Want to go to Thailand?
What if ChatGPT helped you plan your trip?
On February 13, artificial intelligence launched its paid version at 22.50 euros per month.
The subscriber benefits from priority access to the service, thus avoiding the saturation from which he regularly suffers.
Developed by OpenIA, the controversial robot - students have used it in particular to make it write their homework - synthesizes thousands of data and uses artificial intelligence (AI) to converse with the user.
It was launched in November 2022. By January 2023, more than 100 million internet users had registered to chat with it.
But then, what is he worth as a travel agent?
Read alsoWhere to go in Thailand in 2023?
Our travel guide from Bangkok to the islands, via Chiang Mai
Artificial intelligence is certainly able to compare hundreds of activities and services in a given country.
When asked the question "Can ChatGPT replace travel agencies?"
“, she also indicates that she can
“help answer certain questions related to travel, such as flight schedules, accommodation options, activities to do on site, etc.
But
the robot is adamant:
“I don't have the capacity to replace a travel agency.
My main goal is to provide quick and accurate answers to questions posed by users using the information in my knowledge base formed by OpenIA.
A travel agency can offer personalized services and live support to meet the needs of its customers more thoroughly.
Read alsoTravel conditions in Thailand: what you need to know to get there
An “incoherent” itinerary in Thailand
Doi Inthanon National Park, in Chiang Mai in northern Thailand, was established in 1954. AdobeStock/Noppasinw
In detail, we asked ChatGPT to concoct a ten-day itinerary in Thailand in June.
The robot offers to depart from Bangkok, where he suggests staying for three days to explore Buddhist temples, markets and street food stalls.
He also recommends a visit to the Royal Palace in the capital as well as a cruise on the Chao Phraya River.
Then, direction Chiang Mai, by air.
Again, the OpenIA robot strongly recommends visiting temples.
A walk in the city center of what is nicknamed "the Rose of the North" completes this stopover.
For the sixth and seventh days, head for Khao Yai National Park, which ChatGPT locates two hours from Bangkok (which you would therefore have to go back to).
For the last three days, ChatGPT offers Koh Samui, an island in the Gulf of Thailand.
Does the circuit tempt you?
Virginie Gerbault and Vincent Hamon, Thailand experts for Asia Voyages, examined it.
While praising the speed with which ChatGPT came up with this journey and the amount of information present in its response, the two experts from Thailand remain skeptical about the very construction of the journey.
"
After the Chiang Mai box, the route is inconsistent.
Going down from the north of the country to return to Bangkok to make the connection to Khao Yai National Park is long.
Especially since ChatGPT ensures that the park is located two hours from the capital… Whereas it takes at least three hours by road to reach it, and this without taking into account the traffic jams in Bangkok.
From the park, ChatGPT proposes to go to the island of Koh Samui: it would then be necessary to return once again to Bangkok.
It's a lot of time lost in transport… Especially for a traveler who only spends ten days there
”.
Not convinced, then.
Read alsoBangkok: 5 hotels to relax
The robot confuses tigers and porcupines
Khao Yai National Park has more than 50 kilometers of hikes during which you can come across many waterfalls.
Adobe Stock/VR Studio
As for nuggets not to be missed, does ChatGPT defend itself better?
In Bangkok, the robot insists on the Temple of the Emerald Buddha and the Temple of the Reclining Buddha, the colorful markets, the shopping street of Khao San Road as well as the modern districts to discover the nightlife.
In Chiang Mai, Buddhist temples and jungle trekking are AI recommended.
Passing through the Khao Yai National Park should be an opportunity, according to ChatGPT, to observe elephants, tigers and other gibbons in their natural environment.
For its beaches and turquoise waters, the robot closes its selection on Koh Samui and its neighboring islands.
For the representatives of Asia, if the sites recommended by the robot are certainly to be seen, this list is reductive.
And misleading: "
Advising the Khao Yai National Park by praising its tigers and elephants is quite surprising: you risk being quite disappointed, you will only meet porcupines there
".
Unless you are a rodent aficionado, avoid it.
“
Besides, it's neither an unmissable tourist site, nor an unknown nugget… There are regions that are off the beaten track and which are much more interesting
”.
Read alsoTo travel to Thailand, you will have to pay a new tax in June
ChatGPT underestimates the cost of living in Thailand
Damnoen Saduak Floating Market in the west of the country is one of Thailand's most famous floating markets.
AdobeStock/tampatra
Does ChatGPT do better on the budget issue for a ten-day trip to Thailand?
According to the robot, for such a stay, it will cost around €800 to €1,500.
Estimate that he divides into several categories of expenses: for the plane ticket, the algorithm advises to provide 500 to 900 euros.
As for accommodation, ChatGPT provides 10 to 15 euros for inexpensive hotels, 20 to 50 euros for mid-range hotels and several hundred euros per night for luxury hotels.
What about food?
According to artificial intelligence, it will take one to two euros for street food, five to ten euros for a local restaurant and up to 50 euros for high-end meals.
Do these prices seem reasonable to you?
For Virginie Gerbault and Vincent Hamon, they are unrealistic.
According to the two experts of the Thailand destination, the cheapest offers of plane tickets with a stopover are at 890 euros.
For a direct flight, you will have to pay 1100 euros.
“
And that's only for a France-Thailand return trip.
To reach Chiang Mai from Bangkok, you will not find a ticket below 115 euros.
For Bangkok-Koh Samui, the ticket is 320 euros
”.
The same goes for eating out, the average bill having doubled in three years with the Covid-19 pandemic: “
You will find
pad Thai
in cheap street food, but it will be in very outlying neighborhoods
”.
Read alsoIn Thailand in the secret of the Buddha caves
No customization
The Buddhist temple of Wat Arun in Bangkok attracts thousands of tourists every year.
AdobeStock/Fokke Baarssen
The general observation that emerges from the analysis of Virginie Gerbault and Vincent Hamon?
ChatGPT is unable to personalize the trip it offers.
“
Chatbot suggestions are very dehumanized, there is no sensitivity.
And for good reason: at no time during the conversation did the robot ask for the preferences of the traveler, his profile, his budget, whether he is going alone, as a couple, with family or friends...
“
That's why what he suggests will always be radically different from what we recommend: the travel agency really builds a journey with the desires and needs of travelers.
Each trip is a new story.
This is why a trip cannot be standardized in this way.
» Until the next update?
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