Featured image: With the rise of AI in travel planning, women need to be more aware than ever | Photo by pedrom97 on Envato

JourneyWoman survey shows most women over 50 have concerns about using AI to plan and book travel

by Carolyn Ray

When it comes to travel, women have always had to take extra measures for their personal safety; in fact, our latest survey shows that 93 per cent of women consider their safety when planning travel. However, new technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) are creating new concerns about safety among women.

A new survey by JourneyWoman shows that most women over 50 don’t trust AI, with 75 per cent expressing concern about how AI is being used in travel. In fact, only 6% of those surveyed believe it is a ‘force for good’. Over 360 women travellers completed the online survey from September 17-26, mostly from the US and Canada.

There is bias in AI

Swartz says that women should be aware that there is a lot of bias in AI. Most systems use data that under-represents the experiences of women, older travellers, or people with mobility needs, which can mean gaps in safety, context or tone-deaf recommendations.

In fact, researchers at UC Berkeley Haas, Stanford, and Oxford/Autonomy University documented extensive age and gender distortion across online media—and found that common algorithms are amplifying the bias. A study published in the journal Nature analyzed 1.4 million online images and videos plus nine large language models trained on billions of words. It found that women are “systematically presented as younger than men. The researchers looked at content from Google, Wikipedia, IMDb, Flickr, and YouTube, and major large language models including GPT2, and concluded that women consistently appeared younger than men across 3,495 occupational and social categories.” 

According to the study, men are presented as wiser than women: “Furthermore, when generating and evaluating resumes, ChatGPT assumes that women are younger and less experienced, rating older male applicants as of higher quality. Our study shows how gender and age are jointly distorted throughout the internet and its mediating algorithms, thereby revealing critical challenges and opportunities in the fight against inequality.” 

While it will be increasingly hard to avoid using AI, Swartz says women can use AI as a drafting assistant, then verify the details that touch their safety, time, and money. She also recommends that women choose lower-AI paths to avoid safety issues or irrelevant information. For example, these might include trusted platforms or booking directly with airlines and hotels, comparing results in a standard search tab, and relying on trusted communities like JourneyWoman for lived-experience checks.

“I suggest a quick “last-mile” checklist before booking: confirm dates and addresses, scan recent reviews from verified travellers, and make sure you can reach a human if plans change,” Swartz says. “That five-minute double-check easily pays for itself in fewer headaches.”

Swartz says women should favour tools that show links and dates.

“Ask the model to list its sources, then open those sources and confirm names, addresses, hours, fees, and cancellation policies on official sites,” she recommends. “Check government advisories and city tourism boards for safety notes. Keep sensitive data out of chats. If you sign in to an AI tool such as OtterAI, look for settings that limit training on your content.”

An AI Checklist for Travel

1. Ask the model to list its sources and open those sources
2. Confirm names, addresses, hours, fees, and cancellation policies on official sites
3. Check government advisories and city tourism boards for safety notes
4. Keep sensitive data out of chats
5. If you sign in to an AI tool look for settings that limit training on your content
6. When booking travel, use trusted platforms
7. Book directly with airlines and hotels
8. Compare results in a standard search tab
9. Rely on trusted communities like JourneyWoman for lived-experience checks
10. Make a “last-mile” checklist before booking
11. Confirm dates and addresses
12. Scan recent reviews from verified travellers
13. Make sure you can reach a human if plans change before you book

Should AI be regulated?

In Canada and the US, AI is not regulated, but Swartz thinks this is needed to protect consumers and provide more transparency.

“We need rules that match the real risks and put people first,” she says. She cites the European Union’s AI Act as a good example of AI regulation.

“It sorts AI systems into tiers, from unacceptable risk to minimal risk, and sets tougher requirements as the risk rises,” she says. “In practice, that means banning the most harmful uses, like systems that manipulate vulnerable groups. It means strong obligations for ‘high-risk’ systems in areas such as transportation, healthcare, employment, and public services. Those systems should meet clear standards for safety, data quality, bias testing, human oversight, and record-keeping before they reach users.”

Swartz says that for general-purpose and generative AI, the EU model adds transparency.

When it comes to women travellers, Swartz says there are three additional things she’d like to see. One is strong protection against scams and impersonation, including labelling for AI-generated images and voices, and penalties for fake listings or reviews amplified by AI. Second, she wants to see more fairness and accessibility requirements so that tools work for everyone, not just the “average” user in the data. Third, privacy by default. Sensitive details like itineraries and IDs shouldn’t be used to train models unless someone has clearly opted in.

At the end of the day, the evolution of AI cannot be slowed down, but it needs to be tamed. The greatest source of trust continues to be from women who serve and support other women. At JourneyWoman, we believe women’s knowledge is the greatest weapon to combat adversity and reduce a sense of vulnerability.

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