Weldborough Hot Springs offers a “tranquil retreat” and an “authentic connection to nature.” According to the tourism site Tasmania Toursthe place is described as «a secluded forest retreat» that is among «the top seven hot spring experiences in Tasmania for 2026″.
The website highlights that visitors are greeted by swimming pools «rich in therapeutic minerals»making the location «a popular destination for those looking to immerse themselves in Tasmania’s natural beauty.»
«His reputation as quiet refuge has made it a favorite among local hiking groups, spiritual retreat organizers and anyone wishing to experience one of the most pristine hot springs Tasmania has to offer,» notes the Tasmania Tours description.
In the absence of directions on how to find these promising hot springs, several tourists turned to the Weldborough Hotela historic country hotel located in northeastern Tasmania, Australia, to ask how to find this highly recommended destination on the website.
The problem is that Weldborough Hot Springsas described and shown by Tasmania Tours, does not exist. «The River Weld, which runs through Weldborough, is frozen, it’s definitely not a hot spring. You’re more likely to find a sapphire than… to find a hot spring,» he said. Kristy Probert in dialogue with Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).
The woman, who works at the Weldborough hotel bar, told the Australian media that every day receives inquiries from tourists who seek out the hot springs and even reserve a room to tour the supposed «secluded forest retreat» the next day.
«In fact, two days ago a group of 24 drivers who were traveling from the mainland and who had made a detour to come to the hot springs showed up there. I told them: ‘If you find the hot springs, come back and I’ll buy you beers all night’, but they didn’t come back.«Probert said.
The confusion that leads tourists to a place that does not exist
Tasmania Tours It is a tourism website of the company Australian Tours and Cruises that operates in New South Wales and that runs several other websites for booking tours in other states.
The site has several entries and blogs about the essential destinations of Tasmania, historically known as the «Apple Island». Like the entry on Weldborough Hot Springs, much of its content is written by artificial intelligence (AI)and includes images generated by this technology that purport to be the Tasmanian places it describes.
«Our AI is completely broken,» he admitted to the ABC Scott Hennessyowner of the tourism website. Hennessy said the company had hired an outside marketing company, which used AI to create some of its content.
«We’re trying to compete with the big agencies, and part of that is keeping the content fresh and fresh all the time,» he said. He added that, although all content is reviewed before being published, some posts were made by mistake while he was on vacation.
Hennessy justified AI-generated content as necessary to be competitive in search engines and so more tourists come to your site.
We do not have enough capacity to write all the content on our own, and that is why we outsource part of this function. «Sometimes it’s perfect and really good and does what you expect it to do, and other times it’s completely wrong,» he said.
The entry about the hot springs was published in July 2026 and has since been removed from the siteas is all AI-generated content. Hennessy assured that the website offers true tourism services. «We are not scammers, we are a couple trying to do right by people. We are legitimate, we are real people, we hire sales people,» he said.
How technology creates fictional destinations
Anne Hardyrepresentative of the tourism agency Destination Southern Tasmaniawarned that it is necessary to pay close attention to «AI hallucinations» as their use is becoming more frequent. «Currently, About 90 percent of ChatGPT-generated itineraries contain at least one errorand 37 percent of people trust AI to generate their itineraries,» he explained.
Among the most common errors are opening hours, inaccurate descriptions of what is offered in a place and the duration of a walk or the necessary equipment. «That’s the problem with the Internet and online sales. Now companies have to always stay ahead and be easy to find when people search and that kind of thing,» Hardy said.
