Bermuda is set to embrace the future of travel planning with its soon-to-launch artificial intelligence chatbot, aimed at guiding travellers through personalised itineraries and recommendations.

Nina Steinhoff, the Bermuda Tourism Authority’s director of marketing, pointed out at the Bermuda Partnership Summit: “Travellers are using some form of AI, like ChatGPT, 14 per cent year-over-year. So it’s wild.”

She further explained: “We have an assistant director of digital strategy innovations here, Tiara Webb. She’s leading the inclusion of a chatbot, an AI tool, into our website, which will be launching at the end of the year”.

The chatbot responds to a growing trend in tourism, she said, with travellers increasingly turning to artificial intelligence to research destinations and refine their plans.

“They use the AI to refine where they want to go. Or they say: ‘Hey, I want to go somewhere’. We want it to be as authentic as possible to when you come to the destination,” continued Ms Steinhoff. “We put Bermudians first as well. We use the Bermuda voice,” she emphasised.

For Bermuda, maintaining a genuine sense of place is crucial, she said. Ms Steinhoff added: “We partner with you very intimately. We highlight on social media.”

She said Bermuda’s initiative reflects a broader industry movement leveraging AI for smarter, more personalised tourism while staying true to the authentic stories and experiences that make a destination unique.

She urged hospitality businesses and other stakeholders: “Whatever offerings you have, list them on BTAConnect, which then feeds into our new AI chatbot.”