InterContinental® Hotels & Resorts, the world’s largest luxury hotel brand, today launches InterContinental ICons, offering travellers a fresh look at some of the world’s most exhilarating cities and inviting the public to take part in a global conversation on what makes them truly iconic.
The brand’s independent study, carried out in Paris, London, New York, Shanghai, Dubai, Sydney and Mexico City, revealed travellers often feel they only scratch the surface of a city. More than three-quarters (77%) say they feel obliged to see the most popular tourist sites, despite 75% expressing a desire to see more of what the city has to offer and to explore like a well-informed local.
Additional analysis of Instagram posts revealed that the Eiffel Tower in Paris is the most posted tourist site, representing 10% of all posts worldwide. Buckingham Palace is the most-tagged site in London (21%) and Central Park is the most-tagged in New York City (20%), highlighting that tourists are often focused on visiting the same “must-see” sites. These findings were confirmed by locals in each of the seven cities, with more than half (59%) feeling that tourists miss out on the best their city has to offer.
An online vote, launching today, asks the public to select the most symbolic sights, sounds, tastes, smells and feelings in these cities, that will connect travellers more deeply when they visit.