Five New Travel Tools to Save Time and Money This Summer
We tested all the new AI-powered travel services that promise customized itineraries and access to the best prices. These made the grade.
Long before there was ChatGPT, you’d have to visit an actual brick-and-mortar travel agency to craft and book your dream itinerary. This month, travel agency Fora has brought that nostalgic experience back to the modern era with a pop-up location—open through May 29—in New York City. It’s more like Soho House than the old AAA mainstays where you’d pick up road maps, with luxury hotel brands and tourism boards carrying out elaborate activations while Fora agents brainstorm vacation ideas with clients at a communal workstation.
Yet the reality is that most travelers this summer won’t talk to human travel agents face-to-face, or even online, as they plan their trips. Rather, generative artificial intelligence tools will increasingly play a role in helping us decide where to go. A 2024 survey from global consulting firm Oliver Wyman LLC showed more than 41% of travelers from the US and Canada had recently used this emerging technology for trip inspiration and design—up 30% from a year earlier. (One travel agency is embracing that inevitability, using AI to help turn your emotions into itineraries.)