TikTok is part algorithmic television, part Nextdoor group, and increasingly, part travel agent — a role the platform seems to be leaning into.
Users have been able to tag their geolocation for a while, but now, the company appears to have revamped the landing pages for certain locations like Boston, New York, and Texas. Now, instead of just showing videos that tag that location, TikTok has created categories like “food & drink,” “hotels,” and “shopping” that are filled with relevant videos.
Clicking a button labeled “explore more places” opens up an Apple Maps integration showing a map of businesses in the area that have been tagged in TikTok posts. Beneath the map is a list of locations with details like their address, price level, and how many tags the business has on TikTok. It looks less like the For You page and more like Yelp or a travel site.
TikTok didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment about when the features were introduced, but they appear to be relatively new. The updated location page isn’t available for all tagged areas.
In the last few years, TikTok has come to resemble other platforms out there — and in some cases, it has successfully replaced competitors, at least for younger people. TikTok isn’t yet a perfect Google Search replacement, but it does drive significant business to local restaurants when a video goes viral. Personally, I don’t really use sites like Yelp to find a new restaurant to try; I just search for recommendations on TikTok. Likewise, travel is huge on the platform (has anyone else seen businesses that advertise their “TikTok-famous” status?), and the company’s decision to gather and organize this type of content in one place feels like an acknowledgment of that.
The deluge of paid influencer content makes it hard to fully trust TikTok — and truthfully, other social media platforms — for recommendations. But if you’re already scrolling on TikTok and see restaurant recommendations in a city you’re planning to visit? TikTok is betting that users might just take them.