Q1 2026 WeChat Rankings Report

Dragon Trail’s WeChat Rankings Report for Q1 2026 examines and analyzes the performance of eight categories of travel brands on WeChat: national tourism organizations (NTOs), destination marketing organizations (DMOs, referring to regional and municipal tourism boards), airlines, airports, cruise lines, museums and attractions, hotels, and car rental companies.

Chinese New Year was a major content theme for tourism brands on WeChat in the first quarter of 2026, including digital red envelopes and other giveaways, Lunar New Year guides, promotions, and celebrations. The popularity of Hong Kong as a travel destination stands out across the DMO, attractions, and airport categories. In the DMO category especially, we can see several strong examples of tourism boards – including Hong Kong – tapping into Chinese online trends to boost engagement with tourism marketing content. High reading rates for tourism board guides to local public transportation systems also highlights how popular practical content is among Chinese travelers.

NTOs

Following a diplomatic incident in November 2025, flight capacity from China to Japan has halved, and visitation has plummeted by 54.1% in the first two months of the year, compared to 2025, according to data from Japan’s tourism board. To what extent do we see this playing out in the WeChat Rankings, and what does that tell us about Chinese consumer interest in traveling to Japan? The bad news for the Japanese National Tourism Organization is that average views per post for its WeChat content in Q1 2026 were down by 44.7% year on year. The good news is that Japan still received more WeChat content views than any other national tourism board. The most popular articles were a collaboration featuring the lead character from the popular show “The Solitary Gourmet” exploring authentic Japanese eateries, a guide for tourists to explore spring landscapes in the Kansai region using public transportation, and a spring cherry blossom guide.

(Left to right) Tourism Australia’s New Year’s Eve post, The Solitary Gourmet’s guide to Japan, and Chinese New Year celebrations in Thailand

Three of Thailand’s tourism board accounts (for different offices in China) made the top 10 NTO list on WeChat for total number of article views, and Tourism Authority of Thailand accounts published many of the other most-read articles of the quarter, including an official health advisory and status update from the Tourism Authority of Thailand about Nipah virus, a Lunar New Year guide to Thailand, a post about Thailand’s most beautiful floating markets, and the promotion of ethical elephant tourism with an article about elephant sanctuaries and their conservation work.

Other NTO articles with particularly high reading rates in Q1 included a post from the Austrian National Tourist Office on Vienna’s 2026 New Year’s Concert, a New Year’s Eve post from Tourism Australia, and the announcement of a new 14-day visa-free policy for Chinese visitors to the Philippines.

DMOs

Hong Kong and Macau continue to dominate the DMO category, with far higher average views per post and total views than other accounts. As usual, Macau’s most-read articles were monthly performance calendars, as well as promotions for special exhibitions, a food festival, and New Year’s Eve celebrations. Hong Kong’s most-read post featured Li Junyong, better known by his internet moniker “Ji Pai Ge” (鸡排哥, or “Chicken Cutlet Brother”) – a Chinese street food vendor who became a viral social media sensation in late 2024 and 2025.

Hong Kong also attracted high engagement for its Chinese New Year digital red envelope post, as did Queensland and Dubai’s tourism boards.

(Left to right) “Chicken Cutlet Brother” visits Hong Kong, Queensland taps into the “Ai Ni Lao Ji” trend, and Dubai’s digital red envelopes

High performing posts from other Australian DMOs include Tasmania’s announcement about being named one of 2026’s best destinations by Time magazine, and a post from Queensland featuring the viral Chinese phrase “Ai Ni Lao Ji (爱你老己)” or “love yourself”.

Meanwhile, top content from Canadian DMOs included an article on Vancouver from Destination BC, and posts on winter hygge, flower tourism, and fun in Toronto from Destination Ontario. Although it ranked only 14th for total article views, Visit Seattle was 5th for average views per post, with popular articles on taking public transportation and enjoying nature in and around the city.

Airlines

All Nippon Airways experienced a massive surge in WeChat engagement in Q1 2026, with average views per post up by 160% compared to Q1 2025. This may be related to the cancellation of Japan flights by Chinese airlines – though Japan Airlines did not see a similar spike in views. ANA’s top posts include announcement of its summer/autumn flight schedule, festive digital giveaways and holiday greetings for the Year of the Horse, the introduction of AI-driven support tools to help passengers manage their bookings and travel queries, and a logistical guide to winter trips to Okinawa.

(Left to right) AirAsia’s “mega sale”, All Nippon Airways’ new flight schedule, and information about flight cancellations and changes from Qatar Airways

In 2nd place, AirAsia’s most-read posts were a promotion for its “first mega sale of the year,” and an article highlighting affordable direct routes from China to popular Malaysian tropical destinations like Sabah and Penang.

Both Emirates Airline and Qatar Airways made the top 10 list for airlines – with high readership for articles relating to cancellations and flight schedules disrupted by the Iran conflict and closure of regional airspace.

Airports

Similar to last year, Chinese New Year promotions featured prominently among the top international airport posts of Q1, including festive promotions and traveler benefits at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA), celebrations and shopping offers for travelers at London Heathrow, and practical advice for passengers traveling through Singapore Changi during the busy Spring Festival period.

Chinese New Year-themed posts from (left to right) Hong Kong International Airport, London Heathrow Airport, and Singapore Changi Airport

Other popular posts included an interactive quiz by Changi Airport designed to recommend spring destinations based on user preferences, logistical information for travelers in Hong Kong, and a community-focused campaign by HKIA encouraging travelers to share their airport experiences.

Cruise Lines

The cruise line category has one of the highest baseline engagement rates for travel brand categories on WeChat, and reading rates remained stable from last year, with an average of just over 6,000 views per post. Viking Cruises stayed in 1st place, with popular articles promoting Mediterranean cruises and river cruises through central Europe, including a photography contest. The most-read cruise article of the quarter came from Royal Caribbean, announcing a flash sale for International Women’s Day.

Chinese New Year 2027 promotion from Viking Cruises (left) and Women’s Day flash sale from Royal Caribbean International (right)

Attractions and Museums

Hong Kong Disneyland accounted for more than half of the total article views in the attractions category in Q1. The theme park’s top articles included an announcement about the opening of its Tmall flagship store, phone wallpapers and WeChat stickers for Chinese New Year, and promotion of celebrations for the park’s 20th anniversary, Chinese New Year, and International Women’s Day. Disneyland Paris also attracted views for its Chinese New Year digital red envelopes.

(Left to right): Hong Kong Palace Museum’s Chinese New Year guide, M+’s “Art March” feature, and Labubu enters the V&A’s collection

The performance for museums outside of mainland China was primarily dominated by institutions in Hong Kong, particularly the Hong Kong Palace Museum and M+. Top articles included a Chinese New Year guide to the Hong Kong Palace Museum, a promotion for the “Art March” in Hong Kong, positioning M+ as a central destination for contemporary visual culture, articles on the Palace Museum’s Ancient Egypt and Mughal Empire exhibitions, and the opening of a special exhibition at M+ dedicated to Korean artist Lee Bul. Outside of Hong Kong, London’s V&A Museum stood out as the leading museum, particularly for an article about the museum’s acquisition of a Labubu, featuring an interview with the curators on how pop culture items are chosen for national collections.

Hotels

Ranked 20th for total views in 2025, GHA Discovery Loyalty’s account ranked 3rd in the first quarter of 2026, with articles on its new Chinese booking platform launch, holiday travel inspiration for the Year of the Horse, and seasonal promotions.

Other popular hotel articles included the promotion of luxury Spring Festival experiences at Rosewood, digital red envelopes and other Chinese New Year promotions from Marriott, the launch of IHG’s Atwell Suites brand to the Chinese market, and a Chinese New Year promotion between Vogue and Hilton.

Car Rentals

Avis and Hertz were the only two international car rental companies active on WeChat in Q1 2026, both promoting a wide variety of global self-driving destinations, including classics like the US, New Zealand, and Italy, as well as trending destination Norway. Both rental companies published articles promoting self-driving in Türkiye after the country became visa free for Chinese tourists at the start of 2026.