With a potentially record-setting holiday travel season kicking into high gear, 30% of travelers say they are likely to use AI to plan or assist with their travel planning this year. This finding comes from a survey of more than 1,000 travelers conducted by leading travel publisher Matador Network, which launched the free AI travel genius GuideGeek last year.
The survey found that of the growing portion of travelers who have already used AI for travel, two thirds (66.6%) plan to use AI for travel planning this holiday season. Overall, younger travelers (Millennial and Gen Z) are almost 50 percent (48.1%) more likely than older travelers (Gen X, Baby Boomer) to use AI for holiday travel this year
“I used AI last Christmas while in Split, Croatia. It led me to Diocletian Palace and Marjan Park, which was beautifully decorated for the holidays,” says Daryl H., an American currently living and working in Slovakia. “Without the suggestion from the AI, I might not have visited Marjan Park. I’ll be using AI to find holiday travel inspiration in Europe again this year.”
Planning family travel is, unsurprisingly, the most popular use of AI during the holiday season, according to the survey, followed by travel for people with disabilities. Surveys from Matador Network earlier in 2024 found that families with children are more likely than average to use AI travel tools and travelers with disabilities (or people planning travel for people with disabilities) report especially high levels of satisfaction with the technology.
“The holiday season often finds people making plans with family members and friends they don’t necessarily get to see at other times of year,” says Matador Network CEO Ross Borden. “Generative AI is really well suited to finding activities for a diverse group of people with different interests. You can ask GuideGeek specific questions like, ‘We have a 94-year-old who uses a wheelchair and a 15-year-old vegetarian in our group. What are some good options for dinner in Chicago?'”
Travelers message GuideGeek for free on WhatsApp, Instagram or Facebook Messenger and receive instant, personalized responses from the award-winning AI. Travelers visiting Greece, Aruba, Toronto, Reno-Tahoe and dozens of other destinations around the world can use custom versions of GuideGeek’s technology provided by the destination marketing organization and trained on their extensive data about the destination.
“AI has made my travel planning a little easier because not only does it give me great suggestions but also includes information on hidden gems in the destination I am visiting,” says Christine Frances of Atlanta, who used AI to plan a trip to Vancouver, British Columbia, just after the holidays last year. “An experience that AI suggested was visiting Lynn Canyon Park for a more laid-back waterfall hike. I loved it and it wasn’t super crowded.”