It feels like every industry is talking about AI and travel is no exception. It can summarize. It can predict. It can plan… kind of.
And yet, we keep seeing the same headlines:
“My AI trip sent me two hours outside the city.”
“The restaurant recommendations didn’t exist.”
According to Global Rescue, 30% of travelers now use AI to plan trips.
But here’s what most people don’t realize: AI can give you information. It can’t give you wisdom.
Where AI Helps
We use AI internally for:
- organizing ideas
- streamlining research
- handling repetitive tasks
- quick fact-checks
But that’s where it ends.
Where It Falls Apart
AI doesn’t:
- know the difference between a safe neighborhood and an unsafe one
- understand cultural nuance
- verify that the hotel actually exists
- talk to local partners
- adjust when things go wrong
- protect a group during an emergency
- replace a trip director or advisor
- know what your community actually wants
Travel is human. It’s emotional. It’s unpredictable. It requires quick judgment, building relationships, and an experience AI simply doesn’t have.
What We Do Instead
We use AI as a tool (one tiny piece of a much larger system) but we never rely on it.
Our itineraries are built through:
- long-standing relationships
- vetted local contacts
- trusted partners we visit personally
- advisors who know destinations intimately
- on-the-ground directors
- safety protocols
- cultural insight and lived experience
AI can produce a bullet-point list.
But a bullet-point list doesn’t change someone’s life.
A real person does.
