Seven in 10 Americans are either using, planning to use or open to using artificial intelligence tools for travel planning, with 71 percent saying they felt using AI to research and plan travel would be easier than planning on their own. This data comes from financial tech company MoneyLion’s “2024 Travel & AI Trends Report.”
The survey, conducted by The Harris Poll, polled 2,078 Americans ages 18 and older and dug into how they are planning their travels, where they are planning to go, their comfort with financing travel, and their adoption of AI tools in these processes.
Not surprisingly, younger adults (aged 18 to 34) are embracing AI for travel planning, with 29 percent already using AI tools (compared to 15 percent of those over 65). In addition, 81 percent of Americans with children under 18 living in household are using, plan to use or have used AI to plan a trip. Among the top aspects of trip-planning that Americans would use AI for are: finding restaurants (56 percent), hotel recommendations (53 percent), destination recommendations (51 percent), local transportation and flight recommendations and planning activities (all 50 percent).
At first, this might seem like a red flag to travel advisors but a panel at our sister publication Luxury Travel Advisor’s Ultra Summit showed travelers’ use of AI in a new light. Most notably, Janel Carnero of Embark Beyond said she doesn’t mind it at all when clients come to her with an AI-generated itinerary.
“Honestly, I lean into it,” she said. Carnero will tell the client, “OK, great. Give me what you've created because now I have some inspiration regarding what you were looking for. Oh, I see you're looking for a castle in Ireland,” etc. In a way, it helps move the conversation along, said Carnero, in that it gives her insight into what the client was picturing for their trip. In some instances, ChatGPT might not know the full extent of the options, so that gives the travel advisor a chance to shine and improve upon the concepts the client showed up with.
“I think it's a great thing if [clients] come in with an itinerary,” added Mo Noubani of The Travel Box International. “We want to know, what is your baseline? What are you dealing with?” A sample itinerary gives an advisor this insight.
Said Carnero: “Don't look at it as something that's just going to be this end all because it's really not. It's just there to help in some way or another, in one aspect or many.”
Additional Findings
Beyond looking at consumers’ opinions on artificial intelligence, MoneyLion looked at general travel trends, as well. What did it find?
The majority of Americans plan to stay domestic, with 76 percent planning to travel within the U.S. this year. The plurality (24 percent) of this group is planning to visit the Northeast, more than any other region. Top international travel destinations included Europe (6 percent) and Mexico (6 percent). That said, 83 percent of Americans are eager to explore new destinations in 2024.
Among respondents with children, 87 percent plan to travel this year.
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