Duck-face or pouty pose?
It has been revealed that the 10 most geotagged places in the UK on Instagram last year were ALL in London, and we’re certainly guilty of contributing to that. On average, there are 2.5 billion likes per day on the photo sharing platform and image marketing firm, Curalate, has undertaken an analysis of 8,000,000 Instagram posts to find out what makes for a popular upload. Findings revealed that lighter images generate 24% more likes than darker, blue is a more popular dominant colour than red, people prefer photos with low saturation to those that are vibrantly coloured and finally, selfies with ‘duck-face’ are a staggering 1,112% more popular than those without the pouty pose – although we blame the Kardashians for that stat. Take a look at this fun little infographic and start watching those likes figures soar!
Londoners aren’t strangers to weird things happening on their commute and this week was no different as a life-sized mechanical polar bear took to the tube and the streets of the city to promote Sky Atlantic’s new Scandi TV show Fortitude. The eight-foot tall bear, that weighs only 20kg (that’s 380kg lighter than your average polar bear) was operated by two puppeteers, Tom Wilton and Derek Arnold, who worked together on the West End show War Horse, and was created by special effects company Millennium FX, which has worked with shows including Doctor Who.
Cathay Pacific recently launched a new social media campaign which, in a step of digital confidence, is putting its tone and direction largely in the hands of influencers and customers. The Instagram campaign is centred on the hashtag #lifewelltraveled and has three phases which aim to lend authenticity to the movement. In the first phase of the rollout, the airline selected social media influencers who had already spoken highly of the brand, fashion blogger Jessica Stein and photographer Tyson Wheatley. The two shared their unbranded versions of #lifewelltravelled. They then went on to post related Cathay Pacific contetn and finally, the airline introduced a global ad campaign that pushes its definition of a "life well travelled."
Travelling to a new country this year and don’t know the language? No problem, the updated Google Translate App has you covered. Forget about roaming charges, the newly updated app will allow users to translate written text by simply photographing the words they need translated and what’s more, travellers don’t need an internet connection for the app to work. The app will allow users to translate French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish to English, and vice versa. Never again will you misinterpret a menu or get lost, your phone is now multilingual!
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Airbnb eyes a loyalty program but details remain under wraps
Airlines suspend Madagascar services following unrest and army revolt
Qatar Airways offers flexible payment options for European travellers
Air Mauritius reduces frequencies to Europe and Asia for the holiday season
Major rail disruptions around and in Berlin until early 2026