Hidden Gem Tourism on TikTok: Examining User Perceptions and Travel Interest

Abstrak

The term “Hidden Gem” has become widely used in TikTok tourism content to describe destinations perceived as unique and less explored. However, little is known about how users interpret this label. This study descriptively examines user perceptions of Hidden Gem tourism content on TikTok across five dimensions: perceived uniqueness, perceived authenticity, perceived exclusivity, visual attractiveness, and curiosity to seek further information. Using a descriptive mixed-method approach, survey data were collected from 200 TikTok users and analyzed using descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation). Semi-structured interviews with 20 participants were conducted to complement the quantitative findings. The results show that all five dimensions were rated high to very high, with visual attractiveness emerging as the strongest dimension, followed by perceived uniqueness, exclusivity, and authenticity. Interview findings indicate that users associate Hidden Gem destinations with being unique, natural, visually appealing, and relatively undiscovered, while curiosity to seek more information develops after initial visual attraction. The study concludes that the Hidden Gem label functions as a visual and symbolic narrative that shapes users’ early perceptions of tourism destinations on TikTok.