Photo Credit: A view of the Eiffel Tower in Paris on a sunny day. Paris Tourist Office / Sarah Sergent
Artificial intelligence is getting better at sounding like it knows the traveler. But while it tailors the way it describes destinations to each person, the destinations it recommends change much less.
In a new report, The Mystery of the Disappearing Destination: How AI Is Transforming Travel Discovery, Skift Research tested three large language models (ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude) using repeated prompts across various traveler personas with different demographics, interests, travel companions, and budgets. The models adapted: for example, those traveling with children were given details of family-friendly activities and people with limited funds were pitched low-cost flights.
But the recommended destinations didn't change much.
Almost as Concentrated as Actual Travel Demand
Our findings show that AI's recommendations are almost as concentrated as global international arrivals, which tend to cluster around a few well-known and popular destinations.