Our resident columnist takes a look at what happens if you trust AI to plan trips, praises an actress’ call-out in a theatre and why etiquette has been abandoned.
Entrusting bots with your travel plans
I admit I was a little concerned (and not a little embarrassed for us as a species) to read that more people are outsourcing their travel plans to a chatbot. According to Go.Compare, 35% of UK adults have used AI to plan a trip in the past year, rising to 62% among 18 to 24-year-olds — presumably because they think it’s ok to ask a machine with no passport where to find authenticity.
However, the research also uncovers a concerning knowledge gap around the potential pitfalls of relying on AI for travel planning. A striking 39% of Brits said they were not aware that using AI could result in inaccurate or misleading recommendations. I can see the appeal: AI is quick, confident and never emits a weary sigh when you ask whether Sardinia is “too hot but not too hot”. It will cheerfully nod along forever. Unfortunately, confidence is not the same as competence. It’s how you could end up power-walking towards a closed museum, find a bus route that last ran during the Thatcher years, or a ‘hidden gem’ that’s so hidden it appears never to have existed.
Travel planning, especially for groups, is not an exact science. It involves weather, strikes, dodgy pavements, actual (and frequently revised) opening hours, and the delicate human art of knowing when to abandon culture for chips. By all means use AI as a starting point, but treat it like a bloke in the pub who once went to Lisbon: interesting, occasionally useful, and absolutely not to be trusted with your insurance, your itinerary or your precious time away.
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Put it down and show some respect
Three cheers for the English actress, Rosamund Pike. During the much celebrated Inter Alia at Wyndham’s Theatre, she objected to a spectator looking at a phone, as though the West End were a dimly lit Wetherspoons. Pike was delivering a ferocious performance as Crown Court judge, Jessica Parks in Suzie Miller’s bruising follow-up to Prima Facie which requires attention, not the glow of some idiot checking their WhatsApp.
At the curtain call Pike, a recent recipient of an Olivier Award for the role, reportedly said: “You know who you are and I’m not going to single you out… but we do see these, we do feel them.” Impeccable. Some increasingly treat attention as an optional extra. Theatre asks only this: sit down, shut up, and hide your rectangle of neediness. If that is beyond you, culture is not the problem. Pike did not have a diva moment; she performed a civic duty. Phones off, brains on.
Etiquette, what the hell is that?
When I’m away, my group behaves: decent people, good fun, no nonsense. Sadly, the same can’t be said for the travelling public we encounter. According to a new study from Hotels.com 90% of Brits think they’re impeccably behaved on holiday (of course they do). Meanwhile, 40% admit hotel etiquette might be slipping. Well most people can’t spell etiquette let alone understand what it is. If you ask me it’s going down the pan across large sections of society with no sign of it improving.
The study also revealed that people cheerfully under-declare guest numbers, show little restraint at breakfast (one for now, three for later), and ‘overindulge’ on things such as tea bags, toiletries – in fact anything not nailed down. And while we’re at it, everyone’s quietly judging everyone else. Japanese travellers are held up as the gold standard for politeness, Swedes are close behind, with Brits generously awarding themselves bronze. Americans and Germans get labelled rudest, which feels rich coming from a nation stuffing croissants into handbags. But I suppose ignorance is bliss.
(The views expressed in this column are not necessarily the views of the publisher.)
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