
“The technology is great at providing sample itineraries, activity suggestions, neighborhood breakdowns, and overall structure,” Yao said.
Be specific
To get better results, you’ll want to provide as much detail as possible about what you enjoy, what you value most, and the type of trip you’re seeking. “Don’t forget to tell it to include cushion time, since delays and holiday crowds are quite common,” Yao noted.
Follow up on everything
It’s crucial to fact-check your AI-planned itinerary. “You’ll want to confirm the details by hand, such as location, event, and attraction hours, ticket availability, or if there are any holiday changes from the official website or their social channels,” she added.
Eventually, AI will get more accurate and improve what it already does well
Travel experts say AI already has much going for it, and further improvements are on the way.
“AI can process data almost instantaneously, which is excellent when you are looking for specific information, such as ’10 family-friendly things to do in Miami,’ or an outline for an itinerary,” said Joe Cronin, president of International Citizens Insurance in Hingham, Mass. “It addresses blank-page anxiety by providing inspirational and innovative ideas.”
While there are always details to fact-check, AI saves travelers a lot of time during preliminary research. “AI is useful for things like taking the effort to synthesize weather patterns, cultural norms, and popular destinations,” Cronin noted.
In her primary job, Yao works in the technology sector and has seen firsthand the potential in AI for travel. “I’m seeing the speed of new technology merging, so I do think AI trip planning will get better,” she said. “With more advanced models and data retrieval, it will get more accurate information faster and do better with filtering out the irrelevant and outdated info.”
One potential downside is that AI will still struggle with the human side of travel: emotions, etiquette, nuance, and a place’s feeling.
“It can say things like ‘Kyoto has amazing traditional culture,’ but it doesn’t actually understand what that actually feels like,” Yao noted. “So for now, definitely utilize AI for brainstorming and setting up the overall trip structure, but still double-check the specific details and feasibility to make sure your holiday trip goes as planned.”
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