The TikTok ban in the U.S. will only be a blip in the travel landscape.

TikTok, the Chinese investor funded social media platform where users can create, share, and host short videos is expected to go dark in the U.S. on Sunday, January 19 before the inauguration of the next U.S. President on January 20. Major travel brands are not concerned, On January 17, the U.S. Supreme Court confirmed the ban on TikTok with a unanimous vote. President-elect Donald Trump may decide not to enforce this law, but it is uncertain if Internet service providers will back the app. According to the law, companies like Apple and Google could face penalties for continuing to support TikTok after the deadline.

A TikTok ban will have absolutely no impact on U.S. corporate travel. The impact on leisure travel will be limited to a very narrow segment with limited expendable income for travel, the Gen Z, the age group of people born?between the late 1990s and early 2010s.

Major travel companies will not feel any change because they have not fully embraced social media. They continue to depend very heavily on Google Ads, Google SEO, and traditional TV and radio commercials. For example, in 2023, Booking Holdings and Expedia Group spent an estimated $3.2 billion and $2.3 billion, respectively, on Google Ads.? Meanwhile, younger generations like Gen Z are shifting their focus to social media for searches and engagement.

Small travel companies that specialize in niche destinations, up-and-coming destinations, and products that gained popularity through quick trends will be impacted by the TikTok ban.

The U.S. government has stated that TikTok poses a security threat. What might this threat entail? ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, is located in China. They claim that “most” user data is not stored in China but on servers in the United States, Singapore, and Malaysia. Still, there are concerns about the Chinese government possibly accessing this data. These concerns stem from the company's origins and the lack of strong data privacy laws in China.

There's a concern that this technology could be misused to track and analyze young people over time, especially if they seek high-security jobs in the U.S. later. When users join at a young age and continue to use the platform for years, their interests and behaviors can be monitored to create a timeline. Technology could also pinpoint user locations through IP addresses or possibly phone location services, if granted permission. This information might show if users are near secure areas or military bases. With years of data on what they watch and share, someone could identify the right individual to befriend for blackmail. The goal would be to build trust and eventually extract sensitive information or exploit vulnerabilities that the person might want to keep private. ?

The ban can be lifted if the China-owned ByteDance came under American ownership or other ownership that addresses the national security concerns identified by the U.S. Congress.