Millennials are skipping out on travel destinations that aren’t “Instagrammable”
Forget about cost, food and sightseeing. What really seems to matter to millennials is how good their trip will look on social media.
More than 40 percent of people under the age of 33 are prioritizing travel destinations based on how "Instagrammable" it is, according to a survey by a U.K. home insurance company.
"Think about that: 40 percent of millennials who won't go somewhere unless they can Instagram it," Condé Nast Traveler contributing editor Mark Ellwood told "CBS This Morning." "That's baking Instagram into travel."
"We're not picking a vacation destination and taking a picture once we get there. We're thinking, 'Can I get a great picture? If I can't I'm not going to go,'" he added.
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It's not always about impressing others with photo-worthy trips. Instagram has also become a guide for many people, with more than 70 percent of the platform's content now related to travel.
New Zealand and Iceland are now popular destinations, but it wasn't that way just a few years ago, according to Ellwood.
"New Zealand is one of the hottest destinations in the world, partly because its scenery is so Instagrammable," Ellwood said. "New Zealand has an area that focused on Instagram in its tourism marketing. Numbers went up 14 percent."
Travel destinations aren't the only ones taking advantage of the latest trend. Hotels seem to be changing to cater to a more "Insta-friendly" look.
"When you walk into a hotel lobby, take a moment and look around and think, 'What about the design here is intended to be photographed?' They're not white anymore. They're bright colors," Ellwood said. "The hotels want you to take pictures."