ChatGPT's Value for Tourism: Fewer Boring Top 10 Lists

Dublin’s tourism chief thinks AI can replace generic top 10 lists and travel guides – at least that's one of the potential outcomes of his group's new project with OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT.

Barry Rogers, Head of Dublin City Tourism Unit, was speaking Wednesday on a panel at the ITB Berlin travel trade show.

“What we're finding is there's plenty of top 10 lists, there's plenty of articles written about Dublin, but we want to serve up the most unique and authentic experiences because that's what people remember,” said Rogers. “It's a project we launched last week to attack that very specific problem.” 

Dublin City Council and OpenAI announced a partnership to develop AI-powered itineraries.

Dublin’s itinerary recommends the best neighborhoods to visit based on a traveler's interests. “You need to tell it what you're interested in, what kind of food you like and where you're staying, and it will build you a unique itinerary for that neighborhood,” said Rogers. “If that's not what you're interested in, you can click a wild card option and it will send you out to a different neighborhood in the city and give you a completely different experience.”

Over time, AI-powered itineraries will replace articles that are geared toward mass audiences. “It's never going to be a big bang moment but slowly things change,” said Rogers. “Suddenly it might be top 10 lists and Lonely Planet articles and then suddenly it's AI giving you personalized itineraries.”

Tourism Marketers Slow to Invest in ChatGPT

Some destinations are not sure about the potential of ChatGPT for tourism marketing. At ITB Berlin last year, tourism executives at Germany National Tourist Board, Singapore Tourism Board  and Tourism eXchange Great Britain said they were taking a wait-and-see approach when it comes investing in ChatGPT.