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Seen on TikTok, booked it: Here's why viral destinations are winning over global travellers
People now search for destinations on social media before travelling and follow specific travel influencers whose recommendations they find useful
- PUBLISHED: Sat 22 Aug 2026, 6:00 AM
The Friedrich August refuge, located 2,300 metres above sea level in the Dolomites, the mountain range in northeastern Italy, has recently been overwhelmed by visitors after videos of its homemade krapfen went viral on social media. Tourists queued for the doughnut-like pastry, with some even arriving early to make sure they got one before it sold out.
But the viral pastry is just part of a much bigger travel trend. From hotels and restaurants to cafés and entire countries, what people see while scrolling through TikTok and Instagram is increasingly finding its way into their travel plans.
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So, would you travel somewhere just because it went viral? For some travellers, the answer is yes.
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UAE citizen Sally Al Nuaimi decided to visit Vienna after seeing the city’s winter atmosphere and activities across TikTok.
“What encouraged me to visit was the winter activities and the atmosphere I saw through videos on TikTok,” she told Khaleej Times.
When she arrived, the destination was even better than what she had seen online — although there was one surprise.
“The only thing that shocked me was the crowd. I didn’t expect it at all,” she said.
Rather than putting off her social media recommendations, the experience made her more selective about who she trusts. She now searches for destinations on TikTok before travelling and follows specific travel influencers whose recommendations she finds useful.
Hotel that shaped an entire Bali trip
For lifestyle content creator Maitha, one hotel she discovered online stayed on her mind for two years.
She first came across the Bali property in 2024 and was drawn to its concept. The hotel had rescued horses and other animals, with each room named after one of them.
“This year I planned my whole Bali trip around finally staying there,” she told Khaleej Times.
But what she found when she arrived went beyond what she had seen online.
“Social media can show you how a place looks, but not always how it feels,” she said.
After meeting the owner and hearing the story behind what he had created, Maitha said she appreciated the hotel even more.
“It’s things like the energy, the people and the story behind a place that you can’t really capture through a screen.”
'Trends don’t decide the journey'
When Khaleej Times asked social media users whether they would travel to a country simply because it had gone viral, responses across LinkedIn, X and TikTok showed different opinions.
Some had already done it. TikTok users shared stories of travelling to Poland after seeing most of their friends visit the country. Some chose Thailand for its shopping and prices; while others visited Spain for a particular place they had seen online.
Others said going viral would actually make them delay the trip.
One X user said she would visit if she liked the destination, but would wait until after the trend had passed because of the crowds. A similar response on LinkedIn suggested waiting for the hype to die down before visiting.
And for some, social media can influence the destination without controlling the entire holiday.
As one LinkedIn user put it: “Trends can inspire the destination but they don’t have to decide the journey.”
From a €4 pastry in the Dolomites to a hotel in Bali that stayed on a traveller’s mind for two years, a few seconds on a screen can introduce people to places they may never have considered before.
But whether that means booking a flight immediately, or waiting until everyone else goes home, depends on the traveller.