Top 100 checked-in Facebook destinations

Checking-in on Facebook is the 21st century equivalent of the humble postcard. Let everyone know where you are, what you're up to, and how much fun you're having while they're at home at work.
With so much holiday data flying around on social media, we got to wondering just how often people check in, and what the most popular checked-in global destinations were.
Our research recorded check-in figures for more than 200 worldwide tourist favourites, plus usage figures for popular holiday, travel, and location hashtags[1]. We also completed a poll with 2,040 UK residents to determine how much time we spend on our phones while we’re away, and what we use them for most[2].
Smartphone Holiday Uses
During holidays – whether enjoying a staycation or vacation – our research indicated that an average of 80 minutes per day is being spent using a smartphone. That worked out at 28% less time than we would usually spend at home. Why? Well, on holiday our phone routine becomes less about what other people are doing, and more about using our phone only when it can help enhance our holiday.
Unsurprisingly, taking smartphone photos on holiday came top of the list...
Top five smartphone holiday uses:
- Taking photos (68%)
- For navigation (32%)
- Sharing photos on social media (28%)
- Chatting with friends on instant messenger apps (27%)
- Listening to music whilst travelling (26%)
Top five holiday photo subjects:
- Photo with friends/family (63%)
- Buildings/architecture (50%)
- City views (49%)
- Country views (48%)
- Key landmarks (43%)
Check out these check-ins
With the arrival of free EU roaming, nearly half (49%) of those we surveyed admitted to ‘checking in’ on Facebook at least once whilst on holiday – we just love to tell everyone where we are and what we’re up to. This could explain why some popular tourist destinations are close to hitting the 10 million total check-in mark.
Top 100 checked-in Facebook destinations
1 Times Square, New York: 8,700,000 (check-ins to date)
2 Disneyworld’s Magic Kingdom, Orlando: 6,000,000
3 Central Park, New York: 4,800,000
4 The White House, Washington D.C: 4,800,000
5 Eiffel Tower, Paris: 4,700,000
6 MGM Grand Las Vegas Strip, Las Vegas: 3,400,000
7 Louvre Museum, Paris: 3,000,000
8 The Venetian Las Vegas Strip, Las Vegas: 2,600,000
9 Empire State Building, New York: 2,500,000
10 Sydney Opera House, Sydney: 2,200,000
11 Buckingham Palace, London: 2,100,000
12 Champs Elysees, Paris: 2,000,000
13 London Eye, London: 2,000,000
14 Brooklyn Bridge, New York: 1,800,000
15 Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris: 1,800,000
16 Paris Las Vegas Hotel and Casino: 1,800,000
17 Hollywood Boulevard, California: 1,700,000
18 Trafalgar Square, London: 1,600,000
19 Burj Khalifa, Dubai: 1,400,000
20 Harrods, London: 1,400,000
21 Hyde Park, London: 1,350,000
22 Leaning Tower of Pisa, Pisa: 1,300,000
23 Space Needle, Seattle: 1,300,000
24 Christ the Redeemer, Rio: 1,200,000
25 Sydney Harbour, Sydney: 1,200,000
26 Tower of London: 1,200,000
27 Tivoli, Copenhagen: 1,200,000
28 Grand Central Station, New York: 1,000,000
29 British Museum, London: 1,000,000
30 National History Museum, London: 1,000,000
31 The Rockerfella, New York: 1,000,000
32 Spanish Steps, Rome: 1,000,000
33 Stonehenge, UK: 997,000
34 Versailles, Paris: 990,000
35 Chichen Itza, Yucatan: 985,000
36 Trevi Fountain, Rome: 980,000
37 Sagrada Familia, Barcelona: 919,000
38 Chester Zoo, Chester: 890,000
39 Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco: 851,000
40 Hollywood, California: 847,000
41 The Shard, London: 822,000
42 Legoland Windsor, Windsor: 785,000
43 London Bridge, London: 717,000
44 Madrid Palace, Madrid: 690,000
45 St Paul’s Cathedral, London: 621,000
46 Ponte Vecchio, Florence: 600,000
47 Great Wall of China, China: 591,000
48 Taj Mahal, Agra: 584,000
49 Westminster Abbey: 571,000
50 Neuschwanstein Castle, Schwangau: 559,000
51 Hagia Sophia, Istanbul: 556,000
52 The Acropolis, Athens: 555,000
53 Mount Rushmore, South Dakota: 527,000
54 Union Station, Washington D.C: 492,000
55 Pantheon, Rome: 491,000
56 Bondi Beach, Sydney: 480,000
57 The Colosseum, Rome: 468,000
58 Piazza Del Campo, Sienna: 468,000
59 Berlin Wall, Berlin: 457,000
60 Faneuil Hall Marketplace, Boston: 453,000
61 Pyramids of Giza, Giza: 452,000
62 Rialto, Venice: 444,000
63 Grand Canyon, Arizona: 437,000
64 Giant’s Causeway: 436,000
65 Kremlin, Moscow: 432,000
66 Blue Lagoon, Iceland: 431,000
67 Loch Ness, Scotland: 421,000
68 Pompeii, Sorrento: 410,000
69 Parthenon, Athens: 409,000
70 Bloomingdale’s, New York: 406,000
71 Petronas Twin Towers, Kuala Lumpar: 390,000
72 Willis Tower, Chicago: 382,000
73 Brandenburg Gate, Berlin: 377,000
74 Guggenheim Bilbao: 356,000
75 Burj Al Arab, Dubai: 355,000
76 Uluru, Australia: 335,000
77 Machu Picchu, Peru: 309,000
78 Moulin Rouge, Paris: 308,000
79 CN Tower, Toronto: 299,000
80 The Forbidden City, Beijing: 296,000
81 Temple of Luxor, Luxor: 263,000
82 Sistine Chapel, Rome: 225,000
83 Little Mermaid Statue, Copenhagen: 191,000
84 Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania: 168,000
85 Niagara Falls, Niagara: 158,000
86 Matterhorn Mountain, Switzerland: 151,000
87 Statue of Liberty, New York: 137,000
88 Arc de Triomphe, Paris: 132,000
89 Piccadilly Circus, London: 120,000
90 Victoria Falls, Zambia: 111,000
91 St Basil’s Cathedral, Moscow: 102,000
92 St Peter’s Basilica, Rome: 88,000
93 Blue Mosque, Istanbul: 82,000
94 The Hermitage, St Petersburg: 69,000
95 Alhambra, Granada: 57,000
96 Sacre Coeur, Paris: 56,000
97 Juliet’s Balcony, Florence: 50,000
98 Oriental Pearl Tower, Shanghai: 41,000
99 Winter Palace, St Petersburg: 32,000
100 Angker Wat, Cambodia: 26,000
Hashtag Habits
A massive 47% of those we spoke to said they upload at least two holiday snaps to social media whilst they’re away, and 45% take at least three smartphone selfies in front of a landmark of destination. Naturally, we want to tag our posts to ensure maximum reach (cue worldwide holiday envy) so you may not be surprised to discover that #travel is being used 1,500 times an hour on Twitter, and has had a staggering 200 million uses on Instagram.
Top 50 Instagram Travel Hashtags:
- #london: 80 million (uses to date)
- #paris: 67.7 million
- #dubai: 54.6 million
- #newyork: 50.9 million
- #istanbul: 44.6 millio
- #miami: 40.1 million
- #LA: 39.9 million
- #barcelona: 30.2 million
- #moscow: 28.6 million
- #bali: 28.3 million
- #tokyo: 25.3 million
- #berlin: 22.8 million
- #lasvegas: 21.9 million
- #madrid: 20.5 million
- #singapore: 20.2 million
- #hongkong: 19.1 million
- #abudhabi: 18.8 million
- #sydney: 18 million
- #amsterdam: 17.9 million
- #melbourne: 17.6 million
- #sanfrancisco: 16.7 million
- #doha: 16.2 million
- #bangkok: 15.9 million
- #sandiego: 15.5 million
- #rome: 14.3 million
- #milan: 11.5 million
- #orlando: 10.2 million
- #seoul: 9.4 million
- #prague: 9.1 million
- #venice: 8.4 million
- #rio: 8 million
- #taipei: 7.2 million
- #osaka: 6.9 million
- #budapest: 6.8 million
- #dublin: 6.7 million
- #vienna: 6.6 million
- #mumbai: 6.5 million
- #kualalumpar: 6.4 million
- #buenosaires: 6.4 million
- #shanghai: 6 million
- #munich: 5.8 million
- #phuket: 5.3 million
- #warsaw: 5.2 million
- #florence: 5.1 million
- #cancun: 5.1 million
- #delhi: 4.7 million
- #lisbon: 4.1 million
- #brussels: 3.6 million
- #mexicocity: 3.1 million
- #cairo: 2.9 million
Wherever your travels take you, you'll find the perfect holiday smartphone at mobiles.co.uk.
Sources: