A groundbreaking survey by leading travel publisher Matador Network has revealed that a staggering 62.1% of LGBTQ+ travelers are now turning to AI for innovative travel planning. This eye-opening statistic underscores the growing trend of technology-driven travel experiences within the LGBTQ+ community.
LGBTQ+ travelers are increasingly embracing AI’s capabilities to enhance their journeys, with nearly 16% having already used AI for travel and a remarkable 25% planning to do so for their upcoming summer travels. This trend underscores the growing reliance on advanced technology within the LGBTQ+ community to elevate their travel experiences.
Matador Network is at the forefront of this movement with GuideGeek, a free AI travel assistant designed to streamline and enrich trip planning for travelers globally. GuideGeek excels at finding niche, inclusive, and off-the-beaten-path locations, providing instantaneous, customized itineraries.
“GuideGeek is the perfect resource for every traveler, no matter where they’re headed or what they plan to do,” says Matador Network CEO Ross Borden. “Travelers crave adventure, new places, and unique experiences, but they also want to feel safe along their journey and welcomed at their destination. With thousands of Pride Month events happening across the country throughout the month of June, whether you’re planning a regional road trip to catch as many festivities as possible or focusing on one city for a week or a weekend, GuideGeek is your personal travel agent, before and during your trip.”
Travelers can access GuideGeek via WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook Messenger, interacting with the AI as they would a friend. The travel assistant provides instant, personalized travel recommendations, from full itineraries to quick tips, all tailored to the user’s specific needs and preferences. Since its launch in 2023, GuideGeek has answered over four million questions for travelers in multiple languages.
About a quarter of GuideGeek users also utilize it for instant recommendations while already at their destinations.
“I used GuideGeek to help me curate a last-minute, 10-day road trip from British Columbia to Palmer, Alaska,” says Tori Jackson of New York, who identifies as bisexual. “The Alaska Highway is a long stretch of road with little to no service. To plan ahead, we used AI to find gas stations with the distance apart so we would never run out of gas.”
“Using GuideGeek also allowed my friend and I to find hikes and places to camp along the route,” Jackson continues. “It gave great suggestions for places to visit once we got to our final destination in Palmer. My favorite feature was the suggestions for places to eat. Having a restrictive diet makes finding places to eat difficult, but using GuideGeek helped curate a list of vegan-friendly places, which led me to the cutest cafe called Vagabond Blues!”
