Portuguese travellers are Europe's most avid social media sharers, and it's not even close. A new study by online travel agency Opodo, based on responses from 9,000 travellers across the UK, US, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Germany and France, has mapped out exactly how platforms shape the way people choose, experience and document their holidays.
Half of Portuguese travellers (50%) post selfies and personal photos from their trips — the highest share in the survey. Spain follows at 40%, Italy at 35%, Germany at 30% and France at just 22%. The Portuguese also lead on food photos (66%), landscapes and landmarks (88%) and sharing holiday activities (66%), making them Europe's most prolific documenters of travel in general.
Social media isn't just changing what people post — it's changing where they go. Over half of travellers aged 25 to 35 (52%) say it has inspired them to visit somewhere they'd never previously considered, a big jump from 32% in a comparable 2024 poll. The effect is strongest among Gen Z at 59%, while only 5% of those aged 65 and over take inspiration from their feeds. Interestingly, Americans (49%) are the most likely overall to book a trip abroad because of social media, with Brits the least swayed at 25%.
There's also a gap between the feed and reality. Asked whether they'd post a positive image of a trip that actually disappointed, Portuguese travellers were again the most likely to gloss over it (54%), followed by Americans (46%) and Spaniards (36%). At the other end, Germans (23%) and Brits — 27% of whom say they'd be very unlikely to post positively — come across as the most honest posters.
Elsewhere in the findings: Germans are the most likely to share photos of their hotels (51%), and Germans and Americans are the most likely to keep checking their feeds while away (34% each), compared with laid-back Italians at just 20%. When it comes to using social media to picture a holiday before booking, the Portuguese again top the list (22%), and they're also the keenest on using it to discover hidden gems and off-the-beaten-track spots (42%), just ahead of Spain (40%) and Italy (36%).
"Social media has become a powerful window to the world, making travel discovery more accessible, visual, and personal than ever before," said Pablo Caspers, Chief Travel Officer at eDreams ODIGEO, Opodo's parent group.
For travellers, the takeaway is mixed but useful. If you're picking a destination because it looked perfect online, it's worth remembering how often those images are curated — the countries posting the most gorgeous holiday content are also the most likely to be polishing a disappointing trip. On the flip side, social platforms genuinely are opening up lesser-known places, with four in ten southern European travellers using them specifically to escape the usual tourist trail. And if you want authentic trip reviews, ask a German or a Brit.
