Bangkok swipes right: Tinder crowns it top love hotspot in 2024
Tinder released a ranking based on its passport feature, revealing that Bangkok is the top location in 2024 where Tinder users in the Asia-Pacific region pin and search for friends and partners the most.
The popular Tinder dating app connects single people in the same area. Users can view other Tinder users near their location and swipe right on those they are interested in. Only users within approximately 1.6 kilometres will appear on the app.
Tinder later introduced a special feature called passport, which allows users to choose and pin a location where they want to search for matches. This location can be far from their actual location and can be changed at any time.
This feature was exclusive to membership packages such as Tinder Plus, Tinder Gold, and Tinder Platinum. However, the app frequently offers the feature for free during special promotions.
Following the introduction of the passport feature, Tinder published a ranking of the most popular locations where users from Australia, India, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam pinned to search for their ideal matches.
The most popular location pinned by users in the Asia-Pacific region was Bangkok. Other cities that featured in the rankings included Tokyo, London, Delhi, Seoul, Sydney, New York, Los Angeles, Melbourne, and Mumbai.
In addition to being the top pinned location, Tinder users in Bangkok also used the passport feature the most in the Asia-Pacific region. Other cities where the feature was frequently used included Tokyo, Delhi, Sydney, Melbourne, Seoul, Brisbane, Osaka, Bangalore, and Ho Chi Minh City.
Beyond finding partners, Tinder also suggests that users who enjoy solo travel utilise the passport feature to connect with local friends before their trip.
In a related story, one of its advertising campaigns faced criticism earlier this year in March despite the app’s popularity in Thailand. The controversy arose after Tinder installed a billboard in Nakhon Ratchasima, a province in the Isaan region, which read:
“Delicious item in Nakhon Ratchasima… Korat stir-fried noodles (emoji for ‘no’). Korat girls (emoji for ‘yes’).”
A women’s rights organisation in the province found the billboard offensive, claiming it insulted both local women and the province’s signature dish. Following the backlash, Tinder removed the billboard.
