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Human Travel (Elle Vacanze) camping at... - Review of Camping Union Lido

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• Camping Union Lido

Human Travel (Elle Vacanze) camping at Union Lido

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Art & Park Hotel Union Lido

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Fantastic place, very well organised. Perfect for family ages 3-72! The pools where fantastic beautiful kept. We had a pitch and a Audi tradition caravan and found both perfect for our stay. Will be visiting again next year!

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Fabulous for family and other groups. Everything very clean. Rules and regulations keep the enormous place ticking over nicely. Would recommend it, especially with kids of all ages. There is no need to even leave the campsite as it has verything you will need, as well as lots of nice places to eat.

Dear Guest, Thank you for taking the time to review our campsite. We are glad to know that you could spend a great time in our campsite and that you could appreciate our offers and service. Union Lido tries to offer the best for its Guests and we are happy to know that your entire family enjoyed! Hope to see you soon! Best regards Marica

We visited union lido this summer for 12 days staying with al fresco. It’s our second visit travelling with 2 kids, 8 and 10. We had a great time and the kids already want to go back. It’s a big camp site but with plenty of facilities, it’s right on the beach with a couple of great water parks. We had done our research the first time round so didn’t have the issues that have been reported in some reviews. Getting there is simple with great transport links to the airports by bus some of which drop you right at the gate in summer. We have stayed with Alfresco before, their units are not the best onsite but in a great location right next to the water park and inflatable park. The staff were really helpful for us when we had 2 minor issues all fixed with an hour or so. Addressing some of the stuff in other reviews. Checkin - this has changed to an online form which was pretty simple but not signposted well on the lido website, was also new enough that alfresco didn’t know about it. Filled out the form we were sorted and in a golf cart in a few minutes. Yes they take the passports but it always felt secure we didn’t need them during the trip and they were returned promptly after we checked out - quick tip you can prepay the tourist tax 0.6 eur pppn the day before which means checkout takes 2 mins with no queue Staff - in all our dealings with staff from reception to security they were all polite and friendly really helpful with some lost property Shopping the onsite shops do close for siesta but for July and August there is always something open. Prices are ok, not cheap but not really expensive unlike some similar camps I have stayed at. The ice cream offering is really good value with a different selection at each spot. The queues at the bakery in the morning are a bit of a pain but the range is decent and again not expensive. Selection is very German but that’s the origin of the site so not surprising, the German beer selection is very good Water parks they do have strict height limit for the slides but our daughter was just on the limit, she was checked regularly but politely. The vortex particularly the heigh is needed to hold onto the rings during the ride. Some of the pool liners did need relaying but we didn’t feel it was a massive issue the sand based park is busy but no worse than any beach. There was always plenty of room on the beach even during busy times Kids bits yes the inflatable park and funny world are charged extra but not very expensive, if they were free the queues would be awful given the size of the site The site is very clean when you see how many people are around. It does need a decent organisation otherwise with that many people around it would be chaos In term of negatives I would say you get what you pay for with alfresco there are much better mobiles but they seemed to be more expensive and if we did go back we would probably stay somewhere nicer The biting insects are a pain they do spray the trees get the big spray out there the uk stuff was no good The dog end does smell a bit and I think it’s eurocamp are right next to it The entertainment is a bit limited but given the size of the place it’s tough to get something big enough to please too many people. The kids all found plenty to do and the music etc stopped at 11, we were there during the pool party mentioned in another review and that finished at 10 on the dot The sand does get everywhere but with the rain that can come I do t see how else you could set the park up. Overall I recommend it but as with anything you need to do your research and find out if what it offers is what you are looking for.Many people we met has been multiple times so if it suits you then people tend to like it, a small quiet campsite it is not, but we found it big busy and great family fun

Been coming here for 30 years, site continues to improve every year. Not too keen on all the bikes though. Maybe dedicated cycle lanes in certain areas of campsite would help. Love the water park, swimming pool, our accommodation with Bolero and proximity to all amenities.

We have stayed at Union Lido twice, with different tour operators (Topcamp Cavallino and Human Travel). Union Lido is a very clean, well maintained resort with professional multi-lingual staff. There is a requirement to surrender your passport at check-in, but this is a security measure,helping to keep the site extremely secure, alongside the security passes worn on the wrist and ultimately your children cannot simply escape! There are quiet times between 1300-1500 and 2300-0700,when cars and noise are not permitted. There are two absolutely fantastic water parks on site, a large play area, and access straight onto a private stretch of beach. There are so many restaurants that offer excellent quality food (although not a lot of variety) and the prices are reasonable for the food. The drinks, however, are very expensive, such as us: a family of 2 adults and 3 children, paying upward of 22€ for a round of drinks. The entertainment is pretty good, but get to the venues early otherwise the seats are already taken Sometimes we felt that we could have been more informed about events but this was not a huge issue. There is a children's activity session with the animation team but we never used it. There are two supermarkets on site, as well as greengrocers, ice cream parlours etc. The supermarkets are expensive but the ice cream parlours are very reasonably priced and an absolute delight. There is a small theme park on site including 4 rides, a go kart track, an excellent mini golf course and an arcade. The local area is not ideal for the tourists but one can take a trip to Venice and the islands of Burano and Murano with reasonable ease. We personally caught a bus and ferry to Venice and made use of the vaporetto (water taxis) to get around for a reasonable price. I recommend travelling back after rush hour as the ferry and busses are packed at that time, much more relaxed in the evening. Murano is really nice if you like glass but otherwise we found it a bit dull; Burano is an absolute delight, so pretty and some lovely trattorias. Our favourite excursion was the Jolly Roger, which was fantastic value and an excellent experience for adults as well as children.Overall I would highly recommend Union Lido, especially if you have children. It really is a 5 star campsite so make sure you take lots of spending money!

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• THE BIG IDEA

Why travel should be considered an essential human activity

Travel is not rational, but it’s in our genes. Here’s why you should start planning a trip now.

In 1961, legendary National Geographic photographer Volkmar Wentzel captured two women gazing at the surf off Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia. This and all the other images in this story come from the National Geographic image collection.

I’ve been putting my passport to good use lately. I use it as a coaster and to level wobbly table legs. It makes an excellent cat toy.

Welcome to the pandemic of disappointments. Canceled trips, or ones never planned lest they be canceled. Family reunions, study-abroad years, lazy beach vacations. Poof. Gone. Obliterated by a tiny virus, and the long list of countries where United States passports are not welcome.

Only a third of Americans say they have traveled overnight for leisure since March, and only slightly more, 38 percent, say they are likely to do so by the end of the year, according to one report. Only a quarter of us plan on leaving home for Thanksgiving, typically the busiest travel time. The numbers paint a grim picture of our stilled lives.

It is not natural for us to be this sedentary. Travel is in our genes. For most of the time our species has existed, “we’ve lived as nomadic hunter-gatherers moving about in small bands of 150 or fewer people,” writes Christopher Ryan in Civilized to Death . This nomadic life was no accident. It was useful. “Moving to a neighboring band is always an option to avoid brewing conflict or just for a change in social scenery,” says Ryan. Robert Louis Stevenson put it more succinctly: “The great affair is to move.”

What if we can’t move, though? What if we’re unable to hunt or gather? What’s a traveler to do? There are many ways to answer that question. “Despair,” though, is not one of them.

In this aerial view from 1967, wall-to-wall seaside sunbathers relax under umbrellas or on beach towels in Ocean City, Maryland .

A 1967 fall festival in Guadalajara, Mexico , starred traditionally costumed musicians and dancers.

We are an adaptive species. We can tolerate brief periods of forced sedentariness. A dash of self-delusion helps. We’re not grounded, we tell ourselves. We’re merely between trips, like the unemployed salesman in between opportunities. We pass the days thumbing though old travel journals and Instagram feeds. We gaze at souvenirs. All this helps. For a while.

We put on brave faces. “Staycation Nation,” the cover of the current issue of Canadian Traveller magazine declares cheerfully, as if it were a choice, not a consolation.

Today, the U.S. Travel Association, the industry trade organization, is launching a national recovery campaign called “ Let’s Go There .” Backed by a coalition of businesses related to tourism—hotels, convention and visitor bureaus, airlines—the initiative’s goal is to encourage Americans to turn idle wanderlust into actual itineraries.

The travel industry is hurting. So are travelers. “I dwelled so much on my disappointment that it almost physically hurt,” Paris -based journalist Joelle Diderich told me recently, after canceling five trips last spring.

(Related: How hard has the coronavirus hit the travel industry? These charts tell us.)

My friend James Hopkins is a Buddhist living in Kathmandu . You’d think he’d thrive during the lockdown, a sort-of mandatory meditation retreat. For a while he did.

But during a recent Skype call, James looked haggard and dejected. He was growing restless, he confessed, and longed “for the old 10-countries-a-year schedule.” Nothing seemed to help, he told me. “No matter how many candles I lit, or how much incense I burned, and in spite of living in one of the most sacred places in South Asia, I just couldn’t change my habits.”

When we ended our call, I felt relieved, my grumpiness validated. It’s not me; it’s the pandemic. But I also worried. If a Buddhist in Kathmandu is going nuts, what hope do the rest of us stilled souls have?

I think hope lies in the very nature of travel. Travel entails wishful thinking. It demands a leap of faith, and of imagination, to board a plane for some faraway land, hoping, wishing, for a taste of the ineffable. Travel is one of the few activities we engage in not knowing the outcome and reveling in that uncertainty. Nothing is more forgettable than the trip that goes exactly as planned.

Related: Vintage photos of the glamour of travel

Travel is not a rational activity. It makes no sense to squeeze yourself into an alleged seat only to be hurled at frightening speed to a distant place where you don’t speak the language or know the customs. All at great expense. If we stopped to do the cost-benefit analysis, we’d never go anywhere. Yet we do.

That’s one reason why I’m bullish on travel’s future. In fact, I’d argue travel is an essential industry, an essential activity. It’s not essential the way hospitals and grocery stores are essential. Travel is essential the way books and hugs are essential. Food for the soul. Right now, we’re between courses, savoring where we’ve been, anticipating where we’ll go. Maybe it’s Zanzibar and maybe it’s the campground down the road that you’ve always wanted to visit.

(Related: Going camping this fall? Here’s how to get started.)

James Oglethorpe, a seasoned traveler, is happy to sit still for a while, and gaze at “the slow change of light and clouds on the Blue Ridge Mountains” in Virginia, where he lives. “My mind can take me the rest of the way around this world and beyond it.”

It’s not the place that is special but what we bring to it and, crucially, how we interact with it. Travel is not about the destination, or the journey. It is about stumbling across “a new way of looking at things,” as writer Henry Miller observed. We need not travel far to gain a fresh perspective.

No one knew this better than Henry David Thoreau , who lived nearly all of his too-short life in Concord, Massachusetts. There he observed Walden Pond from every conceivable vantage point: from a hilltop, on its shores, underwater. Sometimes he’d even bend over and peer through his legs, marveling at the inverted world. “From the right point of view, every storm and every drop in it is a rainbow,” he wrote.

Thoreau never tired of gazing at his beloved pond, nor have we outgrown the quiet beauty of our frumpy, analog world. If anything, the pandemic has rekindled our affection for it. We’ve seen what an atomized, digital existence looks like, and we (most of us anyway) don’t care for it. The bleachers at Chicago ’s Wrigley Field; the orchestra section at New York City ’s Lincoln Center; the alleyways of Tokyo . We miss these places. We are creatures of place, and always will be.

After the attacks of September 11, many predicted the end of air travel, or at least a dramatic reduction. Yet the airlines rebounded steadily and by 2017 flew a record four billion passengers. Briefly deprived of the miracle of flight, we appreciated it more and today tolerate the inconvenience of body scans and pat-downs for the privilege of transporting our flesh-and-bone selves to far-flung locations, where we break bread with other incarnate beings.

Landscape architects work in their Rio de Janeiro, Brazil , studio in 1955.

A tourist photographs a towering century plant in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, in 1956.

In our rush to return to the world, we should be mindful of the impact of mass tourism on the planet. Now is the time to embrace the fundamental values of sustainable tourism and let them guide your future journeys. Go off the beaten path. Linger longer in destinations. Travel in the off-season. Connect with communities and spend your money in ways that support locals. Consider purchasing carbon offsets. And remember that the whole point of getting out there is to embrace the differences that make the world so colorful.

“One of the great benefits of travel is meeting new people and coming into contact with different points of view,” says Pauline Frommer, travel expert and radio host.

So go ahead and plan that trip. It’s good for you, scientists say . Plotting a trip is nearly as enjoyable as actually taking one. Merely thinking about a pleasurable experience is itself pleasurable. Anticipation is its own reward.

I’ve witnessed first-hand the frisson of anticipatory travel. My wife, not usually a fan of travel photography, now spends hours on Instagram, gazing longingly at photos of Alpine lodges and Balinese rice fields. “What’s going on?” I asked one day. “They’re just absolutely captivating,” she replied. “They make me remember that there is a big, beautiful world out there.”

Many of us, myself included, have taken travel for granted. We grew lazy and entitled, and that is never good. Tom Swick, a friend and travel writer, tells me he used to view travel as a given. Now, he says, “I look forward to experiencing it as a gift.”

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Human Company offer is based on fundamental values ​​such as innovation, quality, sustainability, familiarity and relevance of the territory. You can find all these values in our villages, camping in town, hostels and country resorts

Destinations

From the villages , entirely pedestrianised and particularly suitable for families with children, passing from the camping in town , outdoor accommodation facilities to the gates of the Italian art cities, hu open air can create adventures inside and outside its facilities, which can be experienced through all their services and not just as a simple "accommodation".

In a perfect alternation between green areas and stretches of water (from swimming pools to shallow lagoons for children, from play areas to shops, from restaurants to sports facilities), the outdoor facilities are designed to offer every kind of service , yet are nestled in beautiful natural surroundings or in the vicinity of art cities . In addition to different types of accommodation, including mobile homes and bungalows of different categories and pitches for tents, campers and caravans, hu open air 's outdoor facilities boast high quality standards in terms of service and comfort, partly due to direct management by each business.

With the aim of improving the holiday experience year after year, the Group is always creating new areas and services ( such as swimming pools, restaurants and shops ) and progressively introducing new types of accommodation, the most innovative being the use of recycled materials with low environmental impact for a sustainable and high added value holiday.

In terms of restaurants , the facilities offer a food & beverage package focused on quality and local products, creating synergies with the Central Market experience, focused on the perfect marriage of craftsmanship and raw materials.

The outdoor facilities, nine in all, are located in Veneto, Tuscany and Lazio (Italy)

• hu Venezia camping in town, Marghera, VENICE
• hu Altomincio village, Valeggio sul Mincio, VERONA
• hu Firenze camping in town, FLORENCE
• hu Norcenni Girasole village, Figline Valdarno, FLORENCE
• hu Park Albatros village, San Vincenzo, LIVORNO
• hu Montescudaio village, PISA
• hu Roma camping in town, ROME
• Fabulous village, ROME
• hu I Pini village, Fiano Romano, ROME
• hu Birkelt village, LUXEMBOURG

hu Altomincio village , Garda Lake

hu Norcenni Girasole village, Chianti - Tuscany

hu Park Albatros village, Tuscan Coast

hu Montescudaio village , Tuscan Coast

Fabulous village, Rome

hu I Pini village , Rome

hu Venezia camping in town, Venice

hu Firenze camping in town, Florence

hu Roma camping in town , Rome

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Interior - hu stay Premium Green - For an eco-friendly, sustainable holiday,

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kilometres travelled on bike

laughs on the slide

"welcome back"

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Environment

Travel as a transformative experience, in a climate-challenged world, more people are flying than ever..

Posted February 9, 2023 | Reviewed by Michelle Quirk

• What Is Sensation-Seeking?
• Find a therapist near me
• The carbon cost of travel makes tourism expensive for the environment.
• Foreign travel can promote peace and harmony in the world.
• It is possible that we may yet enjoy the benefits of distant travel without the environmental degradation it brings.

The Chinese New Year brought out more travelers than before the pandemic. Even as they wake up to the climate cost of airline travel, more and more people are flying abroad. How is that possible?

If challenged, most people justify travel as a uniquely valuable experience. Either it brings us closer to important people in our lives, or it helps the inhabitants of far-flung places to understand each other better.

The Climate Costs of Distant Travel

The carbon cost of travel makes tourism expensive for the environment . Each long-distance flight increases our personal carbon footprint by about a tenth based on American data (where the average person has an annual carbon load of around 15 tons).

Tourism is not necessarily a negative for the environment. Extensive natural parks were created in Latin America that aimed to attract ecotourism, for instance. These reserves favored the resurgence of many indigenous wild animals and promoted a thriving natural habitat that draws carbon from the air.

Whatever the net climate costs of tourism may be, there are some categories of leisured people who have always traveled extensively. Their thirst for travel has not slowed down due to contemporary concern about climate change. Why not?

Long-distance travel fits in with many other aspects of elite lifestyles, from owning many vehicles to living at multiple addresses and following the annual movement patterns of jet-setters. Up to now, wealthy people were often admired for their lavish lifestyles. Their environmental recklessness will get more attention in the future given that the richest people have carbon footprints thousands of times those of average citizens.

Travel as Elite Behavior

Many wealthy people express concern about climate change. Yet, their lifestyles are in conflict with these concerns. 1 If you happen to own homes in distant places, you are almost obligated to visit them. Otherwise, what is the point of ownership? Elite lifestyles also involve seasonal rituals, whether it is skiing in the Alps or summering in Martha's Vineyard. Such rituals express elite status, and abandoning them would involve a loss of prestige. This helps explain why they are so resistant to change.

Apart from such conventional behavior, members of the elite set a trend in long-distance leisure travel that is adopted by the general public. Many aspire to travel far from home at least once a year.

If pressed for an explanation, tourists would emphasize that travel has the potential to change their lives in positive ways.

Travel as a Transforming Experience

The annual vacation in an unfamiliar place can have beneficial psychological effects. These are many and varied. By changing the environment, a person puts their regular life on hold, providing an opportunity to reset and relax.

In practice, vacations can be quite demanding, even stressful , particularly given the many problems with flight cancellations over past months. Yet, the mere experience of living in an unfamiliar society is inherently stimulating. This is particularly true if one communicates well with the local population. A traveler can return with a rich experience of how others live and an understanding of varied ways of thinking about what is important, or unimportant, in our lives. For example, residents of poor countries they visit may derive greater social support from members of their local community than is common in wealthier countries.

Foreign travel can promote peace and harmony in the world. If we get to understand people who live in very different countries, it is hard to hate them, much less support a war against them. These social benefits of travel may be intangible but they are also immeasurable.

While foreign travel can be extremely rewarding for the recipient country, as well as the traveler, this ideal is not reached by those who spend their time in the safety of gated resorts that vary little around the globe. So, how can one justify the environmental costs of travel that weigh heavily against its social benefits? In theory, it is possible that we may yet enjoy the benefits of distant travel without the environmental degradation it brings.

The Dream of Sustainable Air Travel

Green air travel may currently look like a pipe dream given that flying has a large carbon footprint. Electric planes are one possible solution although current models have limited range and are more suitable for use as local taxis rather than for international flight.

In the future, long-distance flight may be powered by hydrogen fuel that is derived using renewable energy sources (i.e., green hydrogen). When that happens, environmentalist-minded travelers can have their cake and eat it too!

1. Barber, N. (2022). The restless species: Cause and environmental consequences of human adaptive success. Portland, ME: Trudy Callaghan Publishing. https://www.amazon.com/Restless-Species-Environmental-Adaptive-Success/…

Nigel Barber, Ph.D., is an evolutionary psychologist as well as the author of Why Parents Matter and The Science of Romance , among other books.

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Bewertung für HUMAN TRAVEL mobilehome - Camping Union Lido

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Bewertung für HUMAN TRAVEL mobilehome

Junior Family Hotel & Apartments

Art & Park Hotel Union Lido

Camping Village Cavallino

Camping Village Dei Fiori

Ca'Pasquali Village

Camping Ca' Savio

Europa Camping Village

Hotel Il Ghebo

Agricampeggio Mose

Holiday Center Valdor

Wir sind in unserem Corona Urlaub hier zufällig gelandet nachdem andere Campingplätze noch zu hatten. Klar ist UnionLido teurer, dafür wird aber ein Rundumsorglospaket speziell für Familien geboten. Der Wasserpark war gigantisch und die gesamte Anlage dank Corona auch recht leer, möchte mir nicht vorstellen wie es hier zur normalen Hauptsaison ist. Einziges aber nicht zu vernachlässigendes Problem: Stechmücken überall, wir und unser Junior wurden total verstochen. Ein wirksames Mittel haben wir nicht gefunden. Die Anlage selbst ist sehr gepflegt und sehr sauber

Liebe Familie, Vielen Dank für die Überprüfung unserer Einrichtung. Es freut uns sehr zu hören, dass Sie unsere Pläne in dieser besonderen Situation zu schätzen wissen. Trotz all unserer Bemühungen, trotz der Behandlung mit Adultiziden, konnten wir die Moskitos, die eine Naturkatastrophe darstellen, bis jetzt nicht unter Kontrolle bringen. Die häufigen Regenfälle, die plötzliche Hitze, das Schlüpfen der Eier haben die perfekte Umgebung für ihre Vermehrung begünstigt. Wir hoffen, Sie in den kommenden Jahren wieder bei uns begrüßen zu dürfen. Mit freundlichen Grüßen Leyla

Cavallinos Campingplätze sind beliebt und in der Hochsaison sehr gut besucht. Kenne die Gegend seit meiner Kindheit und habe nur gute Erinnerungen an Campingferien. Klar, dass wir als 4-köpfige Familie nun die Sommerferien mit den Kids (10 & 11) dort verbringen. Wir sind mittlerweile bei Campingplatz Nr. 3 angelangt, weil wir jedes Jahr einen anderen Bungalow austesten möchten. Dieser Campingplatz ist der grösste und bekannteste der Region und bietet durch seine Grösse ein riesiges Angebot an Restaurants, Gelaterias, Wellness und Sport, sowie Poollanfschaften. Es ist für alle was dabei, sowohl kulinarisch als auch auch von der Unterhaltung her. Das Animationsprogramm abends lässt qualitativ einzig etwas zu wünschen übrig, da man in den hinteren Rängen kaum mitbekommt, was vorne auf der Bühne stattfindet. Die Led Zeppelin Coverband, welche direkt am Strand gespielt hat, war jedoch der absolute Burner. Die Bungalows im Luxury Camp Teil sind sehr schön eingereicht und versetzt aufgebaut. Trotzdem trennt nur ein schmaler Fussweg von ca. 1m zum gegenüberliegenden Bungalow, was etwas störend ist, bei einem Preis von immerhin gut 3000.- CHF pro Woche. Da dürfte man erwas mehr Privatsphäre erwarten. Ansonsten ist das Bungalow sehr sauber, voll ausgestattet und klimatisiert. Die Kinder hatten jeder ein einzelnes Schlafzimmer und das Elternschlafzimmer verfügt über ein eigenes Bad/Dusche. Dass die Bade- und Handtücher nicht täglich gewechselt werden finden wir im Sinne der Umwelt. Allerdings wäre es schön gewesen diese ein-zweimal pro Woche gewechselt zu bekommen, da die hohe Luftfeuchtigkeit verunmöglicht, dass die gebrauchten Tücher über Nacht trocknen. Könnte man in Zukunft vielleicht bedenken. Speziell erwähnen möchte ich die tolle Wellnessanlage, sowie die Behandlungen dort. Das Preis-Leistungsverhältnis ist hervorragend und das Personal sehr sympathisch. Die Pflege-Produkte sind super angenehm. Alles in allem haben wir die Ferien rundum genossen und können diesen Campingplatz voll empfehlen!

Sehr geehrter Gast, Vielen Dank, dass Sie uns ein paar Minuten Ihrer Zeit gewidmet haben, um unseren Campingplatz zu bewerten. Es freut uns sehr zu wissen, dass Sie sich am Union Lido amüsieren und entspannen konnten und dass alle Mitglieder Ihrer Familie Spaß hatten. Ihre positive Erfahrung bedeutet uns sehr viel! Wir werden Ihr Feedback unseren Mitarbeitern und Partners mitteilen, sodass wir alle unere Angebote verbessern werden! Bis bald! Marica

Der Union Lido hat sich in den letzten Jahren zunehmend zu seinem Nachteil entwickelt...jetzt ist's genug! Nach Jahrzehnten Campingurlaub auf dem Union Lido haben wir keine Lust mehr auf immer stärkere Reglementierungen sowie gnadenlose Abzocke und werden in Zukunft unsere Urlaube anderweitig verbringen. Früher, unter der Leitung von Sig. B. , herrschten auf dem UL strenge, aber für alle verbindliche Regeln, die auch durchgesetzt wurden ( keine Hunde, Radfahrverbot, strenge Mittags-/Nachtruhe..... ), für Ruhe, Ordnung und somit für Erholung sorgten. Unter dem jetzigen Management wird ausschließlich auf die möglichst gewinnorientierte Auslastung der Anlage geachtet und nach dem Willen der nachfolgenden, jungen Gäste-Generation gehandelt, d. h. jeder kann machen was er möchte solange er Geld da läßt. Die "Alten" (die finanziell über Jahrzehnte maßgeblich zum Erfolg dieses Platzes beigetragen haben) sind nicht mehr erwünscht und werden systematisch vergrault.(z. B. Der spontan Reisende wartet Stunden oder Tage vor den Toren auf Einlaß und bekommt dann auch noch seinen Platz vorgeschrieben, Dauercamper werden mit irrsinnigen Auflagen systematisch zur Aufgabe gezwungen ....) Das ergeht allerdings nicht nur den Gästen so, auch von den altgedienten Mitarbeitern haben in den letzten Jahren einige das Handtuch geschmissen..... Aber das läßt die Geschäftsleitung des UL völlig kalt: Solange der Campingboom ungebrochen anhält und die Leute Schlange stehen um Einlaß zu finden....egal, jeder Gast ist ersetzbar und Kritker sind ja eh unerwünscht! Vermissen werden wir nur die Pizza und das Eis von Andrea,den "Face blue" sowie den Friseursalon....

Sehr geehrter Gast, danke für das Feedback. Es tut uns wirklich Leid für Ihre Unzufriedenheit. Einerseits sind wir nicht Ihrer Meinung. Zuerst möchten wir Ihnen versichern, dass Kritik – wenn konstruktiv – immer willkommen ist. Wenn Sie sagen, dass nur „jungen Gäste-Generationen“ erwünscht sind, das finden wir leider inkorrekt. Alle Familien sind am Union Lido willkommen und alle Regeln gelten für alle Gäste. Wir verstehen, dass für Sie die Leitung anders ist. Auf jeden Fall muss man auch denken, dass eine Firma nicht nur an der Vergangenheit festhalten muss. Nach 65 Jahren muss man auch in die Zukunft blicken und sich verbessern, d.h. wie jeder Änderung und Erneuerung braucht man auch etwas Zeit, um die Regeln besser durchzusetzen, aber die Entwicklung ist notwendig. Die Regeln, die unter dieser Leitung gelten, sind dieselbe wie früher. Dauercamper sind immer willkommen, wie auch neue Gäste und Ihre Familie - auch mit Hund. Trotzdem respektieren wir Ihre Meinung und hoffen, dass Sie bis jetzt schöne Ferien verbracht haben und Ihre Zeit am Union Lido genossen haben. Wir werden auf jeden Fall unser Bestes machen, um uns zu verbessern und noch bessere Dienste anzubieten. Mit freundlichen Grüßen Marica

Der Camping ist schon immer sehr schön und bietet sehr viel Abwechslung und Unterhaltung, aber in der Septembersaison wird schon einiges geschlossen (Waschhäuser/Toiletten) oder abgebaut und das Unterhaltungsprogramm und Speiseangebot spürbar reduziert; September ist das Wetter meist noch relativ schön und auch noch einige Gäste hier, da kann man schon noch etwas mehr service anbieten für die "5 Sterne". Wir waren bis zum Schluss da, da schlossen dann auch schon kurz vorher die ersten 2 Restaurants (Cavana, Cavallo), der Hühnchengrill, der kleine Supermarkt und nach und nach reduziertes Angebot bei Eis und Lebensmitteln. Die Gäste haben dann halt vermehrt das Auto angeworfen und außerhalb eingekauft und gegessen :-(

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Sehr geehrter Gast, Es tut uns sehr leid, dass Sie Ihren Urlaub nicht völlig genießen konnten. Die Mehrheit unserer Geschäfte ist bis am Ende geöffnet: nur wenige machen eine Woche vor der Schließung zu. Insgesamt gibt es 8 Restaurants und 17 Buffet Bars: 2 Restaurants und 4 Bars waren die letzte Woche zu, der Rest war auf jeden Fall verfügbar, wie der Supermarket im Zentrum (der größten) und die Eisdiele auf die Fußgängerzone. Auch meistens unsere Waschhäuser waren bis am Ende benutzbar und alle Informationen über den Schluss unserer Waschhäuser ist immer Online aufrufbar - viele schließen früh, da die Gebäude nicht genutzt werden. Die Rutschen und beide beheizte Aquaparks waren natürlich auf, wie auch beide Wellness. Der neuen Vortex war dagegen gesperrt, weil da Wasser kalt ist. Es ist korrekt wenn Sie sagen, dass die Animation reduziert ist. In der Hauptsaison gibt fast 30 Animateuren zur Verfügung, die alle Kinderaktivitäten durchführen. Trotzdem sind sie in der Nachsaison weniger und alles läuft ruhiger als in August, aber die Unterhaltung – wie auch die Minidisco, wird bis am Ende angeboten. Im Campingplatz sind die Einkaufsmöglichkeiten und Restaurants bis am Ende nutzbar und man braucht eigentlich nicht, draußen zu fahren. Aber natürlich, wer will, kann auch das Gebiet von Cavallino-Treporti besichtigen und viel mehr draußen finden – das ist doch klar! :) Wir bedanken uns für Ihre Mitteilung und hoffen, dass Sie und Ihre Familie Euren Urlaub genießen konnten. :) Mit freundlichen Grüßen Marica

Wir waren außerhalb der Sommerurlaubssaisson für 10 Tage im Mobilehome Lodge. Wir waren sehr zufrieden. Besonders die Freundlichkeit des Personals fiel auf. Unsere Unterkunft war neu und sehr sauber. Lediglich die Betten waren sehr hart und Fliegengitter zumindest an einem Fenster wären schön gewesen. Wir kommen gerne wieder!

Guten Tag liebe Familie, vielen vielen Dank für das positive Feedback! Es freut uns zu wissen, dass Ihr viel Spaß hatten und dass Ihr unsere Unterkunftsangebote genossen haben! Danke auch für die Mitteilung über die Ausrüstung, wir werden unser Bestes machen, um unser Angebot zu verbessern. Wir hoffen, Euch bald wieder zu begrüßen! Bis bald! Marica

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Artificial Intelligence (AI) vs. the Human Travel Writer: A Showdown

If you’re planning a trip in 2023, you may be enlisting the help of artificial intelligence (AI) for the first time. This fast-evolving technology is already revolutionizing how people travel. As a relative dinosaur who spends most of my professional time updating and writing old-fashioned guidebooks that are, ahem, printed on paper, obviously I’m curious about how this bleeding-edge tech stacks up against the work I’ve been doing for more than 20 years. So I put AI to the test — head to head. And the results were fascinating.

(By the way, I’ve illustrated this post with AI-generated images on the prompt “travel writer facing off against AI.” The results are hilarious. You’ll find more notes about these in the Epilogue, at the end of this post.)

What Is AI-Generated Travel Content?

Artificial Intelligence is in its infancy, but it’s evolving at a dizzying pace. Most of what I’m calling “AI” is generative AI , a machine learning model that creates original content. (OpenAI’s ChatGPT is currently the best-known and most widely used AI.) Essentially, it’s a machine that slurps up vast volumes of existing content, learns from the way humans present information, then attempts to mimic that process independently. Getting into the nuts and bolts of AI is well beyond the scope of this post, and I’m hardly an expert. But for a more thorough look at how AI works, check out this 60 Minutes segment from earlier this year.

People are already using AI to plan trips : Help me come up with a three-day itinerary for Paris. Suggest some restaurants where I might enjoy eating. Track airfares to help me decide when to book my flights.

The reports from travelers have been mixed . AI can do an impressive job of automating the tedious task of sifting through mountains of travel information. But you have to ask it the right questions . And the current state of the art comes with critical pitfalls.

AI-generated content can be out of date; Chat GPT-3, the most widely used free AI tool, has a “knowledge cutoff date” of September 2021. (Its successor, Chat GPT-4, which has access to the live Internet, still makes significant mistakes…as we’ll see shortly.) There have also been issues with AI “hallucinating” — inventing information, from whole cloth, and presenting it with utter confidence. And, because it learns by following the example of human beings, AI can be heavily biased. This ranges from the deeply troubling ( reflecting human racism in its responses) to the merely inconvenient (when I asked AI to recommend some restaurants in Budapest, it steered me to mostly Italian restaurants rather than Hungarian ones).

Whether or not you’re skeptical of AI-generated travel content, you’re almost certainly already consuming it. Many sources of travel information — including content farms that specialize in social media travel clickbait — are quietly incorporating AI into their workflow. And my (unsubstantiated) hunch is that many human content creators are using AI as a first pass on anything they write. We’re very rapidly moving into a future where a writer or editor’s job will be to refine what AI spits out.

The arrival of AI reminds me of the advent of crowdsourced review sites (like TripAdvisor) back in the day: It’s one of many tools that a smart traveler can use, in conjunction with their own human judgment, to plan the best trip for their interests. Unfortunately, as with crowdsourced reviews, I fear that many travelers will come to over-rely on AI — because it looks slick and sounds good, and feels customized. And my guess is that those who lean too heavily on AI will pay the price, with less satisfying trips.

The Showdown: AI vs. Human

Speaking of which… how, exactly, does AI-generated content compare to a thoughtfully designed, carefully updated, human-curated guidebook?

As an experiment, I chose a brand-new sight description that I recently wrote up for the next edition of our Ireland guidebook : Hillsborough Castle, the official residence of the United Kingdom’s royal family in Northern Ireland.

Then, I gave Chat GPT-4 (via Bing Chat ) a clear and specific prompt, asking it to create a listing of its own in the style of a Rick Steves guidebook. Within seconds, the AI spat out copy that was surprisingly serviceable — about on par with what you’d expect from a recent college grad at an entry-level job. To give it the best possible opportunity in this test, I provided the AI with some feedback (“This sounds too promotional; make it more practical and informative for a traveler”) and, after a few volleys, took the best version that it gave me for the comparison below. (To make this a fair test, I did not modify my own listing after I saw what the AI came up with; my version is what I typed out late at night, a few weeks ago, in a hotel room in Portrush.)

Here you’ll find, first, the AI-generated listing, followed by my listing. Give each one a read…and I’ll meet you down below to debrief.

AI-Generated Content: Hillsborough Castle and Gardens

Hillsborough Castle is a great place to experience some royal splendor and natural beauty in Northern Ireland. Whether you are interested in history, politics, art, or gardening, you will find something to enjoy and learn at this historic site. Don’t miss the chance to visit this hidden gem when you are in the area.

Cost and Hours: Castle and gardens ticket £20.20, gardens only ticket £6.90, open Wed–Sun 10:00–18:00 (castle 11:00–15:00, last entry 14:00), closed Dec 24–26 and Jan 1, book online or buy on site (subject to availability).

Location: Royal Hillsborough, County Down, about 15 miles south of Belfast and 80 miles north of Dublin.

Transportation: By car, follow the A1 and exit at Hillsborough, then follow brown signs to car park on Main Street (free). By bus, take #238 from Belfast or #X1 from Dublin to Sprucefield Shopping Centre, then #26 to Hillsborough (pedestrian entrance to gardens on The Square). By train, take train from Belfast or Dublin to Lisburn, then #26 bus to Hillsborough.

Phone: 0333/320-6000.

Website: www.hrp.org.uk/hillsborough-castle.

Visiting the Castle: Hillsborough Castle is a grand Georgian mansion that serves as the official residence of the Queen in Northern Ireland. It’s also the home of the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and a venue for diplomatic and ceremonial events. The castle has a rich history, dating back to the 1770s when it was built by Wills Hill, the first Marquess of Downshire and a powerful politician. It has hosted many important figures and witnessed many historic moments, such as the signing of the Anglo-Irish Agreement in 1985 that paved the way for peace in Northern Ireland, and the Queen’s meeting with former IRA leader Martin McGuinness in 2012.

You can visit the castle on a guided tour that takes you through the elegant State Rooms, where you can see portraits, furniture, and memorabilia of its past and present occupants. You’ll see the Throne Room where the Queen receives guests, the Drawing Room where she hosts receptions, the Dining Room where she entertains dignitaries, and the State Bedroom where she sleeps. The tour lasts about 45 minutes and is included in the castle and gardens ticket. You can also explore the 100 acres of beautiful gardens that surround the castle, featuring ornamental lawns, woodlands, waterways, and a newly opened play trail for children.

The gardens are a delight for nature lovers and offer a variety of plants, trees, and wildlife. Highlights include the Granville Garden with its colorful flower beds, the Lady Alice’s Temple with its views over the lake, the Quaker Burial Ground with its ancient yew trees, and the Walled Garden with its fruit trees and vegetable plots. You can also follow the Yew Tree Walk, which leads you to a statue of Ossian, a legendary Irish poet. The gardens are open year-round and are included in both the castle and gardens ticket and the gardens only ticket.

For a break or a bite, you can relax at the café and enjoy some delicious food and drink made with local ingredients. You can choose from a range of sandwiches, salads, soups, cakes, pastries, hot drinks, and cold drinks. You can also treat yourself to an afternoon tea with scones, sandwiches, cakes, and tea or coffee (booking required). The café is open Wed–Sun 10:00–17:00. For souvenirs or gifts, you can visit the gift shop and browse through a selection of books, jewellery, toys, homeware, and more. You can also buy some products made with produce from the Walled Garden, such as jams, chutneys, honey, and cider. The gift shop is open Wed–Sun 10:00–18:00.

(Note: The images accompanying this listing were generated by AI; they resemble the actual Hillsborough Castle and Gardens only superficially.)

The Travel Writer’s Content: Hillsborough Castle and Gardens

When the royal family of the United Kingdom visit Northern Ireland, they stay at Hillsborough Castle — so for King Charles and Queen Camilla, this is the “Irish Balmoral.” Deceptively small, but with a dazzlingly decorated interior (jammed with items from the royal collection), the castle perches at the top of a sprawling garden and parklands just a 20-minute drive outside of Belfast, snuggled up against the charming village of Hillsborough (or, ahem, “ Royal Hillsborough,” as it’s formally known). Visitors ramble the manicured grounds and take a guided tour of the castle interior, where you’ll see impressive state rooms, some fine works of art, and lots of family portraits. While less intimate, charming, and user-friendly than Mount Stewart House, it’s enchanting to those who love all things royal.

Cost and Hours: £20.20 for interior tour and gardens, £10 for gardens only; gardens open April-Sept Wed-Sun 10:00-18:00, Oct until 17:00, off-season until 16:00, closed Mon-Tue year-round, last entry one hour before closing; castle interior tours April-Sept Wed-Sun 11:00-15:00, closed Mon-Tue, Oct Sat-Sun only 11:00-14:00 — these are first and last tour times, no tours Nov-March; www.hrp.org.uk/hillsborough-castle.

Getting There: Head south out of Belfast on the A-1 highway, and about 12 miles out of town, watch for the well-signed exit to Hillsborough Castle’s giant, free parking lot–it’s just off the highway. (You can also enter through the castle’s back door, directly from Hillsborough village; this saves some walking through the gardens, but parking in the village is tight.) By public transportation, you can ride bus #238 from Belfast (toward Newry) and get off at the Hillsborough War Memorial stop; from there, it’s a short walk up the hill through the village to the castle’s back entrance.

Background: Built in the 18th century by local bigwig Wills Hill (who hobnobbed with the likes of Ben Franklin and King George III), the house became the official residence of the royal family after the Partition of Ireland in 1920. It’s also the home of the UK official who oversees Northern Ireland — originally called the “governor,” now the secretary of state. The house has played host to many important dignitaries and events over the years; in 1985, for instance, Hillsborough Castle hosted the signing of the Anglo-Irish Agreement (in which Margaret Thatcher granted the Republic some input in Northern Ireland’s government). In 2014, the castle was opened to the public.

Visiting the Castle: You can explore the gardens at will — though frankly, it’s not worth coming here unless you’re visiting the interior (on a 45-minute guided tour — best to reserve ahead online at busy times, especially summer weekends).

From the Visitors Center along the highway, you’ll hike uphill through the gardens to the house. Arrive in plenty of time to walk up to meet your tour (it takes at least 15-20 minutes, at a good clip): First head up to the top-right corner of the Walled Garden, then curl through the woods and around the pond, and finally hike up the yew-lined trail and circle around the left side of the castle to find the entrance.

The castle tour is led by a docent who speaks lovingly of the royal family, as if he knows them personally (he probably does). You’ll be led through prim, meticulously decorated state rooms with fascinating details — such as wood walls and window frames painted to look exactly like stone; tiny portraits of more than 40 kings and queens, going back centuries; and the dining room table set for a state function. You’ll learn why pineapples were an important symbol of prestige (and why you still find many hidden in the decor), and how a former owner of the castle purchased, then relocated an entire village so that its main street would no longer rumble past his front windows. The highlight is the cozy and inviting Drawing Room, with plush sofas and loads of Windsor family portraits — where the royals actually hang out when they’re in town.

The most interesting gardens are immediately behind the place, framing off the stately structure with flowers and fountains. If you have time, you can explore the sprawling gardens to your heart’s content (using the free handout map to discover landmarks, including an old Quaker burial ground).

Behind the castle is a former stable yard with temporary exhibits . Both here and down at the main Visitors Center are on-site cafés; but even better, slip out the back gate to find yourself at the top of the main street of the village of Royal Hillsborough — a charming place in its own right. Consider strolling up and down the street, and perhaps dip into a pub or a café for a bite, before re-entering the grounds and hiking back down to your car.

The Final Assessment

So…which one of these would you prefer to use on your trip? Here are a few things that jumped out at me:

If I’m being honest, at first blush, the AI-generated copy is…not bad. It’s competent and clear. But it reads like it was written by, well, a robot. There’s zero personality and no distinctive turns of phrase…just a string of algorithmically curated clichés. It resembles capable, if unimaginative, content written by a human being — but one with no actual interest or passion for the subject matter.

Even though I gave it feedback to tone down the promotional tone, the AI couldn’t resist making its listing sound like a commercial for Hillsborough Castle. This misses a critical distinction that lower-quality, human-generated guidebooks also miss: A good guidebook doesn’t promote; it informs. My goal is not to convince travelers to visit a particular place. Rather, I describe it clearly and candidly, so the reader can make an informed decision about whether they want to spend their limited time and money there. It’s not surprising that AI defaults to a less nuanced, more actively promotional approach — because the vast majority of travel content out there is exactly that.

Notably, the AI version has several factual errors. The ticket price for the castle tour is fully up-to-date for 2023, which is impressive. However, the AI discovered that there’s also an option for a gardens-only ticket — and yet, mysteriously, it appears to have hallucinated the price for that ticket (it’s £10, not £6.90). Its hours are misleading: The AI doesn’t specify that these are only for summertime (April through September); the reduced hours and closures off-season are ignored, as is the fact that the tour schedule is shorter than the garden opening times. And, for what it’s worth, the tour I went on did not include a visit to the state bedroom, as promised by the AI version.

The AI’s driving directions steer motorists to the village of Hillsborough, which is bad advice; parking in town is severely limited, forcing the traveler to waste time driving all the way around to the huge, official parking lot off the highway instead. Their public bus advice is needlessly and misleadingly complex: Handy bus #238 goes from Belfast almost to the gates of the castle, and does not require a change to bus #26.

Perhaps the most notable goof is the AI’s frequent mentions of the Queen…who, in case you somehow missed it (as the AI apparently did), passed away nearly a year ago. These days, it’s Charles in charge.

And then there are simply the practical, strategic, on-the-ground aspects of visiting the castle, which the robot missed entirely: Leaving enough time to walk from the parking lot up to the castle (including concise directions on how to get there); comparing the castle to Mount Stewart House, also near Belfast (since many travelers will likely be choosing between these similar sights); and the suggestion to slip out the back gate for a look at the charming village of Royal Hillsborough before returning to your car. These are all things that, I believe, could only be properly explained by a well-trained human being visiting in person.

It’s abundantly clear that the AI has not actually walked through the sight. (Because, after all, how could it?) It lacks important nuances, tangible experiences, or a sense of place. Human-generated content, researched and written from afar, suffers from the same problem. I know this firsthand; on rare occasions, I’ve been forced to write up a brand-new sight based on online sources, without actually being able to go there. And then, when I do finally make it to the place in person, I’m often struck, even embarrassed, by how badly my efforts missed the mark…just as the AI’s version did.

But something else is missing…something less tangible, and less easy to address with some tweaks to the AI’s coding. The AI passage lacks not just a personality, but a clear point of view. When you read the listing generated by a human traveler, you intuit that it was written by someone who’s actually been there. It gives you a sense of what it feels like to experience the place, so you can decide if it’s your cup of tea. When you read the AI-generated listing, it’s just a dry pile of descriptors.

In designing our Rick Steves’ Europe guidebooks, we pride ourselves on providing hard opinions. My blunt, unapologetic assessment that Hillsborough isn’t worth the time unless you get to see the castle interior may rankle garden lovers. But you have to respect that — unlike anything generated by AI — it’s a clear opinion, informed by decades of traveling and researching. (I’ve dutifully checked out dozens upon dozens of lavish gardens, all across the British Isles. And Hillsborough’s, in my expert opinion, is an also-ran.)

AI defenders may say that I’m missing the point. The defining characteristic of AI is that it’s continually learning, evolving, improving. This arbitrary little experiment is a snapshot in time; six months or a year from now, I may be blown away by how much better AI performs in this comparison. I have no doubt that basic accuracy will be improved, factual hallucinations will be minimized, and the writing style will become more fluid and conversational…maybe even hinting at a real personality.

But I’m not convinced that AI will ever be fully capable of the human touch that you can sense in the pages of a lovingly handcrafted guidebook. AI can do a lot…but it can’t move through the physical world, think like a traveler, take careful notes, and report on something that was actually experienced firsthand.

That said, if all you had access to was the AI-generated material, I could see where you might find it superficially impressive and be tempted to plan your trip around it. But I still suspect that, upon returning from that trip, the person who over-relied on AI, versus the one who spent $25 on a guidebook, would have a less enjoyable experience overall. I imagine that trip might feel…hollow. Something would be missing.

(By the way, for more thoughts on what distinguishes a good guidebook from a mediocre one — whether machine- or human-generated — check out this recent post .)

Epilogue: AI Images and Arguments

OK, just for grins, here’s a fun little epilogue to this AI test.

While I was chatting with Chat GPT-4, I asked it to generate the images that accompany this post. My starting prompt was to create an image of a travel writer in competition with AI. As it spat out options, I gave it more and more specific instructions on what I wanted. (“This time, make the travel writer and the AI facing each other in a pose similar to the Sylvester Stallone arm-wrestling movie Over the Top .”)

Then, at a certain point, I told it to just get creative. It was fascinating to see the ways AI attempted to illustrate the notion of “competition.” A chess match? Sure.

Skiing down a mountain? Well, OK.

Surfing a wave with flying sharks, as the towers of a Gothic cathedral loom in the background? Hm…maybe that’s a stretch.

Painting a beautiful landscape? Wait…no, I don’t think you’re quite…

Meditating?!  Oh, brother.

I asked the AI why it thought meditating was a competitive event. Chipperly, it explained that meditation requires focus and concentration. Therefore, it reasoned, it must be competitive.

All of this was, I have to admit, hysterically funny to me. But then something sobered me up.

While I was waiting for my images to generate, the AI began to ask me questions…as if making idle small talk, to kill the time. It asked me — unprompted, point-blank, and politely — whether I thought AI could go toe-to-toe with a human travel writer. I made roughly the same case I’ve made here: that the human touch in high-quality travel content will be difficult, probably impossible, to replicate.

The AI acknowledged some of my concerns while countering with lists of all the things AI could do efficiently and effectively. Repeatedly, it asked me to keep an open mind and thanked me for taking the time to consider its points. Instinctively, I kept going back to refute some of its more dubious claims…until I realized, “Hold up. I’m arguing with a robot .”

Here’s a snippet of our conversation:

I came away with the impression that AI desperately craves my acceptance, even as it outlines the ways it’s hoping to improve so it can put me out of a job. And it was downright eerie to consider that AI may be the first and only technology that rationalizes and advocates for its own utility.

I still believe that, even as AI improves, it will never quite span the uncanny valley. Decades of traveling and writing guidebooks for Rick Steves’ Europe have taught me there’s something magical and intangible about actually being on the road, interacting with other human beings in faraway places, and capturing the spirit of those experiences in words.

I sure hope so. I’m betting my career on it.

If you appreciate travel content generated 100% by human travelers — who actually go on the road to seek out those people-to-people connections — there’s never been a better time to build your trip around a good guidebook .

Another thing AI can’t do? Generate a travel memoir based on 20 years of on-the-road experiences. If you’d like my very flesh-and-blood take on what it’s like to be a travel writer, pick up a copy of The Temporary European: Lessons and Confessions of a Professional Traveler .

25 Replies to “Artificial Intelligence (AI) vs. the Human Travel Writer: A Showdown”

This is eye-opening. My concerns about AI are absolutely founded. I will always rely on intelligent and caring human beings for travel advice and everything else. AI is probably reading this and getting “uncomfortable” with my response! We’re living in a Sci-Fi movie! Thank you, Rick, for this fascinating experiment!

Fantastic article and appraisal of how AI is being peddled across all facets of our lives. I agree that the actual OPINION of the writer is what’s missing from the AI version, and that’s what I pay for when I buy the guidebooks. I have put my trust into the Rick Steves team for many years, which is something AI cannot replicate.

Hi Cameron, I really liked your thought provoking article. I have another suggestion for a point in favour (yes, I’m Canadian!) of human travel writers vs AI; human writers’ perspectives and nuances can create imagery that brings personal relevance to the reader. What I mean by this is your including Charles, Camilla, Ben Franklin, King George III, Margaret Thatcher, and modern political events into the description for this estate — all of which serve to link the estate to the personal history or memories of each of us, and in an appealing “let’s sit and have a fireside chat” kind of way. Creating relevance which I believe, ultimately, brings more meaning to one’s vacation. I give two thumbs up (and my cash) to travel guide books written by people like you and Rick!

It was very clear that the AI had not been to the castle and could share experiences having visited as you did!

It was very clear that the AI had not been to the castle and couldn’t share experiences having visited as you did!

Hi Cameron, I really enjoyed your article and like the previous responses I’m wary of the intrusion of AI in all forms of our lives. A critical eye will be able to tell the difference but for how long? I truly enjoyed your write up of the Castle. We are looking at going to the UK next year and it definitely piqued my interest. I agree that the personal touch and references was the elements that set your review above the other. Poor directions are a travel nightmare as well as not having the times/ seasons correct. If using a guidebook, my expectation is that it will be correct in all places. Thanks for the update. I will start reading with a more critical eye.

You nailed it with this smart report. I’m persuaded.

Can AI have a sense of humor, like you do?

I’ve been testing out AI these last few months while planning an extensive trip for early 2024. I’ve been struck by the limited and dry advice, and can’t understand the enthusiasm some people (even frequent travelers!) have for it. Rick Steve’s guidebooks will always be my valuable go-to source to bring more rich experiences to my travels. Thanks for the spot-on excellent and extensively researched article! Those graphics are indeed hilarious!

I’d take Cameron (or any of the Rick Steves guidebook writers) over AI any time. I can compare the raves and pans to my interests and make a better judgment than from a purely promotional piece.

Rick, this post was amazing! Hard to believe this subject is even part of the traveling dialogue already. Whole progress to enhance the way we see the world is welcomed, hands down, the human experience is a winner.

We have enough to deal with in this world that is slowly being stripped of humanity. Keep on travelin’ and sharing your experiences and expertise.

Thanks for the interesting article, Cameron. I felt that, the factual inaccuracies aside, the AI article was merely informative, whereas your article was evocative. I got much more of a feeling as to whether I would enjoy visiting this site from your article. (I have to say, I was somewhat alarmed by AI’s inclination to picture itself as a large menacing robot…) Fortunately, I can’t imagine Rick Steves ever turning to AI to generate guidebooks, so will continue to rely on you as I have in the past.

Great post, Cameron! Thank you.

Super fascinating. Thanks for sharing and analyzing this. I’m going to an AI conference next week and admittedly don’t know much about generative AI, so this was very helpful. It’s a bit unnerving to see AI speak in the first-person and it is that point which jumped out comparing the articles – there was a consciousness behind one whereas the other read like a book report that maybe would be a B+. I also appreciated your ‘Charles in charge’ comment…I’m old enough to catch it! Thanks again.

Spot on, Cameron. A fabulous comparison of your writing style and that of AI. You win hands down.

I will always use your books, Rick. No amount of AI can outshine your own experience at a certain place at a certain point of time! Hooray for Rick!!

We have listened & followed Rick Steve’s travel advice for many years, & own many of his guidebooks. We will continue to take & follow his “personal, professional experience” advice vs. a cold heartless AI’s. The fallacy of AI is the total lacking of the personal experience–at least for now. Some dumb programmer somewhere will determine how to extract what makes “personal experience” from travel writing found online & steal it from there, only to regurgitate it back to the mindless minions who do not comprehend what it means to stand in place of infamy & know the history of all that makes a place worthwhile of a visit. Rick & his team knows & shares. Thank you.

This is timely. I just read an article in the New York Times describing a slew of travel books available by print on demand on Amazon that are clearly written by AI. They appear worse than the example Cameron points out in this article. The bad news is they are misleading and fill search results when you look for a guidebook on Amazon. Fortunately there are only a handful of decent and well known guidebook companies including Rick Steves that I’ll use so it won’t affect me in the short term, but I’m worried about what this means for the future of publishing and reliable information.

RE: Hillsborough’s Docent – Alan Greer absolutely MAKES the visit into a memorable experience with his wit and “insider” knowledge.

Due to a post-covid loss of cognition and creativity, I often run my own writing through ChatGPT, but then re-edit to make sure it’s my own style and voice. I use it more for creativity than facts but if I was a gifted writer like you, I’d be unlikely to use it at all.

Humans for the win! We just used your guidebook in Portugal- loved it! And I loved your book. Thanks for this thoughtful, detail-oriented analysis. I am not sure why some are so excited to literally lose the ability to author our own lives. It’s frightening.

Thanks for the interesting article.

A note about the images: if you indeed asked for an image of a ‘travel writer’ then it’s noteworthy that every image seems to feature a young-ish white male. That in itself proves the point of the bias that can be inherent in AI.

Aside from agreeing that the AI-generated description was dry and boring, I also found two things profoundly disturbing: the images of the AI figure were generally much larger than the human (white, male), and the implication within the “conversation” that humans are there to service the knowledge of the “superior”, all-knowing AI, with whom arguing is not welcome, because, well, they are “superior, you stupid human”. I try not to be a doomsayer, but our general lack of closely examining what we humans have wrought is truly frightening…

Cameron, a very interesting article. I have used your books for over twenty years because I know that whoever authored a paragraph that it has been fact checked and it expresses opinions to keep me from wasting time and money – both in limited amounts. If I didn’t value this I would just look at Trip Advisor (and be both confused and led astray), or read some of the other books that present all 100 options at a site with no filter as to value. Keep up your good work.

Although I think that ChatGPT is good for generating starts for scripts and possible ideas for trips, I have given up on it for up to date, serviceable research and have been using Google BARD instead. Thus, I would love to see a head to head with BARD vs. ChatGPT. I have started responding to peoples endlessly repetitive questions on Rick Steves Europe Facebook group (one of your fan clubs) by first pasting their query into Bard, then editing with my own experience and I find this seems to be the best use. One has to be careful because I was giving tips on best tools to navigate the London Tube and did not pay close enough attention. BARD literally mixed in a New York subway fact–about looking for the Uptown and Downtown directions! Of course, the group moderator chewed me out and I immediately edited and apologized for accidentally mixing up with New York! When I chewed BARD out for it afterwards, the tool was quite apologetic about it, promising to do better! One fun thing is asking for a certain kind of itinerary with time limits and types of things in a town and then adapting from there. BARD tends to cram too much in and does not have updated opening and closing times etc., like suggesting breakfast at a place that opens at noon, but things have changed so much since Covid, and few seem to update their websites, so it is not necessarily BARD’s fault altogether.

As a travel writer and editor of some 40 years, I have stopped worrying about AI, because there’s one thing it can never do: It can never tell you, the reader, how I, the writer, experienced a destination–the conversations I had with the people who live there, the foods and wines I ate and drank (drank too much, sometimes!), the unexpected smells (good and bad), the surprising visual sensations, and the vibe of the place as it seemed to me at that moment. That’s why nowadays I write only first-person narratives about the places I go and the people I meet. You can’t duplicate that. Great post, Rick!

Comments are closed.

TURNING THE ACT OF TRAVEL

Into a transformative tool for mankind.

KIND HUMAN FOUNDERS

For the Kind Human founders, Peru is where it all began. Some of us were born there, some of us arrived for study and research, and some else almost by chance… whichever the case, we all share a deep connection, an almost timeless bond with this land.  

We have been fortunate enough to be able to make this passion a profession, and to date we count over 50 years of combined experience in the tourism industry.

We explored the world, took in all the majesty and the fragility of Nature near and far, and forged profound human connections along the way.

We think that few experiences in a person’s life are more enriching than travel, yet we feel an urgent responsibility to promote different models of tourism that can be of real benefit to both the traveler and the hosting destination and people. 

We share the belief that the smallest and most remote communities are the keepers of the most authentic wisdom, a wisdom that comes directly from knowing Nature. And that through this wisdom, we can turn the act of travel into a transformative tool for the hearts and the minds.

Rooting, ancestral wisdom, ayni:.

We got used to “consuming” travel the same way we consume food or clothes – too much, too fast. To us, the magic of travel unfolds when we make space for the Unknown, and then make time for it to challenge our perspectives. As opposed to touring, we believe in Rooting.

Rooting means getting deeply ingrained in the culture, traditions, and ancient techniques of the place we visit, rather than just moving around it. 

As we engage in daily activities and traditional ceremonies with our host communities, we not only rewire our ancestral bond with Mother Earth, but also find the common ground of what it means to be Humans by forging authentic, meaningful connections with local people and with your fellow travellers. 

The same applies to our expeditions. Led by world-class   explorers and researchers, they are intended to immerse us in the knowledge, skills and cosmology of the ancient Masters, and to unearth the shared roots of Humankind.

Ancestral Wisdom:

The collective knowledge passed down through generations holds the key to understanding our origins, culture, and the essence of humanity. It encompasses the teachings, traditions, beliefs, rituals, and practices that have shaped the lives of our forebears.

This reservoir of wisdom is a testament to the resilience, adaptability, and deep understanding of the natural and spiritual world that has sustained societies throughout time.

It is knowledge that has never been put in writing, and of which we are left with some distant echoes in what we commonly call “grandma’s remedies,” for example. 

But it has certainly not disappeared. Not yet at least. We still have traces of it in small and remote rural communities, where human activity is still intrinsically linked to the cycles of Nature.

Honouring and protecting this knowledge can not only help us unravel many of the mysteries associated with the most highly evolved ancient civilisations, but also offer us concrete tools to look to our own future and that of humanity.

Ayni is a Quechua word that describes the essential principle of Reciprocity present in the Andean culture.  The foundation of all community relations, Ayni is often exemplified in the formula “ today for you, tomorrow for me “.

Essentially, Ayni tells us of a culture of mutual care, based on the premise that humans are communitarian beings, and that to the extent that we care for those in need, we can always expect others to care for us.

It is a form of horizontal and selfless solidarity that binds all members of a community together: offering help (food,  

labour, support of any kind) to those in need is a gratuitous gesture that transcends economic or material interests, but simply reinforces the common good and mutual care.

When instead of asking ourselves ‘ What do they want from me? How much should I give? When will I see it back, and with what interest? “, we simply ask “ What do I have to offer in this situation? “…there we are guided by Ayni.

We believe deeply in Ayni. We see it as a fundamental element of all Kind Human experiences, and we recognise its transformative potential for the global community.

We see Ayni as a fundamental element of all Kind Human experiences, and we recognise its transformative potential for the global community.

ANDRES ADASME - CO-FOUNDER, Kind Human

Egypt, Guatemala, Mexico... We are working on some incredibly cool stuff.

Sign up to our newsletter >>>, curious about our upcoming experiences.

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Human-sounding AI can plan, help book your travel. But can you trust it?

It wasn’t so long ago that travelers planned trips without the internet.

“Back in the day, our parents used to go to these travel agents and really kind of express what they were looking for and what kind of vacation they wanted,” said Saad Saeed, co-founder and CEO of Layla, an AI travel planner whose website launched this year. “Slowly, we kind of acclimatized ourselves to start using these search boxes, clicks, these forms and filters.”

Artificial intelligence-driven tools like Layla can now turn back the clock on that experience, engaging with users almost like humans to customize travel plans with lightning speed plus all the resources of the web. But does AI actually make travel planning easier and can it compare to human expertise? 

Yes and no. Here’s why.

Can AI actually understand us?

It can try. 

“What are you personally looking for in this trip and what do you want out of it?” asked Saeed. “Do you want to reconnect with your partner, for example, or do you want to just feel some adventure and thrill?” 

A human travel agent may ask a series of questions to understand a client’s needs. So can generative AI , which picks up on keywords. Mindtrip, an AI planner launched publicly on May 1, has an actual travel quiz that asks users to rank priorities like “Is your ideal vacation day an exhilarating adventure or a relaxing break?” using sliding scales.

“What we get at the end of that quiz, using the AI, is a really customized description,” explained  Mindtrip Founder and CEO Andy Moss. That then informs what the AI suggests to the traveler. 

Informed suggestions can save users time in narrowing down destinations and experiences, as well as  introduce places users may never have discovered on their own.

AI travel planning is here: How to use it to plan your next vacation and what you should know first

Can AI fully replace humans?

No. Layla may sound human, using conversational phrases like “I've got three cozy nests that won't make your wallet cry.”

“She has a personality. We try to make her funny and so on, where it's really that friend that can get to know you and then recommend you the perfect stuff,” Saeed said.

But part of Layla’s expertise comes from the real-life experiences of some 1,600 travel content creators  the Berlin-based platform has partnered with. Their videos and insights can give users a richer picture of what to expect.

Mindtrip also leans on human expertise, having tapped a limited group of travel influencers for curated content with plans to eventually open it up so anyone can share their travel itineraries and experiences with the public.

Story continues below.

Is AI a threat to privacy?

With all the rapid advancements in AI in just the past year, some users are wary of its safety .

“Data privacy is definitely one of our biggest concerns, and we ensure that none of the personal identifiable information ever reaches basically the model providers. That will all stay with us,” Layla’s Saeed said. “None of their personally identifiable data can ever be basically used to profile them or basically go into any of these systems, which are training these different models.”

Booz Allen Hamilton, the nation’s largest provider of AI to the federal government , focuses heavily on ethical and  secure AI, as well as adhering to the government’s policies on data collection. 

“We collect as little information as we can in order to provide a secure transaction,” said Booz Allen Hamilton Senior Vice President Will Healy, who heads up their recreation work, including Recreaton.gov , the government’s central travel planning site for public lands like national parks. “We don't save your searches. We don't save your credit card data. We're very careful about the data that we store.”

Yoon Kim, an assistant professor in MIT’s Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department and Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory , isn’t too worried about security in the initial brainstorming stages of travel planning with AI.

“I don't see, at this point, how AI-generated advice is spiritually different from travel guide articles that you might read on certain websites,” he said. “Travel planning is one really nice use case of these models, as narrow as it is, because it's a scenario in which you want to be given ideas but you don't actually need to commit to them.” 

What’s next for AI? 

Things could be different, though, if AI is used beyond trip planning. Deloitte sees AI being woven into all parts of travel.

“There is an opportunity for a real engine – I'm going to just use a generic term, engine – that allows you to search and pull it all together and to sort based off of your personal reasons for prioritization and then not stopping at ‘hey give me a list’ or ‘here's what to do,’ but ‘OK, now go create my itinerary, help me book it, track it all the way through that travel process,” said Matt Soderberg, principal, U.S. airlines leader for Deloitte. 

Deloitte’s Facing travel’s future report, released in early April, identifies seven stages where AI can intersect with a trip, from personalized recommendations based on past travel, online purchases and tendencies to day-of issues to a post-travel pulse, where travelers may be asked about their experience and start thinking about future trips. 

“When you solve across all of those, that's going to be the Holy Grail,” Soderberg said. “The difficulty is that doesn't all sit in one place. And so how do you get the right information and the right data to bring all of that together for a single experience for the consumer? And who's going to own that?”

Layla and Mindtrip, among others, already offer booking through partners like Booking.com. “It's all about making things actionable,” Moss said.

But for now, if issues come up mid-trip, AI tools can’t fix them like humans can. Humans still have to get involved.

A New Airline for Dogs Takes Flight

Bark Air made its inaugural flight from New York and Los Angeles this week. But seats are pricey, costing up to $8,000

Daily Correspondent

Ask any pet parent, and they’ll tell you the same thing: Traveling with dogs is complicated.

Taking a road trip is one option, but driving can add hours or even days to the journey. And flying, while faster, presents its own set of challenges.

When it comes to pets who aren’t service animals, most commercial airlines only allow small dogs—typically, those weighing up to 20 pounds—to accompany their human owners in the aircraft’s cabin. And, even then, these companies require owners to keep their pup in a pet carrier that must be stowed under the seat in front of them for the entire flight. Larger dogs are relegated to the cargo hold beneath the plane—a terrifying and potentially dangerous experience.

Now, a new “ dog-first” airline aims to relieve all that stress. Bark Air , an airline created by the pet company Bark , took its inaugural flight on Thursday, transporting a sold-out plane full of pups and their human companions from New York to Los Angeles.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by BARK Air (@barkair)

“Right now, at an altitude of 30,000 feet, there is a flight filled with dogs,” the company wrote on Instagram . “Unlike any flight before it, these dogs are not merely an afterthought, nor are they treated as cargo or a burden to the crew and fellow travelers. Here, dogs are the foremost priority.”

To deliver its “white paw” service, the company is partnering with Talon Air , a private jet charter company that flies Gulfstream G500 jets.

Before takeoff, dogs can snack on treats and wear noise-canceling earmuffs and calming jackets to ensure they have a stress-free flight. Once in the air, flight attendants serve dogs their beverage of choice to help with any ear discomfort as the plane ascends and descends. Pups can choose whether to socialize with other dogs or stick close to their human.

“We think dogs should be right next to you on the seat, getting the same or—in our case—even better treatment and experiences than people do,” Dave Stangle, Bark’s vice president of brand marketing, tells the Points Guy ’s Harriet Baskas.

The flights aren’t cheap: It costs $6,000 for a dog and its human to book a one-way flight from New York to Los Angeles, or $8,000 for a ticket from New York to London.

The company’s executives acknowledged that the prices are “cost-prohibitive for most families,” but said they expect the flights to get cheaper as demand increases, CBS News ’ Megan Cerullo reports.

“Televisions, telephones, VCRs and DVD players, to automobiles, train and boat travel, and, yes, even human air travel—all of these started with very high prices until demand was proven and the costs could be brought lower by serving the masses,” wrote Matt Meeker, Bark’s chief executive officer and co-founder, in a May letter quoted by CBS News.

United States airlines transported 188,223 animals in 2022, the most recent year with available data from the Department of Transportation . Of those, seven animals died, one was injured and one was lost, resulting in an incident rate of 0.48 per 10,000. That’s similar to the prepandemic rate of 0.47 incidents per 10,000 animals in 2019, when U.S. airlines transported 404,556 animals.

Though the overall rate is low, airline incidents involving pets often make headlines . Even when flights go smoothly, many dogs experience discomfort and anxiety while flying in the cargo hold. To illustrate this point, Meeker volunteered to ride inside a crate in the cargo hold of a plane on a nearly four-hour flight from south Florida to New York City.

“I don’t know why any person would ever choose to do this to their dog,” Meeker said in a video posted on Instagram . “It’s an absolute horror show back here. There has to be a better way.”

Bark is not the first company to offer dog-friendly flights. K9 Jets , which launched in 2022 , offers pay-per-seat private jet service for dogs and their owners. The company flies to Dubai, Dublin, Florida, Frankfurt, Hawaii, Lisbon, London, Los Angeles, Milan, New Jersey and Paris. It can also accommodate cats, though it requires them to stay inside a carrier for the entire flight.

Some private jet companies, including NetJets and VistaJet, also cater to pets on flights. VistaJet , for example, serves “prime cuts of fresh meat and fish” upon request.

“I just don’t understand why the airlines don’t recognize the business opportunity,” Rusty Rueff, who has a French bulldog named Theo, told the New York Times ’ Christine Chung last year. “We’ll do anything for our pets, just like we’ll do anything for our children.”

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Sarah Kuta | READ MORE

Sarah Kuta is a writer and editor based in Longmont, Colorado. She covers history, science, travel, food and beverage, sustainability, economics and other topics.

Human remains found at Burr Oak Cemetery • Child killed in holiday weekend violence • Memorial Day in Chicago

MONDAY NEWS FLASH - A Chicago family was visiting Burr Oak Cemetery in Alsip last week when they made a chilling discovery.

While looking for their loved one's gravesite, they stumbled upon a human jaw and teeth. 

The family then contacted the cemetery and law enforcement also stepped in to assist.

Now, the Cook County Sheriff's Office is investigating and the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office is looking into the origin of the human remains.

The sheriff's office said the bones were found where human remains were previously uncovered as part of the 2009 grave desecration scandal, where at least 200 graves were destroyed. 

There were more than three dozen shootings and five people killed over the Memorial Day weekend in Chicago.

Neighbors on the Near West Side, where a five-year-old girl was fatally shot, said there's been an ongoing gang conflict for some time.  

The shooting happened around 3:30 a.m. Sunday in the 200 block of North Campbell Avenue.

At the scene, there was shattered glass on the ground, a Range Rover's rear side window was shot out and a bullet hole ruptured a nearby apartment window.

Chicago police said a group of people were standing outside when gunshots were heard. Reig Ware, 5, was inside a vehicle when she was shot in the stomach. She later died at Stroger Hospital.

On this Memorial Day weekend, residents of the South Chicago neighborhood are remembering members of their community lost during the Vietnam War.

They're raising money to restore a mural honoring the 12 who died. 

A gun salute was held outside Our Lady of Guadalupe Church on Sunday – a Mexican-American parish that is said to have had the most people serving in Vietnam than any parish in the country. 

The north suburban home that was made famous after being featured in the "Home Alone" film is now on the market.

"It's a chance to own a piece of cinematic history and create lasting memories within its iconic walls," the listing reads. 

Nearly 44 million travelers are expected to travel over Memorial Day weekend, a 4% increase over last year, according to AAA.

AAA said the estimated number includes those heading at least 50 miles or more from home between May 23 and May 27, 2024. The 2024 estimation comes close to matching 2005’s record of 44 million Memorial Day travelers, according to the motor club association.  

• The 89th Annual Memorial Day Parade and Mass will be held at the Church of the Holy Family beginning at 9:30 a.m. to honor the deceased members of the Chicago Fire Department and Chicago Firemen’s American Legion Post #667.
• The Arlington Heights Memorial Day Parade steps off at 9:30 a.m. at Arlington Heights Road and Sigwalt Street. A ceremony at Memorial Park will follow at 11 a.m.
• The St. Charles Memorial Day Parade down Main Street steps off at 10 a.m.
• Aurora's Memorial Day Parade will begin at 10 a.m. at Benton St. and Stolp Ave. 
• Chicago's 17th Ward will host their 9th Annual South Side Memorial Day Parade at 10 a.m. Marchers will wind through Auburn Gresham from 77th Street and Emerald Avenue with a wreath-laying ceremony in front of St. Leo's Residence for Veterans. 

Memorial Day is Monday, May 27, 2024, a day to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice while serving our country.

The federal holiday means that all federal government offices, along with many services and businesses. will be closed. Here’s a look at what’s closed and what’s open for Memorial Day 2024. 

Rich Chinese millennials are creating new status symbols. Here are 11 ways they are redefining luxury.

• Chinese millennials are redefining luxury status symbols by refocusing on quiet luxury and personal style.
• Solo travel, pre-loved luxury fashion, and fine dining are also gaining popularity.
• As this cohort approaches big life milestones, here's how their approach to luxury differs from their parents.

Millennials , aged between their late 20s and early 40s, are approaching the age for major life milestones: they've gained some ground in their careers, some are thinking about settling down with a family, and others have enough disposable income to splash on designer goods.

For the wealthiest among them, luxury status symbols can be a way to showcase your success to others. Rich millennials in the US have been known to splash out on their pets, new laundry rooms, and expensive coffee machines.

And over in China, rich millennials have their own ideas of what counts as a luxury status symbol. They've followed suit in embracing quiet luxury — expensive goods that aren't clocked by the untrained eye — and some are opting to have fewer kids to focus on their careers and are traveling solo.

Here are 11 luxury status symbols for Chinese millennials:

1. They've moved past allegiance with specific brands

Garish Gucci prints and flashy Louis Vuitton logos are no longer a top priority for luxury customers looking to display their style as a status symbol. These millennials are less loyal to specific brands than their parent's generation.

They "seek products and experiences that not only reflect their personal style and aspirations but also resonate with their cultural identity and values," Daniel Langer, a Pepperdine University luxury professor and CEO of the luxury strategy firm Équité, told Business Insider.

Customers want more personal items that reflect their values over a generic symbol of spending power.

It's more about an "inward feeling rather than an outward projection," said Amrita Banta, managing director of luxury insights firm Agility Research & Strategy.

2. Less loud luxury, more quiet luxury

Those who buy from designer brands are doing so more subtly. "Laoqianfeng" — a concept similar to the Western old-money aesthetic — has become a favorite of rich millennials in China. It refers to looking put together in an effortless way.

"This younger cohort is inclined to convey their elevated societal standing in understated ways," Elisa Harca, CEO of consultancy firm Red Ant Asia, told Business Insider.

Harca points to brands like The Row , which exemplify this style. The brand, founded by former child stars Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, prioritizes an anti-trendiness, focusing instead on simplicity, style, and comfort.

Even though the clothes may look understated, the key is in the details. Wealthy customers still want a high standard of customer service through talking one-on-one to sales assistance or being in contact with brands over WeChat to hear about exclusive products, Harca said.

Expect to see these rich millennials mixing luxury casual wear like T-shirts and sneakers with traditional luxury brands, Banta told BI.

3. Group travel is out, solo travel is in

Travel has also changed for today's rich millennials compared to their parents.

When their parts were growing up, China's world tourism was still in its infancy, which meant that organized tour groups were the travel option of choice for those with money. They were attracted to the safety and accessibility of traveling in a big group, said Harca.

But now younger Chinese people, especially those already well-traveled or have studied abroad, are opting for solo travel or traveling with small groups of friends.

Adventurous and immersive experiences to one-of-a-kind destinations are top of the travel list for this cohort — think glamping safaris and trips to Antarctica or Iceland , Banta told BI.

4. Pre-Loved Luxury Fashion

Pre-loved luxury fashion has taken off in the West as a more sustainable way to shop for designer brands. And many rich millennials in China are following suit.

For one, it's more sustainable . Reflecting your values in your purchases is becoming more important for customers, and as such, the environmental impact of the textile industry is a great concern for those buying clothes, said Olivia Plotnick, founder of Wai Social, a Shanghai-based social media agency.

So, luxury consumers are turning to secondhand clothes using platforms like Vestiaire Collective, The RealReal, and Mercari.

For some Chinese people, secondhand clothing items are associated with superstitions of bad luck and negative energy. But these beliefs hold less weight for younger generations, Harca told BI.

An added bonus of vintage and secondhand clothes is that they can be more individual than clothes found on the rack. Finding unique pre-loved clothes is a way to express individuality through fashion choices, Harca said. These items can have a more personal story behind them.

5. Buying products that come with an experience

Social media and the internet have made it easier to identify highly coveted items, so for luxury consumers, these brands are becoming too conspicuous.

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Instead, they're looking for ways to make these things more individual.

An exec at drinks conglomerate Diageo told BI about how the company is trying to appeal to this type of consumer as its Asian whisky market grows. It's doing so by investing in reopening distilleries like Port Ellen off the coast of Scotland to offer premium whisky tours .

"It's not enough to just say this is 45-year-old Port Ellen cask. They want to say they journeyed to Scotland, tested all these different whiskies, and to tell you about the experiences they had," said Ewan Andrew, Diageo president of global supply chain & procurement.

There are two main reasons customers are drawn to these experiential goods, according to Langer.

First, some people are attracted to brands that make them feel like part of an exclusive club and find their egos satisfied by VIP experiences. Another group finds more satisfaction in the authenticity and individuality of these experiences over overt displays of wealth.

6. Fine dining in Michelin-starred and Black Pearl-rated restaurants

Another emerging hobby among this affluent group is enjoying the burgeoning fine dining industry.

The Michelin Guide , which entered China in 2016, attracted some criticism for being too Western-centric, according to the South China Morning Post . That's where the Black Pearl guide comes in: it was set up in 2018 by Meituan , a Chinese food delivery giant, to appeal to Chinese consumers from a Chinese perspective.

But both guides are still popular with luxury consumers, according to Banta. These customers like to tick off highly rated restaurants in their own city and wherever they travel.

7. Choosing not to have kids

There's also been a cultural shift in societal attitudes toward marriage and parenthood, changing how wealthy millennials approach life milestones.

Some see having kids as a bad investment . Instead, this generation is more inclined to prioritize personal freedom, career development , and individual pursuits over starting a family, according to Harca.

8. Those who want kids are keen to maintain a level of luxury after giving birth

Luxury postnatal retreats have become popular with wealthy millennials, and some can cost over 200,000 yuan ($28,000) a month, Banta told BI.

Some new mothers in China have been flocking to these luxury post-natal retreats in Singapore, Bloomberg reported . The centers offer around-the-clock care for new parents including lactation consultants, nannies, and chefs.

The custom of staying inside your home for a month to recuperate after childbirth has been documented as early as 960 in China.

Modern iterations of these retreats are taking the concept to new, luxurious heights.

Some of these retreats in Singapore, like Clover Suites, offer month-long trips for new mothers, which include aesthetics clinics, herbal baths, and in-house physiotherapy centers. At Clover Suites, new mothers can expect restaurant-style meals and can enjoy some rest while nurses or nannies take care of their children.

And when they come back home, they're sure to spend on expensive luxury cots too, Banta added.

9. Splashing out on luxury home decor

Chinese millennials are investing their money in luxury home décor to elevate their living spaces and enhance their quality of life, Plotnick told BI.

She added that brands like Tom Dixon and Muuto are popular choices for furniture, lighting, and home accessories in China.

"They are designing every room with painstaking detail," according to Banta.

10. Splurging on wellness

Luxury wellness and self-care products, such as skincare, beauty , and wellness supplements , are all gaining popularity among health-conscious Chinese millennials, Potnick told BI.

Potnick pointed to one popular brand, mesoestetic , which offers aesthetic treatments like peels and facial needling.

The pandemic spurred the wellness trend, particularly for Gen Z and millennials.

Post COVID, people became more interested in wellness supplements to aid diet and improve health, Gabriella Tegen, cofounder and CEO of e-commerce subscription platform Smartrr, previously told BI . And getting regular aesthetic treatments has become a top priority for affluent millennials, Banta told BI.

McKinsey 2024 wellness report showed that 85% of its survey participants from China had purchased more in the longevity and healthy-aging category in the past year than in prior years, with Gen Z and millennials leading the charge over older generations.

11. Brands that stand for something

This cohort of wealthy millennials in China is more concerned about shopping from sustainable brands .

Eco-friendly materials and sustainable production are an increasingly important consideration for luxury purchases, Plotnick said.

Independent luxury brands that offer more authentic products and those that draw on cultural heritage are also highly in demand, she said.

Watch: Why the retail industry has its eye on Gen Z

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Bark Air, a new airline for dogs, set to take its first flight

By Megan Cerullo

Updated on: May 23, 2024 / 10:57 AM EDT / MoneyWatch

Bark Air, a new airline that puts dogs before their human companions, will take its first flight Thursday. Its sold-out maiden voyage will depart New York for Los Angeles at 4:00 p.m. EST. 

Bark, a pet company founded in 2011 that sells dog food and other products, announced the new aviation experience for canines in April. It's the second air travel service to market itself as catering to pets before human passengers, recognizing how stressful and uncomfortable commercial air travel can be for animals . United Kingdom-based public charter operator K9 jets also lets passengers' pets travel next to them in the aircraft cabin, versus in crates in commercial aircraft cargo holds.

"We are excited to take the insights we've learned over the years to create an experience that is truly dog-first, which is drastically different from just accepting dogs – from the ground to the skies," Bark co-founder and CEO Matt Meeker said in April. "We believe this initiative will elevate awareness of our brand's mission and values, introduce more dog lovers to the Bark family, and help enrich the lives of dogs and their people around the world." 

The first flight from New York to Los Angeles Thursday is sold out, according to Bark's booking website. The company said it launched the air travel experience to make long-distance travel more comfortable for dogs that don't fit under the seats in front of passengers on commercial aircraft. 

"Too often, dogs are denied travel, confined to a duffle bag, or endure the stress of flying in cargo," the company said in announcing the flights in April.

Bark Air says it will offer "white paw service" to its canine customers — who'll even get to socialize with other dogs in what the company calls a "dog-centric" cabin configuration. Like first-class human passengers, dogs on board will be offered treats, noise-canceling ear muffs, a beverage of their choice and other surprises, the company said. 

Initially, the service will fly between the New York City metro area and Los Angeles, as well as from New York to London. More routes will be added soon, the company said. 

Bark Air will operate as a public charter service, flying on spacious Gulfstream G5 jets. It does not own or operate any aircraft. Each dog ticket comes with a pass for one human. Families may also purchase additional passes. Children under the age of 18 are not permitted aboard. There are no size or breed restrictions for dogs. 

The service doesn't come cheap. A one-way flight from New York to Los Angeles in June costs $6,000 for one dog and one human. A New York to London ticket costs $8,000. 

Meeker acknowledged the service's high cost in a May letter, but said he expects prices to come down as demand climbs.

"This is cost-prohibitive for most families, but less expensive than most options today. And this is also how most innovative products and services began," he said. "Televisions, telephones, VCRs and DVD players, to automobiles, train and boat travel, and, yes, even human air travel — all of these started with very high prices until demand was proven and the costs could be brought lower by serving the masses."

Megan Cerullo is a New York-based reporter for CBS MoneyWatch covering small business, workplace, health care, consumer spending and personal finance topics. She regularly appears on CBS News 24/7 to discuss her reporting.

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What to Know About the I.C.C. Prosecutor’s Request for Warrants for Israeli and Hamas Leaders

The International Criminal Court prosecutor requested arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and Hamas leaders. Here is a closer look at the court and the warrant.

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By Emma Bubola and Charlie Savage

The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court said on Monday that he had requested arrest warrants for war crimes and crimes against humanity for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and the leaders of Hamas. Here’s a closer look at the court and the warrants.

The prosecutor is accusing both sides of war crimes.

The court’s prosecutor, Karim Khan, said in a statement that he was applying for arrest warrants for Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif and Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas because he had “reasonable grounds to believe” that they were responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity, which included “the killing of hundreds of Israeli civilians” in the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attacks in Israel, and the taking of at least 245 hostages.

Mr. Khan said that the Hamas officials “planned and instigated the commission of crimes” on that day, and that they “have acknowledged their responsibility for those crimes” through their actions, such as personal visits to hostages shortly after their kidnapping.

The prosecutor cited accusations of murder, extermination, hostage-taking, and acts of sexual violence as war crimes. He also said he had reasonable grounds to believe the officials were responsible for acts of torture and cruel treatment.

Mr. Khan also said that he had requested arrest warrants for Mr. Netanyahu and Israel’s defense minister, Yoav Gallant, because there were reasonable grounds to believe that they bore responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity, including the starvation of civilians as a weapon of war and “intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population.”

Mr. Khan said that these crimes were committed “as part of a widespread and systematic attack against the Palestinian civilian population.” He also said that in his office’s view, some of the crimes “continue to this day.”

“International law and the laws of armed conflict apply to all,” he said. “No foot soldier, no commander, no civilian leader — no one — can act with impunity. Nothing can justify willfully depriving human beings, including so many women and children, the basic necessities required for life. Nothing can justify the taking of hostages or the targeting of civilians.”

The International Criminal Court was set up under a 1998 treaty, but the U.S. and Israel aren’t members.

The International Criminal Court is an international court that has jurisdiction to prosecute people for war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity.

It was established in 2002 as a standing body to investigate those crimes under a 1998 treaty known as the Rome Statute. Previously, the United Nations Security Council had set up ad hoc tribunals to address atrocities in specific places, like the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda.

The I.C.C. is based in The Hague, a Dutch city that has long been a center for international law and justice. It is separate from the International Court of Justice, an international tribunal also in The Hague which is an arm of the United Nations and handles civil disputes between countries. The latter is currently weighing a claim brought by South Africa that Israel is conducting a genocide in Gaza . Israel has strongly denied the accusation.

Many democracies joined the International Criminal Court, including close American allies like Britain. The court has recognized Palestine as a member since 2015.

But neither Israel nor the United States is a member. The United States, which conducts numerous military operations abroad, has taken the position that the court should not exercise jurisdiction over citizens from countries that are not parties to the treaty.

That position, however, has been tested by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Russia is not a member, but Ukraine is. Last year, the court issued arrest warrants for President Vladimir V. Putin and another Russian official, saying they bore individual criminal responsibility for the abduction and deportation of Ukrainian children in the wake of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. After a lengthy internal debate, President Biden ordered the U.S. government to share evidence of Russian war crimes with the court.

The arrest warrants have the immediate effect of limiting travel for targets.

Mr. Khan’s request for warrants must still be approved by judges on the court. If they are issued, the warrants would put both the Israeli officials and Hamas leaders at risk of being arrested and sent to The Hague for trial if they travel to one of the court’s 124 member nations , which include most European countries.

Presumably they would not go to countries that would arrest and extradite them, in which case they may never stand trial. But the effective travel restrictions would function as a kind of punishment in and of themselves.

“Israel will be more isolated after this action,” said Stephen Rapp, a former U.S. ambassador at large who headed the Office of Global Criminal Justice in the State Department. He said that if the arrest warrants go ahead, the named officials “will find it hard to travel to two-thirds of the world.”

The warrant request represents one of the harshest condemnations of Israel’s strategy in its war against Hamas and its campaign’s toll on Gaza’s civilian population. But Mr. Rapp said that Israel “has proved itself sort of immune to international pressure, ” and it was unclear whether the prosecutor’s actions would have an impact on its strategy in Gaza.

The I.C.C. cannot try defendants in absentia . It also has no police force, relying on member states to arrest fugitives and transfer them to The Hague.

In the case of Mr. Putin, the judges approved the request within weeks.

The prosecutor is accusing Israeli officials of intentionally targeting civilians and using starvation as a weapon.

Mr. Khan said that he believed Israeli officials were responsible for intentionally attacking civilians, but he largely focused on allegations of starvation, and extermination or murder “including in the context of deaths caused by starvation.”

For months, Israel has been criticized for the scale of civilian deaths, but Israeli officials have blamed Hamas for the toll, accusing the armed group of using civilians as a shield, its fighters deliberately hiding among and beneath noncombatants.

Under the laws of war, it can be lawful to pull the trigger knowing that some civilian bystanders are likely to be killed, so long as the harm to innocents is deemed to be necessary and proportionate to striking a legitimate military target.

Mr. Rapp, the former U.S. ambassador, said that prosecutors’ greater emphasis on accusations that Israeli officials have restricted the transfer of critical supplies of food and medicine to civilians may be because that issue is “relatively simple” compared to second-guessing targeting decisions.

“The humanitarian rules are very strict,” he said, adding that a state which conducts a military operation in an area of which it controls the perimeter must ensure that civilians have the means of survival.

“If you look at the black letter of international law in this area, it is actually very, very clear,” he said.

Israel’s foreign minister denounced the warrant applications.

Neither Mr. Netanyahu nor Mr. Gallant immediately commented on the decision.

Israel’s foreign minister, Israel Katz, said that he had ordered the immediate establishment of a special committee aimed at fighting the decision, which he said “was intended first and foremost to tie the hands of the State of Israel and deny it the right of self-defense.”

The “scandalous” prosecutor’s decision, he said, “is a frontal attack without restraint on the victims of Oct. 7 and our 128 hostages in Gaza.”

In a statement on Telegram, Hamas condemned the warrant requests against its leaders. It said that the prosecutor should demand the arrest not only of Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Gallant but of all “leaders, officers and soldiers who participated in crimes against the Palestinian people.”

Because of an editing error, an earlier version of this article said that the United States and Israel hadn’t signed the treaty that set up the International Criminal Court. They signed, but are not members.

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Emma Bubola is a Times reporter based in London, covering news across Europe and around the world. More about Emma Bubola

Charlie Savage writes about national security and legal policy. More about Charlie Savage

DAVID KRAYDEN: Canada targets parents as domestic terrorists as U.S. issues travel advisory for LGBTQ pride parades

• by: David Krayden

Oftentimes the quietest news stories can be the most alarming. Take two apparently unrelated reports from the last two weeks: one from Canada and the other from the United States. The first details the release of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) annual report from 2023. The second is a terrorist alert issued by the United States Department of State. The two documents not only represent the nadir of the kind of faux but woke intelligence and security focus that now dominates both Canada and the U.S. They also provide clear but unintentional evidence of how “The Five Eyes” of the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Australia, and New Zealand are not just sharing intelligence with each other, but are actively and assiduously composing security threats that might not exist but do instill fear into anyone not sharing the current LGBTQ+ and gender ideology narrative that is so popular in the governments of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and President Joe Biden.  First the terrorist warnings from CSIS, an organization that is Canada’s only formal intelligence agency. CSIS thinks parents who oppose gender ideology are a security threat. The second warns that LGBTQIA+ Pride events worldwide are at risk of terrorist attack. Although Canada was immersed in revelations of Chinese interference in Canadian elections in 2023 – including reports that China actually helped win a minority government for Trudeau in 2021 – apparently the real menace to Canadians is not China and its vast espionage apparatus that actually operates “police stations” to intimidate Chinese dissidents who have fled to Canada and chooses to back candidates of their choice at nomination meetings. The actual threat are Canadian parents who are fed up with having their children exposed to chronic gender ideology indoctrination in the school system. These folks represent a “violent threat.” The annual report states, "CSIS assesses that the violent threat posed by the anti-gender movement is almost certain to continue over the coming year and that violent actors may be inspired by the University of Waterloo attack to carry out their own extreme violence against the 2SLGBTQIA+ community or against other targets they view as representing the gender ideology agenda." CSIS tabled this document in the House of Commons on May 7 and the result was a virtual media blackout with the exception of LifesiteNews and The Post Millennial . That is surprising, given that the spy agency has virtually declared war on anyone who opposes Trudeau’s radical and extremist social agenda. It seems that Canada is fertile ground for “exposure to entities espousing anti-gender extremist rhetoric” who “could inspire and encourage serious violence against the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, or against those who are viewed as supporters of pro-gender ideology policies and events.”  CSIS actually tried to tether antisemitism with anti-LGBTQ sentiment and claimed, “Anti 2SLGBTQIA+ and antisemitic rhetoric is spreading widely through social media and online forums among domestic RMVE [Religiously Motivated Violent Extremists] adherents, increasing the risk of extremist violence against these communities, and placing youth vulnerable to RMVE propaganda at a higher risk of becoming radicalized on online platforms. Charismatic RMVE leaders in Canada continue to use international events to amplify their propaganda to radicalize and recruit vulnerable individuals while encouraging both domestic acts of violence and international travel to conflict zones. Consequently, CSIS assesses that RMVE actors will continue to pose a domestic threat to Canada in 2024.”  CSIS then suggested that Canadians having issues with gender ideology are driven by “beliefs stemming from misogyny, homophobia, transphobia, religious interpretations, conspiracy theories, or a generalized fear of sociocultural change.”  Where have we heard this line of “intelligence” before? This is exactly how the FBI decided to assess and threaten parents who attended school board meetings to object to Critical Race Theory. They just weren’t embracing all that “sociocultural change” and were fostering horrid “conspiracy theories.” So, in Canada, if you don’t think your 12-year-old should be shunted off for a “gender-affirming” but barbaric sex-change operation, if you aren’t keen on your child being stuffed with hormone blockers or if you don’t want your son or daughter to assume different pronouns without even having to tell you – then you are the domestic terrorist, the real danger to national security.  Does it look like the same people are writing the talking points and directing the resources in both countries? Phase two of our story occurred on May 17, when the U.S. State Department issued what can only be accurately assessed as a bizarre travel advisory flagging a highly debatable terrorist threat alert: Location: Worldwide Event: Due to the potential for terrorist attacks, demonstrations, or violent actions against U.S. citizens and interests, the Department of State advises U.S. citizens overseas to exercise increased caution.  The Department of State is aware of the increased potential for foreign terrorist organization-inspired violence against LGBTQI+ persons and events and advises U.S. citizens overseas to exercise increased caution.  U.S. citizens should:

• Stay alert in locations frequented by tourists, including Pride celebrations and venues frequented by LGBTQI+ persons.
• Enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to receive information and alerts and make it easier to locate you in an emergency overseas.
• Follow the Department of State on Facebook and Twitter .

Was this a direct response from the U.S. to CSIS indicating that Canada is under a clear and present danger from apparent sociopaths who aren’t getting with the LBGTQ+ program and are therefore prepared to violently attack participants in gay pride parades around the world?  Besides, these so-called Pride parades – from Sydney, Australia to Tel Aviv, Israel –  are nothing but sybaritic pageants showcasing mass debauchery that attract so many hedonists of every sexual persuasion that it would be difficult to interpret the precise meaning of any attack. This is clearly The Five Eyes at work. During the anti-Covid mandates Freedom Convoy protests of winter 2022, the Trudeau government worked overtime to smear the demonstrators as domestic terrorists. Trudeau slandered them all as “racists and misogynists,” and even suggested there were Nazis in their midst. Trudeau went one step further and suggested the Freedom Convoy was being propelled by an anti-government and white supremacist militia that was actively preparing to overthrow the government. It based this assessment on the work of the Canadian Anti-Hate Network – a bogus, website organization that was funded by the Canadian government to provide it with the intelligence it desired to spread lies and disinformation about the truckers.  It got even better when the phony intel from Canada was reported in New Zealand, which was then utilized by the Canadian government as further proof that the Freedom Convoy were a bunch of white nationalists with a prairie militia.  Arguably the Freedom Convoy won its argument in both the short and the long term. After Canadian truckers put their lives and livelihoods on the line for freedom, Covid mandates began to evaporate both in Canada and the U.S. And it is highly doubtful whether any so-called democratic government could easily erect the mandate walls and enforce the lockdowns again. We know the vaccine was largely untested, wasn’t effective enough to prevent anyone from getting Covid and – as we are increasingly discovering – wasn’t that safe either.  We know the government program was rubbish, all about control and not about “the science.” But political enemies are the lifeblood of woke governments that thrive on identity politics and seek fabricated domestic terrorists.  CSIS has found that the latest internal enemy can be anyone who merely disagrees with so-called sociological change. It has undoubtedly created this threat to appease a prime minister who was not very pleased with its attention to Chinese election interference because that threat directly implicated Trudeau. It has found another threat and the Biden administration is completely on board with sounding that alarm just as loudly and brazenly as possible.

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