The moment was exciting but not surprising: the National Geographic Society had joined other cartographers in recognizing the Southern Ocean, a fifth ocean in the world. What is surprising, though, is the way Geographer Alex Tait announced the news, speaking over twangy music on the social platform TikTok, reminding viewers that the news marks an opportune time “to update maps, textbooks, and pub quizzes.”

The upstart social platform is redrawing the map, too—and changing the way we think of travel. In just two days, Tait’s 52-second video has racked up two million views, making it a bonafide blockbuster. While it lags the mostviewed TikTok of all time— of a young man flying a “magic broomstick” in an industrial park, which has been watched some 2.2 billion times—Nat Geo’s video shows that educational TikToks can find a global audience, as well. But can this platform, which prizes authenticity, tap into a travel audience—while avoiding social media pitfalls? “On most social platforms, travel problems such as overtourism can get glossed over; on TikTok they get called out,” writes Jackie Snow for Nat Geo.

“Some creators have found novel ways to explore places and highlight off-the-beaten path locations,” says Snow. Videos by locals, exploring their own hometowns for the best hikes and tastiest doughnuts represent what Snow calls “unfiltered bursts of life”—a welcome alternative to primped, preening, paid influencer content.

Creators also fling viewers to far-flung places, satisfying wanderlust that has reached its peak during the pandemic. Travel vlogger Davud Akhundzada specializes in short-form videos of what he calls “unpopular destinations,” including Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Albania. While he would love to become a full-time traveler, he does not want to become an Instagram-style influencer. “I have zero revenue from TikTok,” he says. “But it’s fun for me.”

And for us. “When I first heard we were launching a TikTok account, I didn’t know how we were going to play in this space, but we’re more aligned with this audience than I thought,” says Nat Geo’s Sadie Quarrier. “We’re having fun experimenting. We asked photographer Chris Burkard to make a TikTok for us while he was on assignment at an Iceland volcano. Charlie Hamilton James’s funny python incident really resonated with our audience. And we’ve published playful videos about the arrival of trillions of cicadas to the eastern U.S.”