Travel advisors who rely on TikTok say the app's regulatory roller coaster this month has been a lesson to not put all their eggs in one social media basket.
Meanwhile, advisors and suppliers are lamenting the possible demise of an app they say is a superior tool to connect with potential clients.
The Supreme Court on Jan. 17 upheld a law banning TikTok, citing national security concerns due to its China-based owner. The app shuttered the next day only to reverse course within 24 hours after assurances from President Trump, who on his first day in office signed an executive order pausing the ban for 75 days, during which its owner, ByteDance, must find a U.S. buyer.
With the app's future unclear, social media teams for suppliers and travel agencies were left to navigate the uncertainty while continuing to use it to reach clients.
Intrepid Travel, G Adventures and Contiki are among the tour operators that use TikTok. Intrepid, which has 124,500 followers on TikTok, said the app has given it a platform to elevate "raw, authentic travel stories" and that about 40% of the company's total engagement rate on social media comes from TikTok. The tour operator said the app has revamped the way the company connects with a younger and more diverse audience.
"TikTok isn't just another marketing tool -- it's where authentic stories meet real travelers," said Leigh Barnes, Intrepid's president for the Americas, who called the app "the travel industry's biggest disruptor since budget airlines in the '70s."
Fora Travel, a host agency, counts 204,000 followers on TikTok and uses the app to market itineraries curated by the company's travel advisors. Ali Duvaras, the company's senior director of commercial strategy, credits TikTok's authentic and laid-back approach to storytelling as the reason Fora's content resonates so well with its users.
She said 26% of new clients reach out to Fora from TikTok, equal to the company's Instagram client leads.
Diversifying on social media
Countdown Travels owner Susie Flores, known as Cruisin' Susie on TikTok, said the yo-yoing fate of the app was a needed wake-up call for her to focus on other social media platforms to market her business.
Susie Flores
"As a business owner, lesson learned big time," she said. "The lesson is not to put all my eggs in one basket. This has given me the motivation I need to focus on other aspects. I need to not be so heavily dependent on one platform at this point. … I need to work smarter, not harder."
Flores used TikTok to launch her business after becoming an advisor in 2020. She credits her success to the app, which has led to an estimated 85% of her new clients. She said she sells just under $3 million a year in trips.
Still, despite the success she found through TikTok, where she has 97,200 followers, she plans to focus on building audiences through other channels, like Instagram and Facebook.
Just after the Supreme Court ruling, Flores tearfully shared fears of a permanent ban of TikTok and the impact it could have on her business. As a single mother of three, Flores said failing is not an option.
"I don't want to be TikTok famous, I want to make a living," she said.
Walter Biscardi Jr. launched Where's Walter Travel in 2022 and said he has compiled $4.7 million in sales since then. He estimates that 75% to 80% of the total was sourced through his TikTok channel, which has 24,600 followers.
Biscardi was already diversifying his approach to content-sharing prior to the ban and plans to keep doing so, with a focus on YouTube and continuing to establish partnerships with other content creators. Becoming a travel advisor was a new and unanticipated chapter in Biscardi's professional life, so he understands the importance of reinvention and adaptation needed to succeed.
"Change happens," Biscardi said. "It's out of our control."
While he disagrees with the ban, Biscardi said it should be "a wake-up call to everybody to know that nothing is permanent."
Marissa Waiters
TikTok has been particularly useful for younger travel advisors: More than a third of respondents to Travel Weekly's 2024 Travel Industry Survey who are 45 or younger said they use the app to communicate with clients. Among them is Marissa Waiters of Spread Your Wings Travel, who began prioritizing TikTok content last year when she grew her following to 16,400 and sourced an estimated 40% of her business from the app.
But the TikTok saga has taught her to not lean too heavily on any social media apps. While Waiters' main focus is on Instagram, where she has 23,000 followers, seeing how quickly TikTok went offline, she now plans to focus on building her email distribution list so she can directly connect with clients without having to rely on social media.
"We don't own these platforms -- your email list, you own your email list," she said. "Instagram, it won't be forever, so I do have to make strategic decisions."