Social media round-up
Canada’s WestJet airlines spread a bit of holiday cheer this week, thanks to a "Christmas miracle" video that’s now gone viral. Unwitting passengers on a Calgary-bound WestJet flight were part of the heartwarming stunt, when they were asked by a virtual Santa what they wanted for Christmas, and while they were on their flight to Calgary, WestJet staff scrambled to buy, wrap, and deliver the presents to the airport. As the unsuspecting passengers waited for their luggage, the presents they had asked for – from socks to a flatscreen TV – came down the carousel. WestJet VP of communications Richard Bartrem said the company would donate flights to the Ronald McDonald Children’s Charities once its video achieved 200,000 views. That feat was easily reached, as the video has so far amassed nearly 14 million hits.
Disneyland Paris has been named as the most visited European attraction in 2013 by Facebook, closely followed by the 02 Stadium, London, and Las Ramblas Boulevard, Barcelona. The social networking site compiled lists of the most visited destinations in Europe, Asia and the US over the past year based on users ‘checking into’ destinations, attractions and iconic sites. Other locations featured at the top of the European list include Piazza San Marco in Venice and Taksim Square in Istanbul.
Clearly the internet is now one of the most popular methods of researching travel before making a a booking and with this in mind, Bing has revealed the top 10 searched travel destinations by people in the US. Hawaii and the Bahamas take the top two spots, followed closely by London. Istanbul, Costa Rica and Rome all feature in the list.
This week Twitter published its most tweeted topics for 2013 – and it’s been a busy year. Topping the chart of the 2013 big Twitter moments were Andy Murray’s Wimbledon success and Manchester United’s defeat against Real Madrid. Of course no top five would be complete without an appearance from One Direction. Other talked about topics included some of the more morbid events – the deaths of Cory Monteith and Paul Walker both featured. We had better get tweeting if we want to shape next year’s top five…
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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