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Tourists flock to fake hot springs created by AI

Related: 'Go Down South With Your Mouth' tourism campaign launched in Australia
  • An AI-generated article on the Tasmania Tours website falsely advertised non-existent "Weldborough Hot Springs" in a remote Tasmanian town.
  • The now-deleted post, published last July, described the fictional springs as a "peaceful escape" with "therapeutic minerals" and included AI-generated images.
  • Tourists, misled by the article, travelled to Weldborough “in droves”, one local hotel said, only to discover that no such hot springs existed.
  • Scott Hennessy, owner of Australian Tours and Cruises, which operates Tasmania Tours, admitted their AI "messed up completely" and blamed a third-party contractor for the error.
  • The company saidd that the incident, caused by an AI "hallucination" producing fabricated information, resulted in significant reputational damage and online backlash.
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