Tourists ended up with hot water that wasn’t the type they were looking for after an AI-generated blog on a travel company’s website revealed that a recommended “tranquil” hot spring in northern Tasmania actually didn’t exist.
A screenshot of a now-deleted blog on Tasmania Tours’ website was shared with CNN, showing a recommendation for Weldborough Hot Springs, said to offer a “tranquil escape” in the forests of north-east Tasmania. Described as a “tranquil haven”, it was touted as a “favorite” among hikers.
Weldborough is a small rural town located approximately 110 kilometers (68 miles) from the city of Launceston.
“Our AI has completely failed,” Scott Hennessey, owner of New South Wales-based Australian Tours and Cruises, which operates Tasmanian tours, told the Australian Broadcasting Network (ABC) earlier this month.
He said the company outsources its marketing materials to a third party and typically reviews each post, but the blog was published while he was overseas.
“We’re trying to compete with the big players,” Hennessy told ABC. “Part of that is keeping the content up to date.”
“We are not scammers,” he continued. “We’re a couple trying to do right by the people…We’re legit, we’re real people, and we employ sales staff.”
“The online hate and damage to our business reputation has been absolutely soul-destroying,” Australian Tours and Cruises told CNN on Tuesday.
“We are just trying to move on with our lives and forget about everything,” the company continued.
Kristi Probert, owner of the local Weldboro Hotel, told CNN she was perplexed when tourists started asking questions about the hot springs in September.
“At first it was just a few calls, and then people started coming in droves. We were getting probably about five calls a day, and at least two or three people would arrive at the hotel looking for the phone. It was very random because we were in a very remote area,” Probert said.
Probert said her response each time is, “I don’t know. “If I can find this hot spring, I’ll drink beer.”
Probert said the local Weld River is “frozen” and usually occupied only by prospectors looking for sapphires and tin. “They’re wearing wetsuits,” she added. “There’s a sauna in a nearby town. Maybe we can jump in the freezing river after we go there.”
Ann Hardy, adjunct professor of tourism at Australia’s Southern Cross University, told CNN that AI is “ubiquitous in travel and tourism,” adding that about 37% of tourists use AI for travel advice and itineraries.
“Tourists trust AI more than review sites,” she said, adding that travel companies are adopting AI not only for blogs and marketing materials, but also for itineraries and cost calculations.
“AI can be very helpful,” Hardy says. “You save time and ultimately money.”
But, she warned, it could also lead to inaccuracies and “hallucinations”, like Weldborough’s “hot springs”.
According to Hardy, empirical research in tourism suggests that “90% of AI-generated itineraries are wrong.”
She said this could have “very dangerous implications” and cited remote walks in Tasmania with no service or mobile phone reception as an example.
“I’ve seen numerous cases where AI would suggest day walks, but the suggestions were highly inaccurate, from the length of the walk to the difficulty level to the weather conditions,” she told CNN.
Hardy encourages travelers to go beyond AI and do their own research.
“Use trusted guidebooks, travel agents, and review sites,” she says. “Additionally, if you use AI, have your concierge or host evaluate whether the AI itinerary is accurate.”
Ms Probert added that she sympathized with the owners of Tasmania Tours, who she said she had spoken to on the phone.
“As a small business, it’s difficult to keep everything current and relevant,” she said. “They seem like nice people, but we all made mistakes. I think this was pretty funny.”
“There is so much to do in Weldborough,” she assured visitors. “However, there are no hot springs.”
