Travel influencers on TikTok are scrambling to move their content and lifestyle to other brands but their futures are uncertain and that matters for travelers and suppliers.
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Matthew wrote yesterday about the TikTok ban in part from the perspective of weighing free speech vs a security threat from unwitting participants. My focus is more on what happens to the travel ecosystem built within TikTok, and the influencers responsible for its architecture.
TikTok Is Dark… For Now
As of Sunday, January 19th, 2025 in compliance with bipartisan support Congress passed legislation to block the app if it had not been sold to a US firm and TikTok has gone dark. It’s not lost on some online commenters that at a time when Republicans and Democrats can’t agree on anything this is the one piece of legislation both parties made this one federal law. They have a point: of the more than 12,000 bills and resolutions introduced to the 118th congress, just 34 bills passed.
The reason for the dramatic action was to protect the 170 million American users from the rampant collection of user data which the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been shown to have access. The Chinese government has denied these claims. According to reports, President-elect, Donald Trump, stated on Truth Social that he will give a 90-day extension to keep TikTok from going dark permanently. The Biden Administration has stated it will not step in to act one way or another, leaving the fate of the app to the next occupant of the White House. It’s unclear if either President Biden or President-elect Trump have the power to offer any such extension via executive order that would overcome passed legislation, legal challenges, and a ruling by the Supreme Court to uphold it.
The condition to remaining or returning to app stores required TikTok to be sold by parent company, ByteDance which has not yet occurred.
Trump’s *Potential* Stay Of Execution
A welcome message on the app states:
“A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S. Unfortunately, that means you can’t use TikTok for now.
We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office. Please stay tuned!” – TikTok
The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg are now reporting that it is in the process of restoring US service. This is precarious territory for a few reasons. First, they are doing so in defiance of the law before it has an executive order in hand. The penalty for service providers is $5,000 per instance a potentially unthinkably high fine.
Assuming Trump signed such an executive order on the 20th, his first day in office that also absolved the penalties incurred to that point, it still doesn’t guarantee the order will be upheld, that the app will sell to a suitable US partner, nor that it will remain live indefinitely. For the avoidance of doubt, like other social media platforms such as Meta, and services like Google, China doesn’t allow TikTok in the People’s Republic.
The stay of execution will buy time but little more. His executive order cannot unravel the law of the land, ByteDance is still going to have to find a way to comply.
The Market Changes If TikTok Remains Unavailable
For those that don’t use TikTok, the thought might be that their life – especially their travel life – can only improve with the absence of the app. No more ring lights on a stand filming some person in the corner of a gate dancing and singing in silence to music no one can hear. The “undiscovered” destinations that now have followers lined up around the block will start to ease without the promotion and discovery from app users.
Why is TikTok the far and away the leader in social media for travel influencers? Simple, its algorithm and the way it counts views. Like all social media platforms offering video, the next video is queued and begins autoplaying as soon as the prior one ends. However, visitors must linger for those views to count on other apps, but on TikTok, even an immediate swipe is counted as a view, so even a poorly made ill-conceived video that garnered no views or engagements on another app could rack up thousands of “views” making the content appear more engaged than is true. But it doesn’t end there.
“Anyone can become a TikTok influencer. TikTok’s unique algorithm makes it easier for creators’ videos to be seen by new audiences, helping them quickly gain more followers.
It’s much more achievable to become an influencer on TikTok compared to other platforms.” – Glewee
Businesses and destinations have become dependent on TikTok influencers to share their experiences and it’s not just small mom-and-pop shops. Some tourism boards have gotten in on the action, helping a new generation see what they have to offer.
“In a bid to capture the interest and travel aspirations of the “Zoomers” generation, Morocco’s National Tourism Office (ONMT) has launched an unprecedented content production and distribution operation. Called the “Trend House,” the operation’s main objective is to position Morocco as a must-visit destination for young travelers worldwide.
This week, the Office invited a group of ten TikTok creators with millions of followers to enjoy an immersive experience in Moroccan culture, exploring various cities.” – Morocco World News
It’s moved the market significantly. Travel tagged videos are up more than 400% since 2021 (contributing to one of the app’s largest growth sectors) and travelers are making purchase decisions based on the content they see.
“More than 70% of TikTok’s European audience say they’re likely to book a holiday based on recommendations they’ve seen on the platform. Indeed, research by Adobe found that more than 60% of Gen Z Americans have used TikTok as a search engine. Entering a search term such as ‘top things to do in Paris’ will bring up endless videos, ranked by popularity — and the algorithm will adapt to these interests next time you scroll. TikTok has also been focusing on geolocation, so will offer you destination-based content as you move.
Gen Mohacsy, a 25-year-old medical secretary based in the UK, says, “I always use TikTok to plan itineraries when I travel — it’s often better than Tripadvisor.” – National Geographic
Instagram is far harder to gain new followers and as views are counted differently, it’s harder to rack up views to show success and encourage others to watch content they might heretofore encountered. if TikTok remains unavailable (assuming either the executive order is struck down, US internet service providers aren’t interested in the risk, or a deal can’t be struck in time), content creators will scatter to other apps. While some have reportedly already begun migrating to RedNote, an upstart with similarly suspicious Chinese ties, creators will find that unless they remain on platforms where users continue to make buying decisions, advertisers and partners will be disinterested.
In order to stand out from the crowd and build a following, creators will likely make more videos, not fewer, to return their income and standing to normal. Whether they will be able to recreate their channels in a meaningful way remains to be seen.
Conclusion
TikTok may not be dead just yet, but it’s future is anything but certain. Travel influencers on the app will need to make decisions of how to move forward, where to position their content, and the style and manner in which it’s made. The only thing that’s clear is just how murky the water is which unfortunately, tosses the good out with the bad.
What do you think?
What is a “… travel ECOSYSTEM built within tic-tok”? ( first paragraph )
What plants , animals , living organisms , physical locations , and climate are present within tic-tok ?
Did you mean to write “travel subjects available on tic-toc” ?
Oh boo hoo, They might actually have to get, an actual job! Oh the horror!
Influencers are the 2nd worst boil on societies ass, the first being social media. Good riddance.