AI travel trend: Half of Londoners embrace new tech

The travel money provider surveyed 2,000 UK adults who travel for leisure, revealing that 83 per cent of Londoners use AI and nearly a third (31 per cent) have used AI to help with past travel arrangements.

Brits living in London are more likely to have previously used AI for travel planning than holidaymakers in any other region. For example, just two per cent of people in the East of England, three percent of people in Yorkshire, and four per cent of people in the East Midlands have previously used AI in this way.

Nearly half (44 per cent) of Londoners who have used AI for holiday planning already turned to ChatGPT for assistance. Londoners who had used AI for travel in the past revealed that AI tools enhanced their overall holiday experience to some extent.

However, 47 per cent of Londoners found that AI solutions were not able to provide the full information to their query and 43 per cent would prefer to have access to human support when using an AI travel planning tool.

Juliet from London said: “I have used two AI platforms to help with my travel planning, ChatGPT and Gemini by Google. I used these platforms to ask what activities I could do, or things I could see. I was able to ask for seasonal recommendations of things to do and this helped to shape my overall plans.

“I was able to input what days I would be there, where I was staying and what key things I wanted to do, then ask for an itinerary for however many days I was staying. This created a guide/base plan, which I could then add in more things and specific places I wanted to visit.”

Stuart Briant, Head of Travel Money at Sainsbury’s Bank, commented: “According to our research, 43 per cent of Londoners are planning three or more holidays abroad this year. AI technology offers an opportunity for people in the UK to plan these trips more effectively, but it’s important to remember online safety guidelines.

“Don’t provide AI technology with personal or financial information and be sure to cross-reference any results with additional research. There are 25 Sainsbury’s Bank Travel Money bureaux in London alone, and our travel money advisors are more than happy to provide accurate and up-to-date currency information.”

For more information on the research findings, visit the Sainsbury’s Bank website here.

Sainsbury's Bank Travel Money Advisors are on hand in travel bureaux across the UK, via the online portal and with 24/7 telephone assistance. Nectar members are also able to benefit from better rates with travel money, terms and conditions are available here4.