In comparison to other European travellers, UK travellers like to create meaningful holiday experiences rather than being socially accepted by others.
The #nofilter movement, which has seen over 249 million Instagram photos published worldwide and has gained global popularity over the past four years, is now especially popular among British travellers according to the results of new research by Opodo.co.uk.
The study reveals that when it comes to sharing holiday photos on social media, UK travellers prefer to post unaltered photos that capture the real beauty of the trip, with only 1 in 5 retouching their pictures. This love for the true charm of travel is quite unique to Brits, as the rest of the countries studied show a much higher percentage of filter-addicts,especially those in the US, (51%), France (49%) and Spain (43%).
Additionally, it was found that Brits do not appreciate being flooded with holiday pictures on social media. In fact, most UK respondents think that people who post a lot during their holidays are show-offs who are not even enjoying their time away.
Brits are also different when it comes to the influence social media has on booking a holiday; only 14% of travellers take into account their holiday’s ‘insta-worthiness’ (destinations beautiful enough to post on Instagram), as opposed to the Italians, the Spanish, the Americans, the Portuguese and the French who seem much more concerned with the social media impact of the destinations they choose.
Influencers you say? When it comes down to the role of key social media influencers as a source of inspiration for travel, the research shows that UK travellers are not especially influenced by them either. In fact, only 5% admit to having booked a holiday to a destination that appeared on someone else’s Instagram page. However, that doesn’t stop the Italians and the Americans, with twice as many saying they’re influenced by social media profiles.
Robert McNamara, from Opodo.co.uk, said: “We know that one of the main reasons why people in the UK travel is to spend quality time with loved ones like friends and family. With this new research, we see once again that Brits are more interested in having real and meaningful holiday experiences, rather than being socially recognised by others”.
