Travel companies using TikTok for marketing face uncertainty as the April 5 deadline approaches to avoid a U.S. ban.
With no clear sale agreement in sight, the stakes are high for travel brands that have received significant followings. Expedia has amassed 1.8 million followers, while Royal Caribbean has 1.3 million followers, and Walt Disney Co.’s parks division has 12 million.
“This matters for travel because TikTok is one of the most popular marketing channels in the world,” said Hannah Bennett, TikTok’s head of travel, in a Skift interview in January.
President Donald Trump will discuss with staff a final proposal of potential private investors for TikTok on Wednesday, according to sources who spoke with CBS News.
President Trump indicated last week he’s amenable to keeping the platform operational, telling reporters he’d “like to see TikTok remain alive” and noting “tremendous interest” from potential buyers, according to Reuters.
Critical Marketing Channel
TikTok functions as a critical marketing channel, with 69% of its users discovering travel brands through the app, according to company data.
More than 170 million Americans are on TikTok, the company said.
This means that if a ban did go ahead, the travel industry would be forced to adapt its social media marketing methods to customers inside the U.S., similar to how brands in India, which has already banned TikTok, have had to adapt.
Brands would also need to diversify their use of various platforms and explore new formats to drive traffic and engagement.
Many travel brands have their headquarters and offices in the U.S., meaning another impact is that employees based there will not be able to access their TikTok accounts while a ban is in place.
Companies can continue to market to consumers on TikTok who are based outside the U.S., if the companies are creating content from outside the U.S. too.
Bennett told Skift in January that the company was testing a new travel-specific product called “Travel Ads,” which enable travel advertisers to drive bookings on their own website. But U.S. customers would not be able to access this while a ban is in place, meaning travel brands could lose out on those bookings.
What’s The Background?
The possibility of a TikTok ban initially came about after former U.S. President Joe Biden passed a law last year requiring ByteDance to sell its U.S. operations or face a ban, a move that was upheld in the Supreme Court in January.
Lawmakers in the U.S. have concerns that TikTok poses a national security risk because its Chinese owners hold user data on millions of Americans and the platform could be used to spread misinformation.
In January, TikTok was forced to go offline for about 14 hours, and app stores removed access to the platform in the U.S. after the initial deadline passed without a sale.
But it was restored after Trump extended the original deadline, giving TikTok a further 75 days to sell or face a ban. That extra time is now due to run out on April 5.
Who Might Buy TikTok’s U.S. Operations?
At this point, it’s unclear who might buy the app’s U.S. operations, but multiple news outlets have reported that Oracle — TikTok’s current U.S. technology partner, and the largest seller of hotel property management software in the U.S. — is a top contender.
Trump has insisted that he expects a deal to be reached ahead of the deadline.
Yet little has emerged about details of any potential sale.
It’s unclear what will happen this time around if no deal is reached. Whether TikTok goes dark again will likely depend on Trump, who has suggested he could use his presidential powers to extend the deadline a second time.
If that doesn’t happen, the app would be forced to go dark, and its partners, such as Apple and Google, would be forced to stop supporting it in the U.S., or face hefty fines.
Vice President JD Vance has also expressed confidence in a deal materializing but acknowledged timing constraints.
TikTok did not respond to a request for comment.