From the almost obligatory check-in at airports to images of fancy meals, it could be a corporate event or a leisure break with the family, it has become a shared world. When it comes to photography people are particularly obsessed with Instagram when they head off on their holidays - always trying to outdo each other with their snaps.
Many destinations, travel providers, hoteliers and restaurants have quickly seen the opportunity the social platform can provide to boost business reinforcing via hashtags the phrase a picture paints a thousand words. With that in mind, global travel site Big 7 Travel (part of Big 7 Media) has put together what it describes as official list of the 'World's Most Instagrammable Countries 2019'.
Every single country is ranked in order of their visual allure and popularity on social media and Big 7 Travel also provides the seven best spots to visit in each country for a guaranteed amazing Instagram photo. The ranking is based on a "comprehensive scoring system that analysed the amount of hashtags per destination, survey results of Big 7 Media's 1.5 million audience, and votes cast by a panel of travel experts".
These are the places where the company says you'll find sweeping stretches of beach, ancient monuments, kitsch cocktail bars and more street art than you can possibly imagine.
TABLE - The world's most Instagrammable countries, according to Big 7 Travel
Source: Big 7 Travel
Big 7 Travel has also released a list of the 50 most Instagrammable countries and a fully ranked list of every country in the world. The ranking covers 192 nations and says for the purpose of safe and responsible tourism, there are several countries it has made a conscious decision not to feature due to various political or unethical reasons.
The company's findings show that Instagram shows no sign of slowing down as a key driver in travel trends with 67% of people it surveyed saying they have visited a new destination after seeing it on Instagram, while 61% of people have booked a specific hotel after seeing it on their Instagram feed.
While printed guidebooks still have their uses, more and more tourists are using only Instagram for travel recommendations - 33% of people Big 7 Travel surveyed say they research their upcoming holiday destination via their Instagram feed. With 77% of people surveyed taking 2-5 holidays a year (including weekend breaks), the most popular travel content on social media are Bucket List experiences and luxury hotels, it says.