Holiday planning should feel exciting, but for many travellers today it has become a stressful and complicated process. Can artificial intelligence really make it easier?
When Planning Turns Into Stress
Thomas and Sabine have been trying to organise their summer holiday for weeks. School holidays leave them with only two possible dates, flight prices are soaring, and the apartments near the beach sell out the moment they appear online. After hours of searching, comparing, and juggling options, the excitement of planning a holiday has turned into sheer exhaustion.
For families like theirs, the stress often begins with dates and budgets. For older travellers, the challenge is different. They usually have more flexibility in time, but what they seek is security and predictability: the reassurance that a new destination will feel as safe and familiar as the ones they already know.
What AI Promises to Do
In recent times, more and more travel platforms have started experimenting with artificial intelligence. Expedia now offers an AI trip planner that can turn a simple prompt, or even an Instagram Reel, into a tailored itinerary. Webjet uses AI to scan thousands of flights and instantly suggest the best multi-city routes. Startups like GuideGeek provide chat-based assistants that create personalised itineraries via WhatsApp or Messenger, while some agencies in the UK are already testing AI call-handlers that talk directly with customers.
All these tools share the same ambition: to take on part of the cognitive load of trip planning and to make the path to a decision smoother and less stressful.
The Reality Check
Practice shows that simply “pushing” offers to travellers is not enough. When AI aggressively sends recommendations, people often perceive it as spam rather than help. Travel decisions are not just about available dates or ticket prices. They are about trust, reassurance and emotion.
For young families, the decisive factor is the feeling that they have found the best possible solution within strict time and budget limits. For best agers, speed is not the priority. Reliable information and predictability matter more. Quick decisions are less important than the confidence that everything will go as expected.
This explains why many AI experiments in travel today remain at the level of inspiration. AI can spark an idea and ignite curiosity, but the actual booking still happens through familiar, trusted channels. That raises an important question: how do we measure success if AI inspires but does not complete the transaction?
The Path Forward
Perhaps the answer lies in new metrics, not bookings but the moments when AI helps travellers think differently. When it inspires them to consider a destination they would not have thought of. When it reduces the stress of planning. When it makes the path to a decision smoother, even if the final click happens elsewhere.
AI in travel is still at the very beginning, like a seed that needs to grow and learn. What is already clear is that it will not succeed if it adds stress, uses a tone that does not build trust, or breaks with the values of the brand behind it. It will succeed only when it becomes invisible, when travellers no longer think of it as “AI” but as a natural part of their holiday experience.
And that might be the greatest lesson. AI in travel should not be a magic crystal ball that promises to solve everything, but a quiet and reliable guide, one that removes unnecessary obstacles and leaves more space for what holidays should always be about: enjoyment.