AI and the future of travel

I traveled to Minnesota and Wisconsin this last week to visit family and I stuck to my favorite Midwest tradition: playing cards in the evening and getting incredibly backed up from cheese curds.

Even as a kid, I always loved going out there to visit, especially when I got to stay at my Grandma and Grandpa’s farm. Us cousins would help pick veggies in the garden, we’d go on tractor rides, and we’d dance around the campfire with sparklers.

Life on the farm was simple.

There was one moment in particular (I must have been 10) where I recall sitting on the grass by the barn thinking about how excited I was to head to the big city and get a big girl job. And now that I’ve lived in a big city and have had a big girl job, all I want to do is go back to sitting on that grass, helping my Grandma snap peas while devouring freezer pops.

It’s funny how things have a way of coming full circle. And I know I’m not alone in my craving to simplify life.

Hustle culture is essentially dead. Employees are quiet quitting. Girl bossing is no more.

And I’m eager to see new travel experiences taking shape to reflect this sentiment.

Here are a few cool travel ideas for those of us who are feeling burnt out:

• Camp No Counselors provides summer camps just for adults.

• Surf Yoga Beer offers week-long adventures and fitness retreats that push you out of your comfort zone.

• Noma Collective creates programs for remote workers and hosts a variety of guest workshops, locally guided tours, and community meals.

And for those of us who want to just blast off into a new dimension, there are plenty of plant medicine retreats that can take you there.

Hey, this is Kelsey, founder of SiteSee. I’ll send an email like this every Friday where I’ll share my musings from my travels, the latest research undertaken by our travel writers, as well as recommendations for travel products, interesting podcasts, good reads, and more.

I’ve been spending more time researching AI and my feelings about it are a mixed bag.

Part of me absolutely loves using AI tools like ChatGPT to help re-write brand mission statements and conduct research. But the other part of me is obviously very concerned about how it's going to affect the future of SiteSee.

According to Forbes, Google plans to use generative AI in search engine results, which would be able to answer hard questions using all of the content available on the open web in a conversational way. For example, Google AI was able to answer this question pretty damn well: “What’s better for a family with kids under 3 and a dog, Bryce Canyon or Arches?”

So what does that mean for SiteSee whose main business model is centered around creating content that ranks high in Google?

It means we’re f*cked.

Jokesss. Totally kidding.

I anticipate that AI search could adversely affect our overall impressions and organic traffic, but it also just means that we need to do a better job creating stellar content that satisfies search intent so we can be featured in AI-powered featured snippets. Plus, I decided long ago that I’m seeing AI as an invitation to evolve SiteSee into something more than just content and reviews.

Such as scaling this newsletter and taking a personalized approach.

In fact, when you start to look at all the ways you can use AI to help you streamline your life, the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks.

For example, I have a good friend using AI to come up with bedtime stories for her kids. Another friend used ChatGPT to plan her entire vacation in minutes. And my bestie? He’s testing out RoomGPT to help him redecorate his living room.

Are you using AI in creative ways? Drop me a line here and lemme know.

And before signing off, I wanted to drop the links to our latest articles from this last week:

• Roaming in Comfort: Unveiling the Best Fabrics for Travel

• The Ultimate Guide to Packing a Suitcase

• Travel Adapters vs Converters: What’s the Difference?

• Best Ways to Pack Necklaces So They Don’t Tangle

• Revolutionizing Hydration: Exploring the CrazyCap Pro by WAATR

Thanks so much for reading, and if you found something useful or interesting in this email, mind forwarding this newsletter to a friend (or having them subscribe here)?

Otherwise, thanks again and feel free to reply here. I open and respond to everything.

xo,

Kelsey