What can TikTok tell us about travel? TTG reveals the most searched destinations

With a captive audience forecast to reach 1.8 billion users by the end of the year, the social media platform is a vital shop window for travel brands to catch the attention of new customers.

Now, TTG has teamed up with TkTok in an exclusive partnerships examining the latest travel trends – so agents can make sure they’re ahead of the curve when it comes to marketing campaigns and which destinations to promote.

The TikTok travel trends tracker features data from autumn, and details the fastest growing travel hashtags on TikTok in the UK. Travel also featured highly in the list of overall top 10 search keywords, as detailed below. 

Top 10 destinations people are searching for on TikTok in the UK

• Paris
• Ibiza
• Dubai
• Rome
• Milan
• Barcelona
• Berlin
• Dublin
• Prague
• Venice

Fastest growing travel hashtags on TikTok in the UK (views are global)

• #vegasbaby [454.8m views]
• #cityview [109.8m]
• #maldivesbeach [47.6m]
• #ibizabeach [22.8m]
• #blacktravelclub [19.7m]
• #discoverlondon [16.7m]
• #timetotravel [8.6m]
• #wellnessretreat [6.6m]
• #budgetravel [5.4m]
• #secretcabins [2.3m]
• #waystotravelmore [1.9m]
• #thetawnyhotel [1.7m]

Top 10 search keywords on TikTok in the UK

• Winter Wonderland
• Buckingham Palace
• La Sagrada Familia
• Eiffel Tower
• Oktoberfest
• Glastonbury
• Moulin Rouge
• Burj Khalifa
• Louvre
• Alps

Meanwhile with Peaks just around the corner, it could be the perfect time to try a new avenue of marketing. TTG explores some of TikTok’s top-performing travel campaigns of the year...

VIRGIN ATLANTIC 

With more than 205k followers, TikTok has praised the airline’s “creative and fun” approach, which it says “puts employees front and centre”.

According to TikTok, Virgin Atlantic flies high in the way it “champions” its cabin crew and offers users a window into their world – with staff becoming the stars of the content and creators in their own right.

@virginatlantic The ending 😂 The contrasting energy is real! #virginatlantic #cabincrew #travel #sharpay ♬ high school musical - Aliyatudisco

A major success for Virgin Atlantic this year was its use of TikTok to highlight its diversity and inclusion work – in particular, its introduction of a gender-neutral uniform policy.

Through a series of videos featuring crew, alongside RuPaul’s Drag Race judge Michelle Visage, the carrier celebrated inclusivity on the platform as part of its #SeeTheWorldDifferently campaign, with the hashtag since reaching more than 34 million views. 

BOOKING.COM

Joining TikTok this summer, Booking.com has rapidly grown its following. The platform launched with a competition putting its own spin on the #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt trend, where users share their favourite TikTok-inspired purchases.

Booking.com’s #TikTokMadeMeBookIt campaign called on users to tag their favourite travel companions for the chance to win a voucher to spend on a trip and the company also enlisted several popular creators to showcase their own travels – with the campaign helping Booking.com amass nearly 190,000 followers in its first four months.

@bookingcom Literally everyone is in Europe right now. And so could you. Can you leave within 2 days!? Like this video. Follow @bookingcom. And tag your travel partner with #TikTokMadeMeBookIt ♬ 原聲 - Booking.com

Following its debut campaign, TikTok described how Booking.com continued to post “creative and witty content that feels inherently TikTok”, including jumping on the #ASMR trend (that’s making tingle-inducing noises to you and I) with some relaxing travel-based scenes.