Q2 2026 Xiaohongshu Rankings Report

Dragon Trail International’s Xiaohongshu/RedNote Rankings tracks and analyzes performance for national tourism organizations (NTOs), destination marketing organizations (DMOs), airlines, cruise lines, museums & attractions, hotels, and car rentals. The quarterly report builds industry benchmarks and uncovers best practices in digital marketing in the travel sector.

Average Engagements per Active Account per Post: Q2 2025 vs. Q2 2026

NTOs

Average engagements per post increased by 82.5% in Q2 2026 compared to Q2 2025, indicating stronger content performance and higher audience interaction across the category. However, average engagements per active account per post decreased slightly by 6.0%, suggesting that while total engagement grew significantly, it was distributed across a larger number of accounts. The expansion of the monitored account base (from 17 to 33 active accounts) may have contributed to this trend, as more accounts and posts were included in the analysis. While overall engagement increased, performance varied across accounts, resulting in a slight decline in average engagement per active account per post.

The overall stability of the category masks a reshuffle among the top-ranked accounts. Tourism Authority of Thailand – Chengdu Office (TAT Chengdu) became the leading account in Q2 2026, generating 44,109 total engagements and 432.22 average engagements per post, followed by TAT Shanghai, Germany, and Singapore. Despite dropping one place from 1st in Q2 2025 to 2nd in Q2 2026, TAT Shanghai recorded a 180.0% increase in average engagements per post, rising from 80.29 to 224.91. Swiss National Tourist Office, which ranked 2nd in Q2 2025, dropped out of the top 10 in Q2 2026, with average engagements per post declining by 53.1% (from 271.8 to 127.5). Tourism Ireland experienced an even steeper decline, with average engagements per post falling by 89.7%, from 341.9 to 35.1, causing its ranking to drop from 4th to 20th.

The most-engaged post came from Germany, generating over 7,000 engagements. The video highlights a musical travel route through Germany’s eastern cities — Dresden, Leipzig, and Berlin — showcasing their rich classical music heritage and cultural experiences. The post also features a brand mention of Lufthansa Airlines, encouraging travelers to begin their journey with Lufthansa’s connections from China via Frankfurt and Munich.

TAT Shanghai’s increase in average engagements per post was not driven by a single viral post, but rather by a series of content related to upcoming events and travel experiences. These included the annual Samui Regatta, the “UNESCO Creative Cities Thailand” gastronomy festival in Phetchaburi, Tomorrowland 2026 in Pattaya, Amazing Thailand GI Tour & Trail Running 2026, and Lai Si Pham Rocket Festival 2026, among others, which collectively attracted strong audience interest and engagement.

TAT-Shanghai’s posts announcing upcoming events and festivals

The Swiss National Tourist Office’s significant drop in rankings was primarily due to the conclusion of its collaboration with The King’s Avatar, which featured the protagonist Ye Xiu as the “Swiss Travel Ambassador.” The campaign generated a large share of Switzerland’s engagements in Q2 2025 before ending in Q3 2025. Similarly, Tourism Ireland benefited from a highly successful video related to How to Train Your Dragon in Q2 2025, which contributed significantly to its previous ranking. However, without similarly high-performing content in Q2 2026, the account saw a substantial decline in engagement and rankings.

These cases highlight that while viral campaigns and high-profile collaborations can significantly boost short-term engagement, NTOs should not rely solely on individual viral posts to drive performance. Instead, maintaining consistent content production that provides value, inspiration, and relevance to Xiaohongshu users is essential for building sustainable audience engagement.

DMOs

DMO accounts recorded a sharp category decline, with average engagements per active account per post decreasing by 46.0%. However, this decline was not reflected among the two largest accounts. Discover Hong Kong retained its first-place ranking and increased its own average engagements per post from 434.2 to 468.2, while the Macao Government Tourism Office remained in second place and grew from 204.7 to 271.2. The category-wide decline therefore reflects weaker performance among other accounts and a larger, more diluted competitive landscape, rather than an across-the-board decline among leading DMOs.

The accounts contributing most significantly to the decline were Dubai Department of Tourism & Commerce Marketing, Forever Edinburgh, and Zurich Tourism. Dubai’s average engagements per post fell by 91.1% in Q2 2026, from 104.4 to 9.3, causing its total engagement ranking to drop from 4th to 26th. Edinburgh declined by 59.3%, from 134.6 to 54.9, while Zurich decreased by 59.0%, from 282.1 to 115.8. In contrast, the South Australian Tourism Commission experienced significant growth, with average engagements per post increasing by 525.8%, moving its ranking from 15th to 3rd.

Hong Kong’s top-performing posts were largely driven by celebrity-related content. Its three most-engaged posts were promotional content for singer Hua Chenyu and Korean boy group EXO’s concerts in Hong Kong, as well as a video featuring Joshua from Seventeen exploring the city. Dubai’s strong performance in Q2 2025 was primarily attributed to its global tourism campaign “Dubai, Who’s Ready?”, featuring Korean actors Park Seo-joon, Choi Woo-shik, and Park Hyung-sik. The campaign successfully leveraged the global popularity and authentic chemistry of the Wooga Squad members, generating strong engagement despite not being specifically targeted at Chinese audiences. However, as Dubai did not launch a similarly high-profile celebrity campaign in Q2 2026, its engagement declined significantly.

Top DMO posts from Discover Hong Kong featuring Hua Chenyu, EXO, and Joshua

As mentioned previously, the conclusion of Swiss National Tourist Office’s collaboration with The King’s Avatar contributed to its decline in engagement, which also impacted Zurich Tourism due to the reduced visibility of Switzerland-related content. In contrast, South Australian Tourism Commission’s growth was driven by simple, visually appealing destination content, with its two top-performing posts featuring scenic videos of Moana Beach near Adelaide and Kangaroo Island.

These examples demonstrate that while celebrity collaborations and major campaigns can generate significant short-term engagement spikes, sustained performance requires DMOs to consistently produce engaging, visually appealing, and relevant content.

Airlines

Airlines improved by 28.4% in average engagements per active account per post, indicating stronger overall category performance and improved engagement efficiency compared with Q2 2025. Cathay Pacific moved from 2nd place to 1st, increasing its average engagements per post by 130.2%, from 542.2 to 1,248.1. AirAsia, which led the category in Q2 2025, dropped to 2nd place, with a 26.2% decline in average engagements per post, from 452.9 to 334.4. Mahan Air recorded the largest growth, with average engagements per post increasing by 614.9%, from 30.9 to 221.0.

Four of the top five most-engaged posts in the category came from Cathay Pacific. Its top-performing post demonstrates how low-effort, meme-driven content can achieve strong engagement on Xiaohongshu. The video humorously depicts a traveler gathering the courage to sketch at an airport, only to reveal intentionally simple and “amateur” drawings. The self-deprecating style, combined with references to trending Chinese internet culture, quickly resonated with users and generated over 100,000 engagements.

Cathay Pacific’s popular “low-effort” posts referencing cultural memes

Similar to the trend observed with AirAsia in the previous year, Cathay Pacific’s success highlights that brands do not always need highly produced content to capture attention on Xiaohongshu. Instead, content that feels authentic, culturally relevant, and native to the platform’s humor can drive stronger user interaction and engagement.

Mahan Air’s top-performing post, which accounted for over one-third of the account’s total engagements, was a World Cup-themed giveaway featuring a soccer jersey signed by all athletes from the Iran national football team. The post successfully leveraged sports fandom and limited-edition incentives to generate audience interest and engagement.

Airports

Airport accounts improved by 55.6% in average engagements per active account per post, driven largely by significant gains from Hong Kong International Airport and London Heathrow Airport. Hong Kong International Airport moved from 8th place to 1st, increasing its average engagements per post by 613.8%, from 52.5 to 374.5. London Heathrow Airport also recorded strong growth, rising 196.6% from 101.5 to 301.0, and moved from 3rd to 2nd place. These account-level improvements contributed significantly to the category’s stronger Q2 2026 performance.

Changi Airport, which ranked 1st in Q2 2025, dropped to 4th place in Q2 2026 as its average engagements per post declined by 49.7%, from 351.7 to 177.0, despite maintaining a nearly unchanged posting volume.

Six of the top 10 most-engaged posts came from London Heathrow Airport. Its top-performing content included a limited-edition Heathrow Bear collection celebrating its 80th anniversary, China Airlines’ Pikachu-themed livery, and updates on the renovation of Heathrow Terminal 1, among other topics. Hong Kong International Airport received the highest engagement from its official statement addressing a passenger’s boarding process and baggage issue. The post clarified airline carry-on baggage policies and reminded travelers to check baggage requirements before departure.

Cruise Lines

Cruise lines achieved the strongest category growth, with average engagements per active account per post increasing by 172.1%. The improvement was largely driven by Royal Caribbean International, which maintained its 1st-place ranking and increased its average engagements per post by 175.0%, from 150.9 to 414.9. MSC Cruises also recorded strong growth, rising 156.4% from 23.0 to 58.9, and moved from 4th to 2nd place. Viking Cruises remained in 3rd place with a modest 5.9% decline, indicating that the category-wide growth was not evenly distributed across all brands.

Royal Caribbean International’s top-performing post, which accounted for nearly 70% of its total engagements, was a short POV video featuring the caption “when your bestie says she wants an ice cream.” Its second-highest-performing post was a fan giveaway offering a DJI Pocket 3, which also generated strong engagement. MSC Cruises’ most-engaged post was a video featuring travel influencer @行走的阮哥, who shared his onboard experience aboard the MSC Bellissima.

Attractions & Museums

Attractions and museums improved by 58.0% in average engagements per active account per post. Hong Kong Disneyland Resort remained the dominant account in the category; however, its own average engagements per post declined by 31.1%, from 548.0 to 377.8, as its post volume increased from 90 to 170. The category-wide improvement was instead driven by several smaller accounts. Belvedere Palace in Vienna increased its average engagements per post by 225.3%, from 32.3 to 104.9, moving from 10th to 5th place, while the Museum of Fine Arts Boston increased by 102.8%, from 40.6 to 82.3.

All of the top 10 most-engaged posts came from Disneyland accounts, with nine from Hong Kong Disneyland Resort and one from Disneyland Paris. As usual, Hong Kong Disneyland’s top-performing content focused primarily on upcoming events and holiday celebrations, new merchandise releases, anniversaries, and seasonal limited-time experiences. Belvedere Palace generated strong engagement from a post connecting Klimt’s The Kiss with Jay Chou’s new music video, highlighting the artwork’s cultural relevance and encouraging audiences to visit Vienna to see the original masterpiece. Compared with its other artwork-focused posts, the celebrity connection helped expand the content’s reach by linking the museum’s collection with a trending pop culture topic, attracting broader audience interest and driving higher engagement.

Hotels

Hotels’ average engagements per active account per post grew by 99.5%, making the category the second-largest improver after Cruise Lines. The key account-level driver was Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts, which moved from 3rd to 1st place and increased its average engagements per post by 751.7%, from 81.4 to 693.6. Marriott Bonvoy remained in2nd place with a relatively stable 1.7% increase, while InterContinental Hotels & Resorts recorded the highest average engagements per post among leading hotel accounts in Q2 2026, reaching 995.8 across nine posts.

Shangri-La’s top-performing post was a short video featuring pianist Gina Alice Redlinger performing Clair de Lune, Waltz in C-sharp minor, and Prelude in G Major at the grand opening of Shangri-La Kunming. The video generated over 200,000 likes. Its second most-engaged post, with more than 130,000 likes, featured Eileen Gu’s appearance at the Shangri-La Stanley International Dragon Boat Championships 2026 in Hong Kong.