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‘Facebook factor’ inspires travelers

March 03, 2011 |

Sharing holiday snaps through Facebook, the social network with over 500 million users worldwide, is not only helping people stay connected in the virtual world, but also influencing people's travels in the real world, a new Skyscanner study revealed.

In the recent poll by the flights comparison website, Skyscanner.com found that the ‘power of pictures’ has a very strong influence on Facebookers’ travel plans, with more than half (52 per cent) stating that seeing friends’ holiday pictures had inspired them to book a holiday to the same place.

Despite the well-worn joke surrounding the boredom of being subjected to other people’s holiday snaps, a whopping 88 per cent of respondents loved to nose through their friends’ shots with half of those admitting to doing so because “they could see what they had got up to and with whom!”

Gareth Williams, Skyscanner CEO commented:

“They say a picture is worth a thousand words and here is the proof. Facebook is the perfect platform for two very powerful influencers of travel; a personal recommendation combined with alluring images. Seeing pictures of our friends’ adventures in Tuscany can certainly plant a seed that later leads to you considering booking flights to Italy to explore the area, when you may not otherwise have done so”.

Forty-five per cent of respondents also said that Facebook encourages them to visit their friends abroad more and despite some recent reports that have claimed FB reduces real life contact, only five per cent of people said that being on Facebook actually meant they were less likely to see their friends in person.

The Skyscanner survey also revealed that Facebook plays an increasing part in the organization of group travel with 46 per cent of people having either organized or been invited on a trip via the site.

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