Last year, TTG partnered with the video sharing platform to bring the travel trade a range of key data points to help agents make the most of the destinations clients are searching for.
TikTok’s latest search data revealed the capital of Romania has rocketed to the top of the most popular destinations Brits are searching for on the platform, knocking Paris off the top spot – which now sits in 5th – and eclipsing the likes of Tenerife in 2nd, Ibiza in 3rd, Barcelona in 4th, Turkey in 6th, Magaluf in 7th and Dubai in 8th.
Other popular destinations include Santorini, Rhodes, Edinburgh, Amsterdam, Cornwall, Tanzania and London. Hannah Bennett, travel industry lead at TikTok, told TTG new trends are taking off on the platform every day, which has seen a variety of destinations spike in popularity.
"Seasonal factors can play a role – such as Christmas markets taking off in the run-up to the festive season – alongside viral videos capturing the attention of the community and driving more views," she continued.
According to Bennett, "mainstay" holiday destinations, like Tenerife, Ibiza and New York, will always perform well, but TikTok can also give rise to new and unexpected places such as Zanzibar and Tanzania.
The platform has seen 410% growth of travel views from January 2021 to January 2023, with spikes occurring during summer and at the start of the year as people look for inspiration to plan their holidays.
Based on a survey of 1,000 users, 82% said TikTok inspired them to consider new destinations, 55% intend to go on a holiday in the next 12 months, 69% have discovered a new travel brand on the platform and three in 10 are actively searching for travel content on TikTok.
"People are increasingly using TikTok to find travel inspiration, discover the next cult holiday destination and plan their next trip, which presents a huge opportunity for travel brands of all sizes to be discovered and showcase their products on our platform," Bennett continued.
She said the TikTok community is fond of recommendations which are "off the beaten track", and advised smaller travel brands to tap into this by sharing content showcasing new and undiscovered locations, bolstered by their own expertise.
Partnering with creators is another effective way for smaller brands to reach new customers on TikTok, Bennett explained. "Creators are at the heart of the TikTok travel community and can give a unique and authentic insight into what’s popular and trending on the platform, as well as giving brands access to new audiences," she said.
TikTok is also opening up a new "playground" for travel brands to reach wider audiences, Bennett continued, urging smaller brands to jump on travel trends and use trending hashtags to tap into the global community of travel fanatics.
The most popular search keywords in TikTok in the UK include "things to do in London", "Lake Como Italy", "Ocean Beach Ibiza", "travel essentials" and "Japan travel".
Sustainable travel takes off
Meanwhile, #Tenerife was viewed a staggering 3.6 billion times, followed by #pilotsofTikTok with 1.7 billion views, #Disneylife with 1.4bn views and #BangkokThailand with 488.9m views.
Japan is also among the top trending destinations globally, Bennett added, with #Japantravel reaching 2.7 billion people as the platform prepares for an influx of Japan-related content in the autumn months.
"We expect [the number of #Japantravel views] to continue growing within the TikTok community for the rest of the year," Bennett said.
"As summer draws to a close and people turn their attention to autumn and winter breaks, we’ll likely see an uptick in content related to ski trips, festive city breaks and, of course, Christmas markets."
Sustainable travel continues to take off on the platform this year, as people increasingly look for greener travel options. Views of #sustainabletravel have reached over 79 million on TikTok, with users sharing travel trips to make your next trip greener, and which travel items to avoid due to environmental impact.
