TikTok List Points to Top Incentive Travel Spots

October 4, 2023

TikTok’s travel destination hashtags are one way to discover some top travel incentive destinations that may not have been on your radar.

TikTok, a short-form video social media platform, has come a long way from being a site where teenagers take part in dance challenges and other viral dares. Its ease of use and fun factor have made it even more popular than Instagram for Gen Z — and it’s also quickly overtaking Snapchat for this up-and-coming generation. Its search capabilities are making it even more of a go-to than Google for many over the age of 40, especially when it comes to using short-form video to research travel options.

Travel and luggage company Bounce has taken all that destination hashtag data and crunched it to come up with the most popular travel destinations trending in 2023. While the list is not specific to incentive travel, you may find some good ideas for your next incentive travel program planning.

For example, ever considered taking a group to Dubai? TikTok videos using the #Dubai hashtag are up 72% this year, with more than 140 billion views — Dubai also topped the TikTok destination hashtag list last year. In terms of incentive draws, Dubai’s beaches, off-the-charts architecture and numerous attractions likely would make it a winner with incentive winners.

Other international destinations that cracked the top 10 for 2023 include #London (73 billion views — the city also is the site’s fastest growing destination with 98% more views than last year, according to TikTok metrics); #Paris (68 billion views); #Istanbul (55 billion views); #Madrid (35 billion views); and #Bali (33 billion views).

On a country level, the U.S. is at the top of the list with 357 billion views — and New York came in just behind Dubai with 102 billion views on the TikTok platform, with the #NYC hashtag up 71% over last year. Other top U.S. destinations include Miami, at 48 billion views, Los Angeles, with 36 billion views, and Chicago, with 32 billion views on TikTok.

In addition to the U.S., the top five countries overall included Mexico, Argentina, the UK and Chile.