AI Travel Planner

AI Travel Planner: A Personalized Travel Itinerary Generator

The AI Travel Planner is an innovative web-based application that aims to simplify the travel planning process. By integrating advanced AI technologies and real-time flight and accommodation data, this tool offers personalized travel itineraries, making it easier for travelers to plan their trips efficiently. Whether you’re planning a business trip, a family vacation, or an adventurous getaway, this tool has you covered.

AI Travel Planner GitHub Repository

Key Features

1. Personalized Itinerary Generation

The core feature of the AI Travel Planner is its ability to generate a custom, day-wise travel itinerary based on user input. By simply providing details such as the origin, destination, travel dates, and preferences, the application delivers a comprehensive plan that includes flight options, accommodation suggestions, and recommended activities tailored to the user’s tastes.

2. Flight Search

Powered by SerpApi, the application retrieves real-time flight information based on the user’s origin, destination, and travel dates. This ensures that the user has access to the most up-to-date flight options available in the market, including prices, airlines, and flight times.

3. Accommodation Recommendations

In addition to flights, the AI Travel Planner also provides users with personalized accommodation recommendations. By querying SerpApi, the system fetches a list of hotels, resorts, and lodges near the destination. The recommendations are filtered based on the user’s preferences, including budget, location, and amenities.

4. AI-Powered Recommendations

Leveraging advanced LLMs (Large Language Models) such as Groq API, the planner can offer insightful suggestions for activities, sightseeing spots, and unique experiences at the destination. These AI-generated recommendations ensure that users receive a travel plan that aligns with their interests and preferences.

5. Responsive Web Interface

The application’s frontend is designed to be user-friendly and mobile-responsive. Built with HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and Bootstrap, users can easily interact with the platform across devices, ensuring a smooth experience whether on a desktop, tablet, or smartphone.

6. Backend Powered by Flask

The backend of the AI Travel Planner is built using Python and the Flask framework, which enables the smooth integration of external APIs such as SerpApi and Groq API. Flask’s lightweight structure allows for quick development and deployment, making it ideal for building scalable web applications like the AI Travel Planner.

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Technologies Used

Frontend:

• HTML, CSS, JavaScript – Standard web technologies for building the user interface.
• Bootstrap – A responsive framework for building mobile-first websites.

Backend:

• Python – The primary programming language used to build the backend.
• Flask – A Python-based micro-framework used for web development, handling HTTP requests, and serving the AI Travel Planner’s functionality.

APIs:

• SerpApi – A powerful API that aggregates real-time flight and accommodation data from multiple sources, providing users with accurate and up-to-date options.
• Groq API – An AI model used for text generation and itinerary creation. It processes the user input and retrieves personalized recommendations based on the available flight and accommodation data.

Database:

• SQLite/PostgreSQL – The backend uses either SQLite or PostgreSQL to store relevant data such as airport information, accommodation details, and user preferences.

Libraries:

• Pandas – A library for data manipulation and analysis, used to process and clean flight and accommodation data before displaying it to the user.
• Requests – A Python library used for making HTTP requests to external APIs.
• Marked.js – A JavaScript library for rendering markdown content dynamically on the frontend.

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How It Works

Step 1: User Input

The user begins by entering their travel query into the AI Travel Planner, such as:
“Plan a trip from New York to Paris for 5 days starting Jan 1.”

Step 2: Data Retrieval

Once the user submits their query, the backend makes requests to SerpApi to gather relevant flight and accommodation data. It fetches real-time options that match the user’s input, such as flight times, prices, and available hotels.

Step 3: AI-Powered Itinerary Generation

With the retrieved data in hand, the Groq API is used to generate a custom itinerary. This AI model processes the information and produces a detailed day-by-day plan, which includes flight details, hotel recommendations, and activity suggestions based on user preferences.

Step 4: Results Display

The generated itinerary is then displayed to the user through the frontend. Users can review the details and make adjustments if necessary. The AI-powered suggestions make the trip planning process easy and intuitive, providing users with a seamless travel experience.

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Future Enhancements

The AI Travel Planner has great potential for future updates, including:

1. Real-time Price Tracking – Track flight and accommodation prices and alert users to price changes or deals.
2. User Account Creation – Allow users to create an account to save preferences, itineraries, and travel history for future trips.
3. Multi-language Support – Extend the reach of the AI Travel Planner to a global audience by adding multi-language support.
4. Integration with Payment Gateways – Enable users to book flights and accommodations directly through the platform by integrating payment systems.
5. Weather Updates – Offer real-time weather information for the user’s destination, so they can plan accordingly.

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How to Clone the Repository and Run the Code

To get started with the AI Travel Planner, follow the steps below to clone the repository and run the application on your local machine.

Prerequisites

Before running the code, make sure you have the following installed:

• Git – for cloning the repository.
• Python 3.8+ – for running the backend.
• Pip – for managing Python packages.

Step 1: Clone the Repository

First, you need to clone the repository to your local machine. Open your terminal (or command prompt) and run the following command:

git clone https://github.com/abhayprabhakar/AI-Travel-Planner.git

Step 2: Navigate to the Project Directory

Once the repository is cloned, navigate into the project folder using the following command:

cd ai-travel-planner

Step 3: Install Dependencies

The project uses several external libraries, so you need to install the required dependencies. It’s recommended to create a virtual environment to keep your dependencies isolated. You can do this with the following commands:

1. Create a virtual environment:

   python3 -m venv venv
   

2. Activate the virtual environment:

   On Windows:

   venv\Scripts\activate
   

   On macOS/Linux:

   source venv/bin/activate
   

3. Install the required dependencies:

   Run the following command to install the necessary libraries:

   pip install -r requirements.txt
   

   This will install all dependencies listed in the requirements.txt file, including Flask, requests, pandas, and any other packages required for the project.

Step 4: Set Up API Keys

You will need API keys for SerpApi and Groq API to fetch flight, accommodation data, and generate itineraries.

1. SerpApi: Sign up on SerpApi to get your API key.
2. Groq API: Obtain an API key from the Groq API for AI-powered recommendations.

Once you have the keys, create a .env file in the root directory of the project and add the following variables:

SERPAPI_API_KEY=your_serpapi_key
GROQ_API_KEY=your_groq_api_key

Replace your_serpapi_key and your_groq_api_key with your actual keys.

Step 5: Run the Flask Server

Now that the dependencies are installed and the API keys are set up, you can run the Flask backend. Start the server with the following command:

python app.py

This will start the Flask development server, and you should see output similar to this:

 * Running on http://127.0.0.1:5000/ (Press CTRL+C to quit)

Step 6: Open the Application in Your Browser

Open your web browser and go to the following URL:

http://127.0.0.1:5000/

You should now be able to see the AI Travel Planner interface. You can start entering your travel queries and get personalized itineraries, flight information, and accommodation suggestions.

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Troubleshooting

If you encounter any issues while setting up the project, here are a few things to check:

1. API Key Issues: Ensure that the API keys in your .env file are correct and valid.
2. Missing Dependencies: If any libraries fail to install, try running pip install --upgrade pip and then re-run pip install -r requirements.txt.
3. Flask Server Not Starting: Ensure that your environment is activated and that you are using the correct version of Python (Python 3.8+).

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Conclusion

The AI Travel Planner is a cutting-edge web application that integrates the power of AI with real-time flight and accommodation data to create a personalized travel experience. With its user-friendly interface, AI-powered itinerary generation, and integration with services like SerpApi and Groq API, it makes planning a trip easier than ever before. The system’s flexibility and potential for future improvements promise to make it an indispensable tool for travelers worldwide.