Top 10 Travel Destinations on Social Media for September 2014

The first month after the long summer break sees destinations moving full-speed ahead on social media initiatives.

The list below contains both traditional destination marketing organizations, as well as two park systems -- Disney's private one, and the U.S. National Park system, as represented by the Department of the Interior. They're grouped together based on how travelers experience them and interact with them online rather than traditional categories that could see them listed separately.

The top ten, below, are calculated using our Skift Score, which takes into account performance on an absolute basis, as well as relative to within a company's specific industry. Comparing metrics across companies and travel sectors provides an intelligent measure of real-time competitive edge.

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Source: Skift IQ

Tourism Queensland demonstrates that it's not just a numbers game. Although it doesn't top a single category in terms of followers or likes, it's consistent engagement with users across all four platforms puts it at the top of the Skift Score rankings.

Instagram

The odd mix of tourism Australia, Walt Disney World, and the Interior Department have a wide lead over the other seven destinations. What unifies them all is their use of other Instagrammers' images to increase their reach. It doesn't hurt that each one has great, viral assets to work with: Australia's scenery, Disney's theme parks, and the U.S. National Park system aren't exactly the hardest sell.

YouTube

With videos, it's Disney's world and everyone else is just a distant second place and beyond. It has nearly ten times the views of its closest competitor, Australia. Of course, being owned by one of the world's top film studios and having some of the top characters -- from princess to talking cars -- at your disposal doesn't hurt.

Twitter

Although Michigan and Alberta don't top the Twitter follower list, their performance has lessons for destinations that may not be exactly the hottest ticket. Both engage with users faster than their sector's average, and both have a replies to tweets ratio that demonstrates how they can use Twitter to speak with potential travelers rather than simply as another PR broadcast outlet.

Facebook

Instead of talking about Disney and Australia again (yes, they're winners), it's interesting to highlight that the top destinations are rather conservative on Facebook in terms of volume of posts. Many are similar to Visit Florida, authoring two to three posts a day and sticking to photos most of the time.

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