Traveling for social media is set to be more important than ever next year, according to a new study by InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, which is why the company has rounded up the most-Instagrammed sites in seven top travel markets worldwide. The report is the result of a global survey of over 7,000 participants, as well as a social media analysis that was used to determine the most-Instagrammed sites.
According to the report, which examined the Paris, London, New York, Shanghai, Dubai, Sydney and Mexico City travel markets, 39 percent of global luxury travelers intend to put more focus on social media when traveling in the coming year. Fifty-five percent believe that capturing content while traveling increases their ability to have a meaningful experience.
At the same time, travelers still feel like they’re missing out. More than three-quarters of respondents (77 percent) said that they feel obligated to see the most popular tourist sites, despite 75 percent expressing a desire to see more of what the city has to offer and to explore like a well-informed local. More than half of those surveyed (59 percent) feel that visitors miss out on the best of what their cities have to offer.
In each of the cities studied, the most-Instagrammed sites were:
- New York City: Central Park
- London: Buckingham Palace
- Sydney: Sydney Opera House
- Paris: Eiffel Tower
- Dubai: Burj Khalifa
- Mexico City: Pirámides de Teotihuacán
- Shanghai: The Bund
Overall, the Eiffel Tower was the most popular tourist site, representing 10 percent of all posts worldwide.
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