Traveling Light
The future of gracious travel, powered by AI
The Atlantic was soft that evening, folding into itself with each quiet wave. I stood on a cliff on Gran Canaria, the volcanic rock cool beneath me, the sun melting into the sea. Around me, the valley breathed with life’s rhythms - winds carrying the scent of salt and dinner, the muted rustle of palms, and the stillness of a world slowing down for the night.
This silence retreat was a much needed pause after the holiday slide of family dinners and all the delightful chaos that Christmas brings. Also, 2024 was a wild ride as my AI expert status rose from zero to serious. Now there was no buzzing phone, no unopened emails, AI newsletters and blogs waiting to be read, no to-do lists, no expectations to show up to. Just the sound of my breath, the joy of meditating, a laugh with a friend about something ridiculous.
I needed the silence to speak, as the paradox I find myself in is clear: AI, though a tool I deeply believe in, is not alive. It doesn’t carry the pulse of nature or a divine spark. It is a mirror of us - a reflection of who we think we are, what we neglect, what we trust. If we fail to trust life itself, AI risks becoming another external authority we lean on, a tool that reflects our disconnection rather than our wholeness.
Here, I could see my role in the AI field more clearly. It is to remind people that AI is not a replacement for our connection to life but a tool to support it, a way to amplify what is regenerative, ethical, and rooted in our shared humanity. Through writing (my first book this year!), speaking, thought leadership, and PhD research, I aim to weave these values into the fabric of this fast-evolving field, into and beyond 2025.
So in this first essay of the new year I wanted to explore the future of travel and AI through this lens, based on what silence said.
The question isn’t whether AI will change how we travel - it already is. The question is how we will shape that change. Will we use AI as we travel to deepen our connection to the world, to nature, and to ourselves, or will it add another layer of superficiality, that keeps reality at a distance?
Why do we travel?
“Have you travelled lately? And why?” At a keynote I gave recently at the Travel & Tech conference, I posed these questions to the audience. The answers were beautifully human:
“To immerse myself in different cultures.”
“To feel the sun on my skin” (much needed during long grey Dutch winters).
“To be fully present with my loved ones, away from distractions.”
We travel to step outside the patterns we created for ourselves, and return to the rhythms of life. Travel, at its best, reconnects us: to the stories held in the landscapes we move through, to the people who invite us into their worlds, and to ourselves as we shed the layers of daily life.
As AI reshapes the future of travel, the challenge will be to ensure it enhances this process rather than disrupts it.
Traveling through time, space and perspective
AI offers new dimensions to travel, helping us explore whenever, wherever, and whoever we want to be.
Traveling through time
Imagine standing in the heart of ancient Athens, the Agora alive with orators and markets. Through AI-powered augmented reality (AR), the ruins transform: marble columns rise around you, the hum of ancient voices fills the air, the scent of olive oil lingers from distant stalls. You are there.
Or picture Kyoto as it once was, centuries ago, with monks chanting in the temple, their voices interwoven with the faint rustle of paper lanterns. AI can reconstruct history, not as a static timeline, but as a living memory we can step into through AR. These tools make history feel less like a story we’re told and more like a story we inhabit.
Traveling Through Space
Now, imagine wandering through a spice market in Rajasthan. With an AI assistant at your side, you navigate effortlessly, hearing about the origins of the turmeric in your hands and the cultural significance of the embroidery in the fabrics before you. Or trekking through a Costa Rican rainforest, as AI deciphers the songs of the birds and the histories of the trees, deepening your understanding of the ecosystem.
AI is already helping us align our trips with our values in practical ways. For the eco-conscious traveler, AI can curate trips that prioritize sustainability: carbon-conscious routes, locally owned accommodations, and experiences that uplift local communities. For those seeking solitude, it can suggest a lesser-traveled trail, a quiet retreat, or an itinerary that leaves space for spontaneity.
AI has the power to dissolve barriers of time, space, language, and knowledge, transforming logistical burdens and superficial tours into opportunities for deeper, more intimate travel experiences.
The ethical terrain
But the possibilities AI offers to travel also come with profound responsibilities:
Bias and Privacy: AI systems may favor the predictable, amplifying popular destinations and obscuring the stories of lesser-known places. For instance, if AI is used to translate an endangered indigenous language, who owns that knowledge? If this data is stored on corporate servers without consent, it risks turning cultural heritage into a commodity.
Homogenization: As AI-powered tools dominate travel planning, we risk losing the richness of local, unique, and community-driven experiences. Algorithms often prioritize convenience over diversity, threatening the ecosystems of small businesses and traditional practices.
Interspecies ethics: Tools like Conservation AI, illustrate both the promise and peril of AI in wildlife tourism. While they can advance conservation, they also raise questions about how much we should interfere. Similarly, whale-watching tours might soon use AI to decode whale songs, but without ethical guidelines, such innovations risk exploiting the very creatures they claim to celebrate.
These aren’t just technological challenges - they are moral ones. The choices we make now will determine whether AI becomes a force for regeneration or extraction.
Practical tools for gracious travel
Here are some ways to integrate intention with innovation in your travels, starting tomorrow:
Eco-Friendly Planning: Platforms like Biliki AI and Goodwings help create sustainable itineraries, prioritizing eco-conscious flights, accommodations and routes tailored to your values. Turn your itinerary into something beautiful with Canva’s templates within minutes, adding personalized AI generated imagery.
Cultural Immersion: Use tools like DeepL Translator or Native Land Digital to connect with local languages and histories. Also, ChatGPT can be the real-time translator in conversations with new foreign friends (if your connection allows of course). Anyway, learning languages is getting so much easier now Duolingo also has an AI-enhanced learning environment.
Volunteering: WWOOF or Workaway connects travelers with organic farms and volunteering opportunities, while AI matches your skills to meaningful projects.
Wildlife Travel: Tools like Conservation AI empower travelers to engage responsibly with ecosystems, using machine learning to detect and monitor wildlife and support conservation efforts, turning sightseeing into stewardship.
May you travel light
As we step into 2025, my wish for you is simple: May you travel light - in work, in life, and in spirit. Not just light in what you carry, but light in how you move: free from the weight of distraction, expectation, or disconnection. May you find freedom - not only to explore or achieve but to simply be. The ocean is whispering, the horizon is wide open. Where will you let life take you?
🤍 Lisanne
Mooi, dank!