AI tourist posters are branded 'creepy' and 'downmarket' by travellers

• Posters advertising tourist destinations are becoming increasingly generic 

Costa Rica's natural wonders are well documented - with the Central American country considered one of the best places to spy some of the planet's rarest species amongst its cloud forests and tropical landscapes.  

Yet, the roadside signs advertising the country's tourist attractions, from cocoa plantations to zip-lines and night walks, increasingly rely on a concept that is the very opposite of Mother Nature... AI.

Hundreds of AI-designed posters have popped up in Costa Rica's major tourist areas, including Manuel Antonio, Monteverde and Arenal - and they all look remarkably similar, as the trend for 'quick fix' design grows. 

However, branding experts have warned that the 'overly polished' designs are actually turning off visitors, with one telling the Daily Mail: 'We're entering an era of beautiful but forgettable. So, we're no longer competing on identity, but who typed the better AI prompt.'  

Travellers across the globe are likely to encounter similar posters wherever they are, from the Gold Coast to Florida and Egypt, with businesses apparently loving just how easy it is to create a colourful advert using programmes such as ChatGPT and Claude, via just one or two sentences of prompts. 

Tourist businesses across the world are relying on AI to create posters - but are the designs in danger of putting customers off? An unofficial poster promoting the resort of Alanya in Turkey

Tap in a few prompts into ChatGPT or Claude and the AI software can conjure up a poster in seconds. Pictured: An Egyptian limo service

A poster made to promote a Brighton comedy festival

A growing backlash against the use of such generic images has begun online though, with social media posts calling them 'downmarket', 'creepy' and 'lazy'.  

Some have compared it to the trend for fake flower arches that peaked around five years ago, saying that while the artificial blooms looked great on Instagram, they weren't quite so appealing in real life. 

In the UK, the AI tourist poster trend is also growing fast. 

One creative, Barry Whitehouse, shared an image of event posters across the country that all used similar AI styling, saying: 'A plea from an artist. All these posters look the same, yet they are from different areas in the UK so much so I was concerned that I had repeated the same poster when compiling this.

'I realise that many group committees are volunteers and people don’t have the time or funding to consult or even ask someone arty to make a poster for you, but please ditch the urge to "save time" and money by using ChatGPT or other ai services.'

The Frenchman's Cove pub in Blackpool recently shared a poster on Facebook promoting its dog-friendly policy via an AI-generated image of a dog faithfully looking at a pirate, with a real-life photo of the pub in the background.  

On the country's opposite coast, a fish and chip shop, The Fishdock Fryer, in Cleethorpes, recently announced its opening with an AI-generated poster showing local landmarks and a rather dubious-looking plate of haddock and chips. 

One recent tourist in the town told the Daily Mail they took one look at the poster outside the chippy and 'turned away to go elsewhere'.  

Marketing strategist Julia Payne, founder of Fractional CMO Services, says while artificial intelligence has made design easier and cheaper, those it's targeting are increasingly underwhelmed by it. 

Indistinguishable? On Facebook, an artist shared an image of the same AI styles for a variety of different events. Cecilia Redondo-Zaratiegui, Head of UX at Go Up, a search marketing agency, says 'People notice the repeated styles, the overly polished feel' of such ads

A fish and chip restaurant in the North East Lincolnshire seaside resort of Cleethorpes was branded 'unappetising' by one tourist visiting the town

She says: 'AI has levelled the access to good design, so budget is now not a barrier to entry, which is a good thing, but it's also dangerous.

'The irony is that in trying to level the playing field, a lot of businesses have ended up making themselves look identical, and that's where it starts to backfire.' 

She adds: 'If you're looking the same as everyone else, if there's no differentiation, then you become a commodity, and therefore perceived far more as a budget option and forgettable, and potentially, downmarket.

'We're entering an era of beautiful but forgettable. So, we're no longer competing on identity, but who typed the better [AI] prompt.'

Beautiful but forgettable? Marketing experts say more rudimentary designs might actually work better for small businesses

Saccherine: Some have likened the rise of generic tourist AI posters to the trend for fake flower arches that dominated tourist cafes across the globe a few years ago

Cecilia Redondo-Zaratiegui, Head of UX at Go Up, Search Marketing Agency, agrees, telling the Daily Mail: 'AI has made design much more accessible for small businesses, which is part of why we are seeing such a rapid rise in AI-generated branding and promotional material. 

'The challenge is that accessibility does not always translate into originality or emotional connection. 

'A lot of consumers are becoming more visually aware of what AI-generated design looks like. 

'People notice the repeated styles, the overly polished feel, or visuals that look impressive at first glance but are ultimately quite generic. Once audiences start recognising those patterns, the branding risks feeling less personal and, in some cases, lower quality.'

Redondo-Zaratiegui says the backlash is less about AI itself and more about what people feel is being lost in the process.

'There is also a cultural side to this. Posters for local gigs, cafés, markets, or community events were never only informational; they helped create identity and atmosphere. Even when designs were imperfect, they reflected someone’s humour, taste, or creativity. 

'That human element is often what makes people connect with them. When everything starts looking generated from similar prompts and templates, some of that individuality disappears.'