A growing number of Danes are turning to artificial intelligence to help plan their holidays, according to new data highlighted by tour operator Sunweb. While the trend is reshaping how people approach trip planning, the company is urging travellers to stay critical of what AI tools tell them, rather than accepting every suggestion at face value.
AI is popular, but facts still need checking
According to Mastercard’s Travel Trend Report 2026, travellers are increasingly using AI to plan excursions, find restaurants and discover experiences at their destination, aiming to make their holiday feel more personal and tailored to their own interests.
Sunweb has noticed the same pattern among its own customers. The company reports that more Danes want to book the core framework of a holiday, meaning flights and hotels, through a traditional tour operator, while increasingly experimenting with AI on their own to plan excursions and activities. Jan Lockhart, Nordic director at Sunweb, explains that AI makes it easy to tailor holiday content to the individual traveller, but stresses that the technology needs to be used thoughtfully and with a critical eye.
Room for spontaneous adventures
The rise in AI powered trip planning comes as Australian authorities have issued an official travel advisory warning against uncritical use of AI for planning journeys. According to the advisory, AI can present incorrect or outdated information and does not automatically verify facts. In the worst case, this can cost travellers money, create safety issues or lead to unintentional breaches of local rules and laws.
Sunweb acknowledges that AI and other digital tools can be genuinely valuable for customers, both during the planning phase and while on holiday. At the same time, the company encourages travellers to also allow themselves the freedom to explore spontaneously and experience a destination with completely open eyes, without Google, Tripadvisor or AI acting as a constant guide.
Lockhart points to something special about setting off to explore, getting a little lost and ending up somewhere completely unexpected. For him, that is what a real holiday feels like, though he admits it has become something of a rarity these days, now that most travellers move through the world with their phones held out in front of them.
