A small town in northern Tasmania, Weldborough, has recently experienced an unexpected influx of visitors searching for what they believed to be some of the island's finest hot springs. Local hotel owner Kristy Probert noted that it began with a few inquiries, but soon escalated to a significant number of tourists arriving at her establishment. "I was getting around five phone calls each day, along with two to three guests coming in, all looking for the hot springs," Probert reported. This dramatic rise in tourism was particularly surprising given that Weldborough lacks any hot springs entirely; the only nearby water feature is a frigid river where residents occasionally take a dip after enjoying a sauna. The situation arose from a local tourism agency, Tasmania Tours, which employed artificial intelligence to create search engine optimized articles, including one titled "What to See in…". Although the content was typically vetted prior to publication, an AI-generated piece was mistakenly released without proper checks, as admitted by the agency's owner, Scott Hennessey. Hennessey explained that he and his wife operate a small, honest family business and face fierce competition from larger organizations, necessitating a consistent output of new online material. Unfortunately, this time, a lapse by external contractors led to the misinformation. He emphasized, "We are legitimate, we are real people." For travelers, the key lesson here is to plan their trips with greater care and to approach online information with a healthy dose of skepticism.
Informational material. 18+.
