In today’s world, romance knows no borders and travelers are increasingly using technology to expand their dating horizons. Tinder’s latest Year in Swipe report, which highlights trends based on the activity of millions of its users, shows how users are virtually crossing continents in search of unconventional connections.
The data revealed a surge in the number of daters who are using the app’s “passport” function, which enables users to match with people in different cities and countries from the comfort of their current location.
The City of Light topped the list of places that users would passport to in 2024, solidifying Paris as the top virtual destination for romance-seekers. Last year, the number of users passporting to France overall saw a 103 percent increase, which Travel + Leisure (T+L) speculated might be attributable to the number of travelers attending global events like the Summer Olympics in Paris.
Other hotspots capturing the hearts of American daters included Japan’s Shinjuku City, Colombia’s Medellín, Amsterdam in The Netherlands and Barcelona, Spain, which comprised the remaining top five cities drawing virtual daters from the U.S.
On a broader scale, entire countries like Mexico, Canada, Colombia, the Philippines and Japan topped the list of international destinations where American users were seen to be seeking potential matches. France, Spain, the Dominican Republic, Australia and Germany constituted the remainder of the top ten.
Tinder relied upon internal data collected throughout the year 2024 to inform the results of its report. The dating app disclosed that its passport feature is activated approximately 145,000 times each day, representing virtual connections that collectively span more than 62 billion miles globally.
For travelers specifically, Tinder’s appeal might well extend beyond opportunities for romance. Some experts say that the app is an unconventional yet effective way to meet locals and gain destination insights. "Guidebooks are great. But there are plenty of things a local knows better than Lonely Planet," travel writer Katie Jackson wrote in 2021 article for T+L, based on firsthand experience.
The report also revealed evolving trends in terms of types of romantic connections that online daters are looking for, with users gravitating towards "nano-ships" (smaller interactions without commitments) and are demonstrating greater transparency about their dating intentions.
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