Young travellers plan their trips on TikTok and Instagram. If you are not there, you are not on the shortlist.
Before you buy anything, you look it up. Young travellers do the same with a holiday, and they go to social first: for ideas, recommendations, reviews and deals.
tldr; everything you need to know
As GlobalData travel and tourism analyst Ralph Hollister put it in 2022, “A travel company’s success with millennials and Gen Z can now be determined by its performance on social media, with positive performance and service levels on these platforms encouraging brand loyalty while boosting visibility.”
Want younger travellers? Be where they are, and be good at it.
Let’s look at how travel brands are engaging young travellers on social media.
Community interaction
Young travellers expect a reply. A community takes time, effort and someone whose job it is. In GlobalData’s 2021 consumer survey, 30% of Gen Z and 32% of millennials said direct engagement with a brand is a key driver of purchase.
Here are a few tips for better community management on social media:
- Respond promptly to messages and comments
- Actively engage with your followers
- Encourage your followers to contribute
- Look after the followers you have: it costs less than finding new ones
- Turn followers into brand advocates
- Incentivise your followers by adding value and offering rewards
Travel brands on TikTok
Willie Sutton, the American bank robber, is supposed to have explained why he robbed banks with “Because that’s where the money is.” He later said he never said it, but the logic holds.
TikTok is where young travellers already are. In the US, Pew Research Center found 63% of adults under 30 use it (2025), which makes it an obvious choice for travel brands looking to connect with young travellers.
Check out how Tourism NZ is harnessing the power of influencer marketing to reach young travellers.
TikTok strategy
TikTok rewards testing, so expect a decent amount of trial and error.
Let’s take a look at how you should be approaching TikTok.
Trends
TikTok runs on trends. Join the ones that fit your brand and skip the rest: a trending sound only helps if it suits the story.
It’s important to remember that TikTok moves fast. The pace of TikTok dictates how you plan and create content for the platform. Unlike traditional online content, the videos you make for TikTok should focus on simple, easy-to-execute ideas with a quick turnaround time.
If you’re unsure where to start on TikTok, we recommend spending some time on the platform and checking out what other travel brands are doing, what’s trending, and how you can find your niche.
Influencer marketing
Influencer marketing works when it is done properly. Influencer Marketing Hub estimates the industry reached US$32.55 billion in 2025. And influencers are a pretty big deal on TikTok.
We don’t have the budget for big-name influencers. We hear you, and you do not need them. On Instagram, nano creators (1,000 to 10,000 followers) have the highest engagement rate of any tier, 2.19%, according to HypeAuditor’s 2025 report.
Like Instagram, one of the most complex parts of TikTok is breaking through to a new audience. You’re opening yourself up to a new audience by partnering with influencers. Before jumping into an influencer partnership, ensure you do your research.
Spark Ads
In TikTok’s words, Spark ads are “a native ad format that allows you to leverage organic TikTok posts and their features in your advertising.”
Because TikTok’s Spark ads appear natively within a user’s feed, they feel more natural than traditional digital marketing. TikTok’s other formats can earn their keep too. TikTok reports that SunExpress, the Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines joint venture, got an average 11.6x return on ad spend from its Travel Ads.
Social media related jobs
Social is the most direct line to young travellers, and travel brands are putting serious money into it.
GlobalData tracked a 175.8% increase in social media related jobs in travel and tourism from 2020 to 2021. That’s a massive increase, especially when considering that it happened during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
If you haven’t done so already, you should be considering growing your marketing team or outsourcing some work to increase your social media efforts.
From our work · Geronimo Skydive41,306clicks on the ads