Dragon Trail International’s Xiaohongshu Rankings Report tracks and analyzes performance for national tourism organizations (NTOs), destination marketing organizations (DMOs), airlines, cruise lines, museums & attractions, and hotels. The quarterly Xiaohongshu report builds industry benchmarks and uncovers best practices in digital marketing in the travel sector.
Our first full-year report on international travel brands on Xiaohongshu/RedNote highlights a significant year-on-year decline in ERPF (Engagement Rate per Post per Follower) across all travel categories, despite increased follower counts and higher posting volumes. The findings suggest that content saturation and new followers who are less engaged have diluted interactions per post. Leading brands, such as Tourism Australia, Discover Hong Kong, Cathay Pacific, and Marina Bay Sands Singapore, maintained strong engagement through viral posts, celebrity-driven content, giveaways, and storytelling strategies. Our findings emphasize the need for high-quality, interactive content to sustain engagement alongside audience growth.
Engagement Trends Comparison between Q4 2023 and Q4 2024
ERPF (Engagement Rate per Post per Follower) measures how interactive an audience is by comparing total engagements to follower count per post. For instance, an ERPF of 0.01% means that, on average, only 1 out of every 10,000 followers engages with each post in that category.
The data reveals a decline in ERPF across all categories from Q4 2023 to Q4 2024, despite increased post volume and follower numbers. Attractions & Museums experienced the steepest drop, falling by 75% from 0.0860% to 0.0215%. Hotels, which declined by 68% (0.0649% to 0.0208%), and Cruise Lines declined by 65% (0.0998% to 0.0351%). Airlines also experienced a significant drop of 51% (0.1069% to 0.0523%), while DMOs fell by 37% (0.0480% to 0.0302%). NTOs saw the most moderate decline at just 16% (0.0506% to 0.0425%).
Despite increased follower numbers and higher post volume, the decline in ERPF shows that engagement per post did not keep pace with audience growth. The influx of new followers, who may be less engaged, combined with content saturation due to increased posting, likely diluted interactions per post. This trend highlights the importance of balancing reach with meaningful engagement, emphasizing high-quality content and fostering active community interactions to sustain ERPF levels on Xiaohongshu/RedNote.
NTOs
The ERPF for NTOs decreased by 16% in Q4 2024 compared to Q4 2023, despite a 62.65% increase in followers and a 49% rise in total engagements. This decrease in ERPF can be attributed to a 9% increase in total posts, leading to content saturation. The growing follower base, which may include less active users, combined with the higher post volume, likely diluted interactions per post, contributing to the decline in ERPF.
Tourism Australia led the National Tourism Organization (NTO) category in 2024, achieving the highest engagement with 78,006 interactions, accounting for 38.20% of the total engagements within the category. The Swiss National Tourist Office and Tourism New Zealand followed closely in second and third place, respectively.
In the fourth quarter, Tourism Australia produced some viral content. Its most popular post, which also ranked as the most engaged post in the entire category, garnered 11,416 engagements. This post showcased actor Yu Shi’s vacation in Queensland, Australia. The second and third most popular posts featured a video of a wombat crossing a river on Maria Island and a video of purple jacaranda trees blooming on the streets of Sydney. Australia’s first post about Yu Shi was shared in late July. Prior to this, Tourism Australia’s content predominantly focused on scenic landscapes, wildlife, various travel guides, and attractions, with less emphasis on celebrity-related content.
Other widely engaged posts included a video from Visit Sweden that explored the Swedes’ definition of luxury, highlighting how it can vary from designer handbags to the act of skinny-dipping, as mentioned in the video. The third most popular post was a lucky draw hosted by the Swiss National Tourist Office, offering 2025 calendars as prizes.
DMOs
Discover Hong Kong led the DMO category in 2024, accounting for nearly half of the category’s total interactions. The Macao Government Tourism Office also performed strongly, followed by York, Forever Edinburgh, and Tourism Victoria & Melbourne.
Six of the top 10 most popular posts were from Discover Hong Kong, primarily featuring events and activities related to upcoming festivals such as Halloween and Christmas, as well as guides and event information. The two most popular posts came from York. The first was a video showcasing Robin Hood’s Bay, a historic and picturesque seaside fishing village along the North Yorkshire coastline, known for its scattered houses, colorful wooden doors, low arches, and narrow alleys. The second post was a humorous short video about the gloomy UK winters, highlighting how it becomes dark at 4pm after daylight saving time.
Discover Hong Kong’s posts about upcoming holiday-themed events
Airlines
Throughout 2024, the most popular posts in the airline category came from Cathay Pacific, promoting its short documentary “From the Heart” (由心起动). This eight-episode series, featuring five-minute videos, showcases the journey of the first wave of mainland Chinese cabin crew recruits, from novices to fully trained flight attendants at Cathay Pacific. Cathay Pacific excels at digital storytelling, creating short documentaries and narrative-driven videos which can effectively build emotional connections with viewers. By showcasing real-life cabin crew stories and relatable themes like family reunions, the airline creates authentic, engaging, and shareable content that resonates with viewers.
Cathay Pacific’s documentaries and narrative-driven videos
Analyzing the top airline posts of the year highlights strong interest in travel between China and Hong Kong, as promotional content related to these routes consistently received high engagement. Hong Kong Airlines frequently organized giveaways and zero-fare ticket sales to attract travelers and stimulate demand. Notably, the third most popular post in the category, garnering 2,935 engagements, featured a zero-fare ticket giveaway from multiple mainland Chinese cities—including Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Hangzhou, Chongqing, Haikou, and Sanya—to Hong Kong.
Cruise Lines
Cruises experienced a significant drop in ERFP in Q4 2024 compared to Q4 2023. At the same time, there was a 5.5% increase in posting frequency, a 32.72% drop in total engagements, and an 83.30% growth in followers, showing that that engagement per post has not kept pace with audience growth. While the follower base expanded rapidly, the decline in total engagements indicates that new followers are less engaged or interacting with the content more passively. Additionally, the slight increase in posting frequency may have contributed to content saturation, where more frequent posts did not translate into higher engagement but instead led to audience fatigue.
Royal Caribbean, MSC, and Viking Cruises maintained their positions as the top three in the rankings. Royal Caribbean dominated the category, generating over 60% of total cruise-related engagements and increasing follower numbers from 99,943 by the end of 2023, to 159,069 at the end of 2024.
Notably, in Q4 2024, nine of the top 10 most popular posts came from Royal Caribbean International. These included a lucky draw for an iPad giveaway to celebrate reaching 150,000 followers on Xiaohongshu, a giveaway for a Royal Caribbean-branded suitcase, a video tour of a balcony room on Spectrum of the Seas, and a video showcasing the exterior of Icon of the Seas.
Attractions & Museums
Hong Kong Disneyland accounted for 65.51% of total engagements in the Attractions category in 2024, with 24 of the 30 most popular posts originating from this account alone. Its most engaging content included the viral “Duffy and Friends” series, announcements for upcoming festivities and holiday celebrations, stop-motion animations, and holiday-themed merchandise featuring various Disney characters.
For museums, the most popular post of 2024 came from Museum of Fine Arts Boston, garnering over 11,100 likes and 1,700 saves. The post was a video showcasing the patent model of a library step-chair, an invention dating back to 1853.
Hotels
Similar to its performance on Weibo, Marina Bay Sands Singapore remained a dominant player in the hotel category in 2024, accounting for nearly half of all total engagements. The hotel saw its highest engagement in Q3, reaching 39,441 engagements, surpassing its performance in other quarters.
Notably, 15 of the top 20 most popular posts originated from Marina Bay Sands Singapore. Its most engaging content primarily featured celebrity appearances and entertainment events, including Cai Xukun, the Hamilton musical, Tencent Video All Star Night 2024, JJ Lin’s concert, and the F1 Singapore Grand Prix. Many of these promotional posts also included fan giveaways, offering tickets to the respective events.
Marina Bay Sands Singapore’s celebrity and events-related content
Q4 Rankings Tables
