Steller, a platform linking creator content with travel planning, has unveiled the Human Verified Content Alliance (HVCA), supported by a number of destinations.
The alliance, which said it counts Discover Puerto Rico, Visit Idaho and New Mexico True among founding members alongside 50 creators, aims to ensure authentic content for travelers.
Steller believes that generative artificial intelligence (AI) could erode traveler trust and devised the HVCA as a potential solution.
The alliance’ members commit to “authentic, human-captured travel content” that can be traced to real people and experiences. It provides members with a badge to show their commitment while a directory will list approved creators.
HVCA membership is open to any travel brand, creator or destination.
"As destination marketers, we have a responsibility to inspire people to explore the world while ensuring the content that shapes their travel decisions is authentic and trustworthy," said Cristin Wondergem, social content and influencer strategy at Visit Idaho.
"As AI increasingly blurs the line between what's real and what's fabricated, preserving the integrity of real places and experiences matters more than ever,” she added.
The Steller content team has devised a set of guidelines for acceptable content editing using AI. The overarching principle is that if a traveler arrived at a destination after seeing content and felt misled, the edit would not be allowed.
Editing such as removing or adding elements, replacing sky color, AI reconstruction and altering context, are not allowed.
Steller plans to screen new submissions automatically for unsafe content while its human content team will apply the guidelines.
"The authentic human experience is going to become more valuable, not less,” said Pete Bryant, co-founder and CEO of Steller. “Trust is one of the most valuable currencies in travel, and protecting it cannot fall to any single company, creator, or destination. It has to be shared. That is why we created the Human Verified Content Alliance.”