The Future of Travel, and What We'll Never Trade
By Butterfield & Robinson
Published on September 28, 2026
Insider Knowledge
What I think is important is that we still discover new places, the ones that are very difficult to find on your own. What we offer our travellers is insight and insider information, and I think it would be impossible for AI to find or discover that. No matter how systematized travel becomes or how much AI gets involved, I don't think anybody can change the sense of discovering new, exciting and unusual places that are hard to find.
– George Butterfield, Co-Founder
Personal Touch
With AI, we're already seeing travellers come to us more informed, with a list of eight things they want to do. Then they meet with one of our Experience Designers, who knows the region intimately and says, 'Love ideas one to four, but here's why I don't think you should do five to eight.' Instant credibility. People are craving that: a real person with real-world experience they can connect with. As more of our day-to-day needs get satisfied by AI, I think it's going to increase the premium on personal connection. It's going to be craved more, not less.
– Mike Scarola, CEO
Connection to Place
It's the connection to the place and to the locals. You're never going to be able to ask AI about the grandmother who makes the best soup in town. We know her personally, so our travellers go and have lunch in her kitchen and hear her stories. That would never have shown up in a web search, even before AI. What makes B&R stand out is the personal relationships we have with people on the ground, and not only having those relationships but cultivating them over the years.
– Julie Ritchie, Director, Traveller Experience
Earned Expertise
At B&R, we've put a tremendous amount of time and effort into exploring our regions and making connections. We know our suppliers, local hosts and friends in a way that can't be replicated. When we plan a trip, we have decades of knowledge and relationships behind us, and that's what lets us design itineraries with encounters that are deeply personal and real. That expertise, and the care that goes into designing a trip once we've truly understood what a traveller will appreciate, will never be replicated by AI.
– Tibor Barna, Experience Designer,
Central, Eastern and Northern Europe
Surprise & Delight
The way B&R surprises and delights us is unmatched. As our world continues to automate, important elements are left behind: intention, thoughtfulness, curiosity, playfulness. Our B&R trips have been unique opportunities to re-engage those important parts of ourselves. B&R (and the angels who call themselves Guides) facilitates these opportunities with a contagious joy for this big, wild, amazing world. And leaving yourself open to surprise and delight of every sort creates opportunities to be all those things that automation devalues.
– Andrew and Linda S., longtime B&R travellers
