Short-form video is now the dominant travel-inspiration channel

The data is consistent across platforms

TikTok's own data shows the #travel hashtag with hundreds of billions of views; Google internal research famously found that 40% of Gen Z use TikTok or Instagram instead of Google Search for discovery. Travel is one of the categories where this shift is most pronounced.

More importantly: those discoveries lead somewhere. Booking.com's post-trip surveys consistently show travellers crediting a TikTok or Reel for putting a destination on their list — destinations that, in many cases, had no presence on traditional travel media.

What works on short-form is different

A polished tourism-board edit performs poorly. What performs is authentic, in-the-moment, slightly imperfect content: a creator's first reaction to a view, an unusual local detail, a contrarian opinion, a before/after.

That changes the production model. Instead of one big annual hero film, destinations now need a constant stream of small, fast, creator-led content. Many tourism boards solve this with a partnership model — inviting creators on press trips with light briefs and high freedom.

The role of paid media has changed too

Boosting a creator's organic short into a paid ad — with their permission — outperforms most studio-made ads on the same platforms. The creator's authenticity carries through. Spalder Agency's Social Media Advertising service is designed exactly around this hybrid model.

Meanwhile, owned short-form content (your destination's own TikTok or Reels) compounds over time as a discovery channel. The earlier you start posting consistently, the more the algorithm rewards you later.