Traveltok takes off: Why Hilton, Ryanair, Expedia and British Airways are flocking to Tiktok
It’s highly likely that someone you know has been to Montenegro, Albania or Slovenia in the past year.
This is no coincidence.
These destinations have soared in popularity after going viral on Tiktok’s “travel dupes” trend, where users seek out lesser-known or less-touristed alternatives to popular locations.
Savvy travellers are swapping Paris for Bruges, London for Liverpool, and South Korea for Taiwan. Some 82 per cent of UK users say Tiktok has inspired them to consider new travel destinations.
Travel brands like Ryanair, British Airways, Hilton, Expedia and Booking.com have jumped on this trend, fuelling the rise of ‘Traveltok’. But, according to Hannah Bennett, Tiktok’s travel lead, the platform’s impact on the travel industry had a slow start.
Tiktok is having a real impact on where people are going and how people are travelling
She said brands started to join the platform during the Covid-19 pandemic because there was a new audience that they couldn’t reach on other platforms.
“But I think overwhelmingly they stayed because they’ve realised that Tiktok is really dictating and having a real impact on where people are going and how people are travelling,” Bennett explained. “The community is super engaged, especially when it comes to travel content.”
Recent arrivals like QEEQ Car Rental and Booking.com are tapping into Tiktok’s potential to attract new customers. Ryanair, for instance, has gained 2.4m followers by using the platform to poke fun at its own services and even its customers, making it the most-followed major airline on Tiktok.
Tiktok already has a large influence on travel planning. After viewing travel-related content, 37 per cent of UK users save the post, and 22 per cent create a dedicated travel folder on the platform.
“This shows the community’s intent to use that content for planning travel, which has been like a really nice sort of arc for some of the brands that we’re working with. They’ve come a long way in the last four years,” said Bennett.
British Airways is an example of this evolution. Initially, BA’s TikTok content was highly polished and branded, but the airline quickly adapted, shifting to trend-driven content that features its cabin crew, ground staff and celebrity cameos such as pop singer Lewis Capaldi.
Similarly, Hilton has collaborated with Paris Hilton and other creators to produce a long-form advertisement video, reflecting a broader shift towards more conversational content.
As Tiktok’s influence grows, brand activity is likely to increase too, Bennett predicted, especially as brands see that their content is driving bookings. “It means that they’re able to dedicate more resources to the platform.”
However, Tiktok’s impact on the popularity of attractions and countries travel has sparked concerns about overtourism, particularly as protests and resentment grows among locals in crowded European destinations like Spain and Greece and the Indonesian island of Bali.
Bennett acknowledged the issue but said the Tiktok community comes to the platform to find new places and “over indexes towards valuing sustainability” too, with 75 per cent of UK users saying sustainability is important when making travel decisions.