CANNES, France, – InterContinental® Hotels & Resorts, the world’s largest luxury hotel brand, launched InterContinental ICons today, offering travelers a new insight into some of the most exciting cities of the world, and inviting the public to participate in a global conversation about what makes cities truly iconic.TRAVELING IN THE SAME ROUTINE
The independent study of the brand1, conducted in Paris, London, New York, Shanghai, Dubai, Sydney and Mexico City, revealed that travelers often feel that they only see a city in a superficial way. More than three quarters (77%) say they feel compelled to see the most popular tourist sites, despite the fact that 75% expressed their desire to see more of what the city has to offer and explore as a good place informed.An additional analysis of Instagram posts revealed that the Eiffel Tower in Paris is the most published tourist site, representing 10% of all publications worldwide. Buckingham Palace is the most tagged site in London (21%) and Central Park is the most tagged site in New York City (20%), noting that tourists often focus on visiting the same «unmissable» sites . These findings were confirmed by the locals in each of the seven cities, with more than half (59%) feeling that tourists miss the best that their city has to offer.
DISCOVERING THE TRUE CITY
The new InterContinental campaign aims to inspire rediscovering what makes each city truly fascinating. An online vote, which will be launched today, asks the public to select the most symbolic sights, sounds, flavors, aromas and feelings that will connect travelers more deeply when they visit.Some of the multisensory experiences identified by luxury travelers worldwide include:
Paris: The aroma of freshly baked bread in bakeries in Oberkampf, Paris 11e
London: the heat of a roaring fire in an old London pub on a cold day
New York: smell of roasted chestnuts from a shopping cart on Broadway
Shanghai: the warm scent of Xiaolongbao in the Temple of the City Gods
Dubai: sound of water licking an abra (traditional wooden boat) while gliding along Dubai Creek
Sydney: the feeling of the cool breeze on your face on the Manly to Circular Quay ferry
Mexico City – The sounds of mariachi music in Garibaldi Square
The complete list of ICons nominated in Mexico City includes:
- Castle chapultepec
- Paseo de la Reforma
- Torre Latinoamericana and its 45th floor observatory
- Blue House Frida Kalo Museum
- Maria Dolls
- Diego Rivera murals
- Traditional markets
- Organizers of the city center
- Mariachi and Garibaldi Square
- Street vendors with sounds of «mattresses are bought» «there are tamales»
- The sound of Gol in the Azteca Stadium
- Pre-Hispanic dancers of the city center
- Local cuisine, such as cakes, tamales and chubby
- Mezcal and Tequila
- The great variety of spicy
- The maguey worms and the grasshoppers
- pozole
- Cempazuchitl and Christmas Eve flowers
- Mexican sweets
- The aroma of incense as an important element in pre-Hispanic rituals
Ginger Taggart, Vice President of Global Marketing at IHG Luxury Portfolio, comments: «As a pioneer in luxury travel, InterContinental Hotel & Resorts has always been the gateway to fascinating places and local cultural wisdom, so we understand that travelers crave an experience with a deeper connection to the places they visit. With our latest campaign, InterContinental ICons, we have set out to discover and celebrate authentic places and moments that visitors can overlook, but which are really part of what makes a city a Special, whether it’s the sensation of salty air while traveling on the New York Hudson River ferry, the melodious bells of the clock tower in the Shanghai Bund or the feeling of cobbles under your feet in the old Parisian streets, these icons may include experiences under the radar, or known tourist points of interest seen in new and unexpected ways. a sense of fascination for these visited cities and encourage discussion about what truly makes them
ICONS INTERCONTINENTAL SUMMARY
InterContinental Hotels & Resorts has been a pioneer in luxury travel for over 70 years and now has 208 hotels in 66 countries around the world. With this heritage and knowledge, the brand understands that modern luxury travelers seek a deeper connection with the iconic places they travel to.
Through the analysis of social networks, the ideas of key opinion leaders and independent research, InterContinental has established a long list of multisensory experiences that are representative of each city. As of today, InterContinental invites the public to select the experiences they really feel, demonstrate the city or cities they know best at life.intercontinental.com/icons and start a conversation on social networks using the hashtag #intercontinentalicons