During the summer heat, you may be daydreaming about ski trips and snow shoeing in a winter paradise. If you want to secure a good deal, start browsing airfares for your winter get-away before the end of the summer. 

We checked out how A.I. can help you plan your next snowy adventure and beyond. AI bots can generate detailed itineraries and help you find the best deals. Here’s how A.I. can help you plan the perfect vacation. 

Using A.I. for travel

Since we have snow on the brain, we used ChatGPT to build an itinerary for a trip to Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost main island, renowned for its mountainous landscapes, natural springs, and winter recreation. The generative A.I. has made headlines for its ability to provide remarkably detailed answers to questions, due to its sophisticated language processing.

Following the prompt “travel plans, Hokkaido, Japan, winter,” ChatGPT opened with a general description of the region and a list of the top six destinations. We learned that Sapporo, Hokkaido’s capital city, is known for the annual Sapporo Snow Festival, local cuisine and shopping. Visit Furano and Biei to soak in soothing natural hot springs, and Otaru, to stroll alongside historic canals. 

Next, was a list of where to go for activities such as ice fishing, skiing and observing winter wildlife. Most helpful was ChatGPT’s sample 8-day itinerary. 

For day one, the A.I. suggested we land in Sapporo, explore the city, visit the Sapporo Beer Museum and enjoy a bowl of ramen. These are great ideas, but specificity is still a weakness of many generative AI tools. How and where should we explore the city? Which restaurant in Sapporo serves the best ramen? 

But A.I. is a worthwhile travel planning tool because the sophistication of its responses increases with use, writes the New York Times in an article on using A.I. to plan trips. 

“A.I. travel apps are improving as they learn and can be useful for the trip research and coordination phase,” writes then New York Times. “Just be sure to double-check the bot’s work before you commit to a plan.”

Most people are familiar with Chat GPT, but there are many new apps that leverage A.I. specifically for the purpose of trip planning. 

“A.I. bots that are fine-tined for travel queries are more often comprehensive,” writes the New York Times. “These bots scout destinations, plan itineraries, search for accommodations and flights, map out road trips and do more — grabbing a lot of information at once and saving you all that time-consuming web trawling.”

Here are some travel A.I. tools to try out:

Layla is a generative A.I. that pulls from the experiences of nearly 1,600 travel influencers with whom the platform partners. This information yields greater details for Layla’s recommendations. 

When we asked Layla for winter travel plans in Hokkaido, her responses had a noticeably human touch. 

“Oh, Hokkaido in winter? You’re in for a treat! Snow, hot springs, and all the ramen you can handle,” the A.I. quipped.

From there, you can ask Layla anything or follow her detailed suggested itinerary. Layla will schedule the entire day, from morning to evening. In Sapporo, on day one, Layla suggested to, "start your adventure with a visit to Odori Park (Odori Koen). This central park is perfect for a morning stroll, offering beautiful flower beds, fountains, and sculptures.”

“It’s an ideal spot to get acquainted with the city’s atmosphere,” she added.

For lunch, she suggested “Sapporo Ramen Kyowakoku, famous for its variety of ramen dishes.”

Booking sites Kayak, Expedia and Booking.com have also jumped on the A.I. bandwagon. To customize plans for travelers, Expedia’s Romie A.I. can gather information from emails to find activities and dining near your accommodations. Romie also tracks weather changes and other disruptions and offers alternative itineraries when needed.

A.I. tools can save you money, too, by quickly comparing prices and finding deals. For example, Google Flights now integrates with Google Gemini, so that you can plan your itinerary and find the cheapest flight to get there.

Also, simply asking an A.I. bot for money saving tips or details on budget friendly options in your destination, can yield useful responses. When we asked the Vacay bot “how to do Hokkaido on a budget,” it gave us useful suggestions such as purchasing a Hokkaido Rail Pass, which offers unlimited public transit across the island. Vacay recommended eating at local markets and trying conveyer belt sushi to keep food costs down. Opting for public onsens, or natural hot spring baths, was suggested over baths at Ryokan, or private inns. Vacay also suggested several low-cost accommodations. 

A.I. is cool, but a live travel agent can often be better.

While AI is a helpful vacation planning tool, it has limitations. Live travel agents can offer individuals and families more tailored and unique travel itineraries. And when your plans don’t go smoothly, live travel agents can negotiate with service providers on your behalf. 

Consider purchasing travel insurance, whether you decide to use A.I. to help plan your next vacation or not. Medical emergencies or travel delays can happen at any time. An Allianz Travel Insurance plan with Trip Cancellation and Travel Delay benefits can reimburse you for certain non-refundable expenses if your trip is cancelled or delayed for a covered reason. 

You should know that your domestic health insurance policy may not fully cover you abroad. Emergency Medical benefits included in many Allianz Travel Insurance plans may help in the event of a covered medical emergency while traveling. 

Get a quote today to find out how we can help make your next adventure stress free.

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