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Tribune News Service

By Catherine Thorbecke
On a recent trip to Taiwan, I turned to ChatGPT to ask for recommendations for the best beef noodles in my area – with the very specific request that the shop had to accept credit cards, as I was running low on local currency.
The chatbot immediately recommended a place that was a short walk and featured some of the most delicious, melt-in-your-mouth beef tendon I have ever had.
I was pleased to be the only foreigner in the no-frills, no-air-conditioning joint that was home to a fat, orange cat taking a nap under one of the metal stools.
But after my meal, I panicked when the impatient woman behind the counter had to put aside the dumplings she was folding to try and communicate in English to me that it was cash only.
Even a quick Google search of the hole in the wall would have saved me from this fate, and I felt foolish for blindly trusting the AI’s outputs.
Talking to other travellers, I realise I was lucky that the restaurant existed at all, hearing stories of AI tools sending confused tourists to places that were closed or not even real.
Still, I found the tool incredibly helpful while navigating a foreign city, using it not just to find spots to eat but also to translate menus and signs, as well as communicate with locals via voice mode. It felt like the ultimate Asia travel hack.
Back home in Tokyo, where a weak yen has helped make Japan a top destination for global travellers, I decided to put various AI platforms to the test.
I asked DeepSeek, ChatGPT and the AI agent Manus to create itineraries for someone visiting the city – or Japan – for the first time. The results were jam-packed and impressive, but mostly featured all the same tourist spots that you would find at the top of sites like Tripadvisor.
Some of the recommendations were also a little out of date: for example, ChatGPT advised staying in a traditional inn that has been closed for over a year. Even my request for more off-the-beaten-path locations spit out areas I specifically avoid at peak times, like Shimokitazawa, because of the crowds of tourists.

The outputs made sense given that these tools are an amalgamation of data scraped from the internet. They do save travellers from having to scroll through hundreds of websites themselves and put together an itinerary on their own. But relying on this technology also risks a further homogenisation of travel.
Already, the tech industry is being blamed in tourist hotspots for creating feedback loops that push visitors to the same destinations – with winners and losers chosen by a powerful algorithm.
Given that AI systems are predominantly trained on English-language text, this can also mean that local gems easily slip through the cracks. I cannot imagine the late Anthony Bourdain eating pho on a stool anywhere in Vietnam that even had a website.
AI is not entirely to blame, even if it adds a much larger scale to the issue. Before the rise of these tools, social media was already reshaping travel in Asia – sometimes in bizarre ways.
There is a railway crossing in my neighbourhood that an influencer posted on the Chinese social media platform RedNote and is now constantly inundated with people doing photoshoots.
One of my favourite summer swimming spots on the outskirts of the city unexpectedly went viral on TikTok last year, and it was shocking to see how crowded the riverbanks had become with foreigners.
A town near Mount Fuji garnered international headlines last year after briefly erecting a barrier to block the view of the iconic landmark when it was overrun with tourists trying to all get the same shot – behind a convenience store, of all places.

Of course, this is not limited to Asia. As AI applications proliferate, more people are turning to them to plan holidays from Barcelona to New Orleans.
Instead of just advice on local customs, online travel forums have also become popular places to share clever ways to engineer prompts for generative AI tools to make more personalised itineraries.
Still, there are inherent limitations to the data they are trained on. Perhaps we should put our phone down and ask a local about their top spots.
Ultimately, AI can break down language and cultural barriers for travellers in ways that seemed unimaginable a decade ago. That is a good thing, and the convenience is undeniable. But it is also good to remember that some of the best parts of travel can never be optimised by a machine.


Close to Hoi An, central Vietnam’s first integrated resort offers luxury for many budgets

Thailand tightens cannabis sales as dispensaries face closure ahead of election

Unsung Eats: 5 best places to eat – and drink – in Bangkok

Vietnam overtakes Thailand as Chinese tourists' top choice for travel

Asia travel

Should you use AI to plan trips? Why it doesn’t mean a better holiday

AI can recommend places to stay and eat, translate menus, but it can also send you to places that don’t exist or are overrun with other tourists. Photo: Shutterstock

Shimokitazawa is a very popular shopping and entertainment area in Kitazawa, Tokyo. Photo: Shutterstock

A town near Mount Fuji in Japan tried putting up a barrier to block hordes of tourists from taking photos of the iconic landmark. Photo: EPA-EFE

Is AI killing voice dubbing? Industry insiders are ‘threatened’ by evolving technology

Synchronous speaker Bettina Zech stands in a dubbing studio in Munich, Germany, in 2025. Voice actors like her are facing AI threats as dubbing evolves. Photo: Reuters

Sound engineer Eberhard Weckerle mixes sound in a dubbing studio in Germany. He hopes AI and human dubbing can one day coexist. Photo: Reuters

Synchronous speaker Bettina Zech works in a dubbing studio in Germany in 2025. Photo: Reuters

Shenzhen travel guide: how to get a visa on arrival, which apps to download and cashless payment in the Chinese city

To get to places in Shenzhen like Dongmen Pedestrian Street (above), Hong Kong residents without the right visa can apply for one on arrival. That’s not all you need to know - we break down the essentials for your trip from Hong Kong. Photo: Shutterstock

WeChat is useful for electronic payments and for its mini-programs – apps within the app. Photo: Shutterstock

The simplest option within Hong Kong to reach Shenzhen is to take the MTR East Rail Line to Lo Wu or Lok Ma Chau stations. Photo: Erika Na

Shenzhen taxis can be ordered via Didi Chuxing, the Chinese equivalent of Uber. Photo: Shutterstock

Alipay accepts foreign-issued credit cards and can be used to make e-payments in Shenzhen. Photo: Shutterstock

Baidu Maps is more accurate than Google Maps in Shenzhen. Photo: Shutterstock

How Seoul’s All That Jazz, the first jazz bar in South Korea, is still setting the tempo

V of BTS films the video to his song Le Jazz de V at All That Jazz in Seoul, South Korea. Photo: Instagram/allthatjazz_itaewon

Jin Nak-won was a regular customer at All That Jazz before becoming a DJ, then the manager. Photo: Choi Won-suk

The audience listens to a live performance at All That Jazz. Photo: courtesy of Jin Nak-won

Part of Jin’s job is still to manage and coordinate the professional musicians that play at the bar. Photo: Korea Times

Audience members take in a live performance at All That Jazz. Photo: Jin Nak-won

Lifestyle

Travel & Leisure

AIs like ChatGPT, DeepSeek and Manus can make planning a holiday much easier, but users should be aware of the problems that can arise


AIs like ChatGPT, DeepSeek and Manus can make planning a holiday much easier, but users should be aware of the problems that can arise.


Artificial intelligence

Technology

ChatGPT and other generative AIs

Social media

DeepSeek

Japan

Taiwan

AI: Industry Trends

Anthony Bourdain

Expresses the views, ideas and conclusions of the author. (Eg. Enough of Crazy Rich Asians, think of crazy poor Hongkongers.)


Opinion

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}AIs like ChatGPT, DeepSeek and Manus can make planning a holiday much easier, but users should be aware of the problems that can arise

AIs like ChatGPT, DeepSeek and Manus can make planning a holiday much easier, but users should be aware of the problems that can arise