AI-generated blog post sends travellers to imaginary Tasmanian hot springs

An AI-generated post on an Australian tour company’s website directed tourists to hot springs that did not exist, leading to unintended visits to a remote Tasmanian town.

In a now-deleted article published last July, the Tasmania Tours website suggested visitors go to “Weldborough Hot Springs”, calling it a “peaceful escape” offering an “authentic connection to nature”.

According to ABC News, the post claimed the attraction featured in a list of “7 Best Hot Springs Tasmania Experiences for 2026” where people would find pools “rich in therapeutic minerals”. “Its reputation as a tranquil haven has made it a favourite among local hiking groups, wellness retreat organisers, and anyone wanting to experience one of the more untouched hot springs Tasmania has to offer,” the article claimed.

But tourists who headed to the “secluded forest retreat” found that the supposedly famed Weldborough Hot Springs did not exist – and were in fact an AI hallucination.

Weldborough is a small rural town in northeast Tasmania, about 110km from the state capital Hobart. There are no hot springs in or around this town, and no such attraction is listed in Tourism Tasmania material or local records.

“Our AI has messed up completely,” Scott Hennessy, the owner of Australian Tours and Cruises, told ABC News, adding that they did not intend to mislead customers.

Australian Tours and Cruises, based in New South Wales, owns and operates Tasmania Tours.

“We are not a scam, we are a married couple trying to do the right thing by people. We are legit, we are real people, we employ sales staff,” he said.

Hennessy said the article was created by a third-party contractor since they did not have “enough horsepower” to populate the website themselves. While all posts that went on the website were reviewed, he said, some were made live by mistake while he was not in the country.

“We are trying to compete with the big boys, and part of that is you have got to keep your content refreshed and new all of the time,” he said.

In addition to inventing the spot, the blog used AI-generated images to illustrate the supposed location.

Australian Tours and Cruises told CNN that the AI-generated post and the resultant damage to their reputation as well as online hate they received had been “absolutely soul-destroying”.

“We are just trying to get on with our lives and put the whole thing behind us,” the company said.

AI researchers use “hallucination” to describe cases where generative AI systems produce information that may appear coherent and authoritative, but is factually incorrect or entirely fabricated.

After the article went up, local businesses like Kristy Probert’s Weldborough Hotel started receiving inquiries from tourists looking for the hot springs as the blog post contained no directions.

It started with a few calls in September, Probert said, and then people began “turning up in droves”.

“We’re in a very remote location so it was very random,” she said.

The Independent has contacted Australian Tours and Cruises and the Weldborough Hotel for comment.

Speaking to ABC Radio, Ms Probert said the Weld river, which runs through the area, was “freezing cold” and “definitely not a hot spring”.

It was used primarily by fossickers looking for sapphires, she added.

The AI-generated post brought a bit of a tourism boon for Weldborough, Probert said, adding that she was now gently telling visitors the truth when they inquired about the springs.

“If you can find these hot springs, beers are on me,” she said she told a group of 24 that had taken a detour to visit the springs. She said they never came back.