Sunshine in Vancouver, Indian Food in Toronto & a Green Oasis in Montreal

World-first #TravelBrag AI analysis from Hotels.com reveals travellers' top social media brags

• Over 5 million brags analyzed through social media mentions and latest Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology
• In Canada, holidaymakers are most likely to brag about museums, bars and trendy neighbourhoods  
• The recent Mobile Travel Tracker report from Hotels.com showed that one in six Canadians use social media as a key source of travel inspo

TORONTO, Feb. 28, 2018 /CNW/ - Those 'travel bragging' posts filling up your social feeds show no sign of slowing down but now thanks to the world's first #TravelBrag Artificial Intelligence (AI) analysis, Hotels.com™ reveals what's topping travellers' brag charts in destinations around the world, so you can choose your next trip wisely. 

Travellers loved bragging about the CN Tower, which ranked number four on Toronto’s #Travelbrag list from Hotels.com. (CNW Group/Hotels.com)

The analysis shows just how diverse travellers to Canada are. Whether it's enjoying rooftop cocktails or visiting the posh Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Toronto, strolling down Stanley Park or shopping on Robson Street in Vancouver, or admiring Montreal's stunning skyline from the top of Mount Royal or wandering its cobble-stoned Old Town streets, social bragging is out in full force.

This travel bragging trend echoes the findings from the recent Hotels.com Mobile Travel Tracker* report, which revealed that one in six travellers search social media before their trip to plan the photos they'll take #inspo. And the average Canadian traveller spends more than 42 minutes a day on social media.

While travellers naturally brag about taking in the tourist hotspots and cultural offerings, more people than ever are sharing foodie 'grams, weather updates and sporting snaps.

#Foodporn
You're never more than an Insta-scroll away from #FoodPorn and the brag lists are brimming with culinary treats. Cakes in Stockholm and curry in Toronto spice up the brag lists, and New York steak and pizza both made the cut.

Bragging come rain and shine
The weather gets travellers debating like nothing else and when travellers soak up the sun they want to brag about it, with sunshine coming in at number six on the global brag list. Some cities have four seasons in one day, with Vancouver visitors bragging about the sun and the rain, with both making the top 10.

Sporting Show Offs
The Olympics are loved around the globe and travellers flock to the iconic sporting venues from host cities, including Montreal, Vancouver, Sydney, Rio and Beijing.

More than five million brags globally were analysed by an Artificial Intelligence tool. Using a combination of Tweet data that included links to Instagram posts and innovative AI technology, the tool identified and grouped brag types based on travel keywords and destination mentions to give an overview of what people show off about on social media while on holiday.

TOP 10 GLOBAL THEMES

1. Museum
2. Rooftop bar
3. Old Town
4. Modern Art
5. Opera
6. Sunshine
7. Olympic Games
8. Cathedral
9. Gallery
10. Ballet

Scott Ludwig at Hotels.com, said; "Bragging about your travel experiences on social media has become the norm - if you didn't get social kudos out of it, it didn't happen! With travel posts being so plentiful on social media, Canadians are checking out what others are bragging about to get tips for their next trip."

Start planning your next adventure now and head to the Hotels.com Blog to check out the biggest brags from more than 30 destinations, including Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal. Download the Hotels.com mobile app to choose from hundreds of thousands of places to stay, and brag!, around the world.

Notes to Editors

The data analyzed is from October 2017 – January 2018. The data shows the top keywords that people brag about per country or territory by counting the number of times those keywords appear in search results. These keywords are then augmented by searching for more keywords within the existing results, through Natural Language Processing (NLP). Natural language processing (NLP) is a branch of artificial intelligence that helps computers understand, interpret and manipulate human language.
We define a brag as a Tweet containing travel related search terms, a mention of a location, and a link to Instagram, meaning that someone took a picture and shared it with an accompanying text which contains those keywords. 

*Mobile Travel Tracker research conducted by One Poll in November 2017. Data based on 9,000 respondents across 30 countries and territories.

About Hotels.com

Hotels.com L.P. operates Hotels.com, a leading online accommodation booking website with properties ranging from international chains and all-inclusive resorts to local favourites and bed & breakfasts, together with all the information needed to book the perfect stay. Customers get instant savings with Secret Prices*** and Hotels.com Rewards members can earn and redeem reward nights** at thousands of properties worldwide.

** The Reward Night is exclusive of taxes and fees. The value of the reward night corresponds to the average accommodation price of the 10 previously collected overnight stays. Registration and booking are available through the www.hotels.com website, as well as the hotels.com app on the Apple Store and on Google Play.

***Secret Prices are available to Hotels.com app users, Hotels.com Rewards members and individuals who unlock Secret Prices on the website by subscribing to Hotels.com by email. Secret Prices will be shown where the "Your Secret Price" banner is displayed on your search results. Available on selected hotels and selected dates only. Subject to full terms and conditions.

© 2018 Hotels.com, LP.  All rights reserved.  Hotels.com and the Hotels.com logo are trademarks of Hotels.com, LP.  All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.

SOURCE Hotels.com

For further information: Kaitlin Marrin, Phone: [phone], Email: [e-mail]