[#6] AI vs Human Itineraries / eSIM Abroad / Thailand Weather

This month's recap of travel stories, tourism trends and news

Dear Reader,

Welcome to this month’s recap of authentic travel stories, tourism trends and news - seen through the eyes of an industry insider and curious traveler. More about me here.

Enjoy reading!

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#1 - Would you let AI plan your next holiday? 🤖🌎

Google and OpenAI recently announced upcoming improvements to their AI models, including better trip planning capabilities.

I was curious to test the ability of AI to create a trip itinerary. So I’ve asked Gemini (Google’s free generative AI tool)- to draft an 18-days itinerary to Peru and Bolivia, as I wanted to compare it with my own.

My own itinerary (left) and the AI-generated version (right)

How did it go?

• Broadly speaking, the places that Gemini recommended to visit and in which order to visit them didn’t differ too much from my itinerary;

• However, granular information was sometimes inaccurate or missing. For example, how to get from A to B and how long it takes;

• On the other hand, some key elements were taken into consideration, like the impact of high altitude and seasonality.

Considering that my prompt was far from perfect, the itinerary was complex, and the output was generated in seconds (!), the outcome exceeded my expectations.

Have you ever used AI to plan one of your holidays? How was your experience?

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#2 - Travel Trends 2024 💡

Mastercard has released their latest travel report. Here are some findings:

• Consumers are traveling for memorable events (from Solar Eclipses to Taylor Swift shows, Carnival in Brazil, and the Cricket World Cup)

• Consumer prices remain high in 2024 relative to pre-pandemic levels. As an example, airline ticket prices in Europe increased +35% vs. 2019, lodging +27%

• Munich ranks as the number one trending summer destination this year, followed by Tokyo.

More insights here.

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#3 - Best time to visit (avoid) a destination? ⛱☔

If you’re planning a trip to Thailand, check this article for the best time to (not) visit.

The article reminded me of the most epic torrential rain I’ve ever experienced. It was long time ago in Krabi, in August (monsoon season in Thailand):

Since then, I became much better at choosing when and where to travel.
Here are some tips:

• Plan around public holidays at destination to avoid local tourism spikes;

• Be flexible and ready to adjust your plans in case of sudden weather changes;

• [PRO TIP] Check when flights start/end operating to a destination to find the “sweet spot” between low and shoulder season.

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#4 - Other travel news 📰

• International tourism reached 97% of pre-pandemic levels in Q1 2024. According to UN Tourism, more than 285 million tourists travelled internationally

• Ibiza is the latest Spanish hotspot to fight back against overtourism

• As personalized travel (and ancillary revenues) become more of a priority, many in the hospitality industry are rethinking how they handle early check-ins

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#5 - In case you missed it…

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