Zoom video meetings are all the rage – and most people have now discovered that they can change their background, with many choosing an exotic backdrop to ‘virtually travel’.
Luxury holiday firm Kuoni has delved into Google Trends data and revealed the most popular destinations for Zoom background pictures, and it’s the Caribbean that’s in the No1 spot, with searches for locations there up 9,900 per cent.
In joint second place are Australia and the Maldives (both up 9,800 per cent), followed by Vietnam, New Zealand and Sweden in joint third place (9,700 per cent), the Philippines (4th, 8,800 per cent) and Canada and Brazil (joint 5th, 8,500 per cent). The rest of the top 10 comprises the USA (6th, 8,100 per cent), Ireland (7th, 7,200 per cent), India (8th, 6,500), Portugal (9th, 5,000 per cent) and Spain (10th, 4,900 per cent).
The most popular background landscapes are safari (up 9,900 per cent), mountain (9,800 per cent) and cityscape (8,100 per cent).
Kuoni isn’t just unveiling data – it’s also saving the world’s Zoom-users the hassle of searching around for a jaw-dropping background picture by making a bank of amazing landscape images of its top destinations available to download. Red Carnation Hotels has also opened up its picture vault to Zoom users, which includes snaps of its jaw-dropping Ashford Castle hotel in Ireland. And we’re presenting them here to make life even easier still.
To change a Zoom background, download your preferred image. When in a meeting, find the pop-up menu next to the ‘Stop Video’ option at the bottom of the video window, select ‘Choose Virtual Background’ and then click ‘+ Add Image’. Zoom on down and pick a picture for your next meeting – or virtual happy hour…
Luxury holiday firm Kuoni has delved into Google Trends data and revealed the most popular Zoom destinations for background pictures, and it’s the Caribbean (pictured) that’s in the No1 spot
Fool your friends and work colleagues – for a split second, anyway – into thinking you’ve been transported to the Caribbean island of St Lucia
The Maldives, pictured, is the joint-second most popular destination for a Zoom background with Google data showing an increase in searches for it of 9,800 per cent
The most popular landscape search is ‘safari’ – up 9,900 per cent. Here’s a classic, courtesy of Kuoni, with lots of room for a person, left of the elephant
Kuoni is offering up this rather enticing picture of Rome to Zoom users around the world
A Mauritius waterfall makes for a marvellously exotic Zoom background that’s sure to soothe your colleagues. Image courtesy of Kuoni
Cityscape is the third most popular landscape picture search. You can use this image of Bangkok for Zoom, thanks to Kuoni
Bring a slice of Canada’s Banff National Park to your next Zoom get-together
Mt Kilimanjaro, pictured from Kenya. It’s a Zoom background like no other
You may not be able to travel to Vietnam right now, but you can at least download this eye-catching picture from Kuoni and pretend you’re there
Transport yourself to exotic Sri Lanka with this jaw-dropping Zoom background image lurking in the Kuoni vaults
Make your Zoom meeting epic, with this picture of Arizona’s otherworldly Monument Valley
A picture of the Summer Lodge Country House Hotel & Restaurant in Dorset is there for the taking, thanks to Red Carnation Hotels
Ashford Castle in Ireland is one of the world’s very best hotels. Download this image from Red Carnation and pretend it’s where you’re self-isolating
This picture of The Chesterfield Mayfair library will add a dollop of posh to a Zoom work meeting
Enjoying a lakeside cocktail hour at the Bushmans Kloof hotel in South Africa – yes, that’s what you can be doing if you use this image
You can almost smell the fresh sea air as you enjoy your first course overlooking the Indian Ocean at South Africa’s treasured Oyster Box Hotel
The last rays of the day reach out across the landscape as you prepare to dine at Bushmans Kloof’s Embers restaurant
And relax… The Ashford Castle spa pool will add some zen to that budget meeting
If you’re having a virtual drinks get-together, The Oyster Box Lighthouse Bar is a great picture option. Theme – sundowners
If you’re after a fine dining setting, Ashford Castle’s George V Dining Room, with its twinkling Waterford Crystal chandeliers, is sure to do the trick
Zoom on over to the striking Leopard Bar at The Montague in the Gardens in London
Out of Africa, and into a Zoom meeting – Bushmans Kloof Wilderness Reserve
A background from Red Carnation Hotels showing the cosy bar at The Acorn Inn in Everhsot, Dorset
Give the impression you’re out sailing across the boating lake at Ashford Castle with this background
Tired of your own bedroom? Try the Hermes Suite at the Milestone Hotel in London instead
Virtual happy hour: Sundowners on Cape Town’s coastline at The Twelve Apostles Hotel? Coming right up…
- To download the background images courtesy of Kuoni, click here. For the Red Carnation Hotels images, click here.