Why DMOs need to create itinerary-style content
It’s 2025 and we cannot deny that AI tools are becoming more and more popular. These tools are integrated into everyday life, the business world, school work, task automation, prediction making, and even for vacation planning.
That’s right, people are now using AI tools, like ChatGPT, to plan out their dream vacation. Planning a vacation can be exciting, but also very stressful and overwhelming. This is why people are turning to ChatGPT to plan those amazing trips and take some weight off their shoulders by having AI do all the deep research for them.
How Are Travelers Using AI ChatGPT to Plan Vacations?
Whether it’s a family vacation or a couples’ getaway, more and more travelers are using ChatGPT to help them plan out these vacations because of its ability to create personalized itineraries, as well as, pull vacation information from internet sources. Some people may use them to fully plan their trip, or just as a tool to help them enhance their already planned out vacations.
Two Different Vacations Planned by ChatGPT
We decided to plan out two different vacations, one for couples and one for a family of four, on ChatGPT and see what results it gave us.
Couples’ Getaway
We started off by asking ChatGPT if it could help us plan a couples’ 4-day weekend getaway in Door County, near the Sister Bay area. It responded with different lodges, hotels, and inns that we could potentially stay at, as well as a quick, sample 3-night itinerary. We selected The DöRR Hotel and then asked ChatGPT this:
It responded with prices, hotel features/amenities, and nearby things to do:
Based on the prices, hotel features, nearby attractions, and other added details, we asked if it could plan a 4-day itinerary, and, it responded with a more detailed and helpful 4-day itinerary:
Family Vacation (2 adults & 2 teenagers)
For this vacation, we asked ChatGPT to help us plan out a family summer 3-day weekend vacation in Hayward, WI and to recommend different places to stay. And, it responded with different stay options:
Based on the resorts and lodges ChatGPT gave us, we picked Treeland Resort, and then asked for pricing, resort amenities, restaurants and activities around the area. ChatGPT gave us a list of accommodations, pricing, on- and off-resort activities, local area highlights, and more! Once we reviewed prices, resort features, nearby attractions, and other added details, we asked it to plan a 3-day itinerary:
Pros and Cons of Using AI Tools to Plan Vacations
While using ChatGPT to plan vacations could seem ideal, it does come with pros and cons. We kept track of obstacles we ran into while planning these two trips, as well as, things that flowed rather easily.
Pros
We found that asking questions on ChatGPT started to flow a lot smoother as we got deeper and deeper into the research process because of the detailed answers it was spitting back at us. It gave very detailed answers that only helped us create the next question.
Another thing that was super helpful was that a lot of the answers that were given to us had a link to where the information was pulled, which let us dive deeper into travel articles, Reddit chats, and hotel and traveler sites for more research. ChatGPT sometimes included images which made it easy to visualize a real, potential vacation based on the itineraries it created.
Cons
A few cons you may run into when using AI, is the lack of personalization and human touch, inaccurate information, or it not considering specific factors like travel preferences, traffic times, attraction closures, etc. Therefore, you should be very specific and elaborate the questions you’re asking, but also do outside research and not only base your planning solely on AI tools.
Why DMOs Need to Create More Itinerary-Style Content
As a DMO it is important to put out more itinerary-style content, as a way to help travelers and visitors have a more enjoyable and stress free traveling experience. You probably already know what the best things to do are, the best restaurants to eat at, the most popular and jaw dropping sights to see in your destination, so offering this style of content allows you to provide your own, unique recommendations.
Itinerary-style content enhances the visitors’ experience and saves them a lot of time researching things to do. Not only are you making the travelers’ experience easier, but you are also driving more traffic to your own website. As a local, you can also offer “insider tips” to make travelers feel like they’re experiencing your destination like a local.
This type of content can be interactive for visitors and could potentially convert interest into bookings. Nowadays, travelers are using AI tools, such as ChatGPT, to plan out their trips. ChatGPT helps them create a customized itinerary based on the questions and details people are submitting. Where is ChatGPT pulling this information from? These AI tools are pulling their information from other internet sources, and one of them could be your very own itinerary on your website.
Helpful Content DMOs Should Create for AI Queries
If you want to make your visitor’s experience go a lot smoother, here are some ideas of content you should be creating for AI queries that’ll assist them during their trip planning process.
Once a traveler has decided on their travel destination, they begin researching places to stay in that specific destination or neighboring area, as well as, what things are near that area. To cover these types of searches, you can create content that goes over popular places to stay; include room types, amenities, special features, on- and off-site activities, and even estimated prices.
Other information that travelers may search for are different transportation options, budgeting, and travel and safety.
Make sure to include content that covers those types of questions and even include tips for booking such as, when to reserve to get the best offers or ways to preplan for certain activities. These topics can be covered using professional images, short form videos, travel blogs, review posts of previous visitors, and potential sample itineraries.
If you need help writing itinerary blogs, coming up with a list of content ideas, or even need assistance with a posting schedule, contact Team Signalfire today!