Q3 2024 WeChat Rankings Report

Dragon Trail has tracked the accounts of national tourism boards (NTOs), regional and municipal tourism boards (DMOs), international airlines, and international cruise lines on WeChat since 2017. We added international hotels and museums & attractions in 2019, and our two new categories for 2024 are overseas airports and car rental companies.

In the third quarter of 2024, what type of overseas travel brand content attracted the most views from WeChat users? The top accounts and articles are diverse, but we can see high interest in practical, useful information, along with giveaways, discounts, and events. One of the biggest global events of the quarter, the Paris Olympics did deliver a boost to destination accounts, but did not impact attractions or airport accounts.

NTOs

Japan held onto its number one spot among national tourism organizations for both total views and average views, with a diverse assortment of themes for its top articles: The most-read, with nearly 94k views, was a practical guide to travel insurance. Other popular posts included information about the “most Japanese” traditional towns, the “Centrair” off-shore airport, and a promotion with Ctrip.

Atout France got an Olympic boost in Q3, rising from 19th place in the first half of the year to 5th this past quarter, and more than tripling its average views per post. The most popular articles were about the Paris Olympics opening and closing ceremonies.

(Left to right) Atout France’s post at the end of the Paris 2024 Olympics; fall foliage guide from Brand USA; Mid-Autumn Festival wishes from the Singapore Tourism Board

Singapore also published several of the most-read NTO articles of the quarter, about Mid-Autumn Festival and Singapore’s national day in August.

Brand USA climbed from 17th place in H1 to 9th in Q3, nearly doubling its average views per post. Article views grew throughout the quarter, ending with more than 15k views in the last week of September for a fall foliage guide to the US.

DMOs

Similarly to past quarters, Macau posted much more content than any other DMO and received the most total views and average views. The only account to come close in terms of views per post was Hong Kong. Macau’s most-read posts were an announcement about a fireworks event being postponed because of the weather, news about a typhoon in July, the Sands Shopping Carnival, and a guide to live performances.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s most popular articles were about a Doraemon exhibition around the city, and a summer voucher promotion with discounts on shopping, dining, and transportation.

(Left to right) September performances in Macau; Doraemon in Hong Kong; small towns in the Region of Valencia, Spain

Outside of Asia, Spain’s Region of Valencia attracted attention for guides to quiet places and small towns. In another particularly popular post, Canada’s Destination BC promoted dining and other attractions in Richmond, a town whose population is around 50% of Chinese descent – according to the article.

Did Paris receive an Olympic boost similar to Atout France? Yes, but only enough to get the account to 18th place for total views, up from 44th in the first half of the year. Average views per post rose from 325 in H1 to 869 in Q3, with the most-read posts unsurprisingly about the Olympics’ closing and opening.

Airlines

AirAsia continues to stand out in the airline category, publishing nine out of the top 10 articles for the quarter, and boasting average readership rates far higher than any other airline. Their most popular content included lots of big discounts, some giveaways, and new routes from China to Penang and Sabah.

All Nippon Airways received more than 48k views for its post about autumn sales, alongside a giveaway and promotion of the Japan National Tourism Organization’s live streaming sessions with Ctrip. ANA’s other most-popular post announced new routes from Japan to Milan, Istanbul, and Stockholm.

Cruise Lines

Viking Cruises surged into first place this quarter, with average views per post more than twice as high as Royal Caribbean International, who usually tops the rankings chart. Viking’s top posts promoted 2025 cruises and new routes. Royal Caribbean’s top posts included a buy-two-get-one-free discount, and a promotion encouraging readers to take a relaxing summer trip.

Attractions and Museums

Hong Kong Disneyland accounted for more than 77% of views in the attractions category in Q3 2024, with views per post more than 12 times above the category average. The majority of their most popular posts relate to characters in the Duffy and Friends range. Another Hong Kong attraction, Ocean Park, falls far short of Disney for views per post. Reaching 3,319 views, the title of its most popular article mentioned the birth of baby panda twins, but the article content was just a series of ticket promotions, with no photos or news about the pandas, born at the park on 15 August.

The highest-ranking museum, the British Museum’s top posts promoted summer and autumn exhibitions, including the opening of the new Silk Road exhibition at the end of September. The Louvre’s most-read post did relate to the Paris Olympics, highlighting a painting that inspired a symbol of the Olympics, and the Olympic torch at the museum. However, the account’s ranking and average views per post were unchanged from earlier in the year.

In Barcelona, the Gaudi-designed La Pedrera attracted more than 2,500 views for an article about its summer jazz concert series.

Hotels

Although IHG and Marriott, ranked 1st and 2nd, were extremely close in total and average views for the quarter, the three most-read articles in the hotel category all come from Hilton. The first, with more than 100k views, celebrated the opening of Hilton’s 700th China property, in Chongqing. The other two standout articles were part of a series about “star service officers” introducing viewers to a different property and destination in each installment, giving a personal touch to promotional content and highlighting Hilton’s high service standards.

(Left to right) Hilton’s “star service officers” series; Marriott’s Shanghai Masters giveaway; InterContinental’s promotion of Indigo hotels with brand ambassador Charmaine Sheh

Marriott’s top articles tied into the hotel group’s partnership with the Shanghai Masters tennis championship, offering Marriott Bonvoy members the chance to win tickets and opportunities to meet and interact with global tennis stars.

InterContinental’s top post promoted the Indigo brand, with brand ambassador, Hong Kong actress Charmaine Sheh.

Airports

The top three articles published by international airports were all giveaways – Hong Kong International Airport stood out for a ticket giveaway with flights from Hong Kong to seven destinations around Asia. Kansai Airport in Osaka gave away stays at an airport hotel. And Singapore’s Changi Airport give away fridge magnets and cup holders, while promoting a guide to family fun in and around the airport.

Another popular summertime article from Changi highlighted the new sunflower installations throughout the airport, alongside promotions on cosmetics, and short city tours for travelers with long layovers.

(Left to right) Air ticket giveaway from Hong Kong International Airport; family fun at Changi Airport; hotel stay giveaway from Kansai Airport

Ranked 3rd for average views per post, Vancouver Airport warned travelers about customs restrictions, advising readers to “tell your mom and dad” before their visit. Vancouver Airport also published a list of direct flights to China and other Asian destinations – at just 9% of pre-pandemic levels, flight capacity between Canada and China remains extremely low.

Ranked 4th for total views is Paris Airports, which published tips for nighttime flights, an airport art exhibition, and a guide to claiming tax free shopping refunds. Paris Airports did not receive any increased article views during this summer’s Olympics, compared to last quarter.

Car Rentals

International car rental accounts on WeChat have lower average views per post than other categories, and fewer active accounts. Standing out in first place is Hertz, which received more than 1k views for a practical FAQ guide to international car rentals, followed by 887 views for a summer early bird special with discounts of 15%.