How AI and digital technologies turn travel planning from a chore into a pleasure

Today, preparing for a trip takes hours instead of weeks: artificial intelligence, recommendation systems, and mobile apps handle most organizational tasks. Mikhail Ostroverkhy, head of user products at Yandex Travel, told Izvestia about this.

Personalized recommendations that read your mind

Modern services no longer offer “everything to everyone.” Machine learning analyzes dozens of signals: which destinations you opened, which hotels you saved to favorites, where you have traveled before, and even which cafes you liked on social media. Based on this, the service builds an accurate portrait of the traveler.

“AI already understands that you prefer mountains over the sea, boutique hotels over large chains, or that you are looking for places where you can bring your dog. As a result, the main page greets you with ready-made trip ideas instead of a blank search bar,” explains Ostroverkhy.

The outcome: instead of spending hours browsing websites, you receive 3–5 truly suitable options within seconds.

One click instead of a dozen tabs

Artificial intelligence can simultaneously:

• find the cheapest connecting flights you would never discover on your own,
• select hotels near the attractions you need, with high ratings specifically among travelers with your preferences,
• create a logical day-by-day itinerary considering museum hours, traffic, and the weather.

“Previously, this required evenings and weekends. Now everything happens in one app in 10–15 minutes,” the expert notes.

A price calendar that predicts the future

One of the most useful features is airfare price forecasting. Services analyze millions of past flights, current demand, holidays, airline schedules, and even currency exchange rates.

“AI can say not only ‘it’s expensive now,’ but also ‘in 12 days the price will drop by 34%’ or ‘buy within the next 48 hours — it will only get more expensive afterward.’ This saves tens of thousands of rubles per person,” emphasizes Ostroverkhy.

Technology helps once you arrive

When you have already landed:

• Your phone’s camera instantly translates menus, explains monuments, or shows reviews of a cafe.
• Augmented reality overlays navigation arrows directly onto the real street.
• Voice assistants build routes based on the fact that you are walking, not driving.

In brief

New technologies cut trip-planning time dramatically: AI selects destinations and hotels tailored to your tastes, creates ready-made itineraries, predicts the best dates to buy tickets, and saves you significant amounts of money. Instead of tedious searching, you receive personalized suggestions in seconds, and once on location, your smartphone becomes an all-in-one guide, translator, and navigator. Traveling has become easier and cheaper than ever.