Eastern European tourism booming due to AI recommendation
Brits looking ahead at their summer holiday plans have been turning to AI to suggest the perfect holiday destination, and, in turn, previously overlooked destinations in Eastern Europe are enjoying a huge tourism boom.
AI has become a reliable tool for all types of personal assistance; outside of the office, users are beginning to ask for holiday tips in light of the global turmoil, the Iran War, and the jet fuel shortages, making holidays a riskier business than usual.
As per the Daily Mail, the CEO of holiday provider Lastminute.com, Alessandro Petazzi, has revealed that “We’re not seeing a change in the desire to travel, so people are still searching a lot for travels. But they are getting their information on Google, on ChatGPT, and similar chatbots.”
He went on, “People are also progressively getting inspiration from AI chatbots as well.”
However, users are becoming aware that asking the AI systems for a typical suggestion will generate an answer most likely on the high end of their price range, given high demand.
As such, Petazzi explained, “Everyone is looking for off-the-beaten-path travels. Something that surprises them. And so, obviously, if you’re using a chatbot, you can ask them, “Give me a suggestion that you think I’m going to like, and that’s not the usual suspect.”
He added, “That happens in the inspiration phase. So it’s important for us to be able to be there to also serve these new travel trends.”
Therefore, the company is seeing an increase in demand for European breaks, “either the smaller cities, like Krakow, Gdansk, and so forth, or the European capital cities such as Berlin and Copenhagen.”
AI is recommending spaces that are perceived to be safer from the threat of war: “Especially now, there is a perception that people feel a European destination is very safe – and a European capital city is even safer. In the wake of whatever possible risk might be there, that is perceived as a very, very safe option,” Petazzi explained.
According to the company’s data, in the city escape market, tourism to Gdansk has grown 97 per cent, Bucharest has grown 71 per cent, Kraków has increased 58 per cent, and Riga has increased 40 per cent in popularity over the last year.
