Is Algorithmic Tourism Shaping Your Travel?

The Algorithm Defines The Itinerary. The Same Cafés And Sites Are On Everyone's List

- Charles Assisi

The mango trees in Fort Kochi are heavy with fruit. A crow lets out a sharp caw from a branch overhead. The skies, bloated with the weight of the monsoon, threaten to burst. In the lanes below, a tourist takes a selfie in front of an old Portuguese house, checks the frame, nods in approval, and walks past. A charming homestay nearby, rich with the smell of freshly brewed coffee and lined with creaky wooden floors, doesn't get a second glance. It wasn't on the list.

This is what the age of algorithmic tourism looks like. It wears the illusion of choice while quietly narrowing the field. In Fort Kochi, the architecture rivals that of coastal towns in the Mediterranean. Terracotta roofs, crumbling facades with colonial insignias, bougainvillea-laced balconies. It could easily be mistaken for Lisbon or Granada, if not for the dense, humid air that clings to every surface. The monsoon is around the corner.

Yet there is something odd about this season. Unlike the year-end period, when the town brims with visitors from across the country and abroad, the mood now is quieter. The tourists now come from nearby districts within Kerala. The hotels, homestays, cafés and spice stores that buzz in December resemble abandoned movie sets. Foot traffic has not vanished, but the energy has.