AI is rapidly becoming a trusted travel companion in key international markets, report shows

From itinerary planning to checking restaurant menus on the go, consumers are embracing AI tools like ChatGPT, Co-Pilot, DeepSeek and others to simplify, personalise, and enhance their journeys.

According to qualitative research conducted by the Analytics and Insights unit within South African Tourism in July 2025 across the US, China, India, Kenya, and the UK, AI is rapidly becoming a trusted travel companion in key international markets.

“Because I am interested in travel, I may occasionally search for the keyword “travel”. Then the system may know my search preferences and occasionally recommend related bloggers to me.” Male, 25–40, Single, no kids (China).

Another consumer notes: “No need to deliberately follow. It [platform such as RedNote] pushes relentlessly once you've searched.” Male, 41-50, Married with kids (China)

“Sometimes I’ll even ask AI tools to plan my itinerary, like ‘give me a 7- day trip in Italy’ with food and art, and it gives me ideas instantly. As well as to translate certain things into English or Mandarin.” Female, 25–40, Married with kids (China)

In India, where holiday planning is often a meticulous affair, AI is proving to be a powerful shortcut. “It’s made my research much easier. This was the first time I used it to plan a holiday with my child in December. I used ChatGPT to give me a list of hotels which have good kids' activities in terms of kids' clubs, an aqua park and all of that. And it was so much easier than going through hotel websites or going through 10,000 photographs to see if they even have it.” — Female, 41–50, Married with kids (India)

Travellers are no longer relying solely on traditional search engines or travel agents. They’re turning to AI for a faster, more intuitive way to build their dream getaways. A respondent we engaged with in the United Kingdom used AI to help maximise value for money and to assist him in estimating the overall cost of a trip

“…, you have the AI tools and stuff which is already happening, right. So, things like ChatGPT, you already use to help plan some parts of your holiday. Like you might use it to find an itinerary, or you might use it to be like, where’s a good place to go for this…I get the most value for money with ChatGPT” Male, Age 25-30, Single (UK)

A One-Stop Shop for Stress-Free Planning In the US, consumers are finding AI particularly useful for compressing hours of research into a matter of minutes. “I’ve started using AI to plan trips, and it’s actually been really helpful. You can say, ‘I have this budget, and I want to go here for these many days,’ and it gives you a whole outline. Then you can tweak it. It saves so much time. For my Croatia trip, I had a rough itinerary in like two hours. It’s a one-stop shop and way less stressful than piecing it together manually.” Female, 41–50, Single (USA)

Even seasoned travellers are impressed by the time-saving possibilities. “My wife tends to use ChatGPT the most. She said, ‘We're going to be in Sicily for this many days, please suggest an itinerary for us.’ It came back with a great outline. We didn’t follow it exactly, but components got folded in. It helped us think of things we wouldn't have thought of ourselves, which saved time and effort.” Male, 51–65, Married with kids (USA

From Search Engine to Travel Sidekick AI’s role doesn’t stop at booking; it travels with you. In India, younger professionals are already using AI tools like ChatGPT during their trips to access quick answers, directions, or recommendations, bypassing Google altogether. “When we are visiting any city and want to have some quick answers instead of using Google, we use the ChatGPT app. For other purposes, we use Google Maps. It shows which buses, trains, and metros are available and at what time.” Male, 31–40, Married without kids (India)

And in some cases, travellers are even using AI to navigate local cuisines, especially when looking for dietary-specific options like vegetarian food.

 “Instead of looking at the latest review, I start in the reverse. I look for the worst ones. What do the negative reviews say? And check with my office colleagues.” Male, 31–40, Married with kids (India)