Executive Summary
We analyzed 61 travel communities listed on Hive Index to understand where people gather, what these groups offer, and which communities attract the most interest.
The big picture: travel communities are broad and fragmented, with many small groups and a few very large outliers.
Source: Hive Index community database · Updated periodically
- Communities
- 61
- Platforms
- 10
- Avg members
- 1.8M
- Median members
- 75K
Where Travel Communities Are Hosted
- Independent Platforms: 18 communities (30%)
- Facebook: 16 communities (26%)
- Reddit: 13 communities (21%)
- Discord: 4 communities (7%)
- Slack: 3 communities (5%)
- Telegram: 2 communities (3%)
- Circle: 2 communities (3%)
- Mighty Networks: 1 communities (2%)
- X / Twitter: 1 communities (2%)
- Meetup: 1 communities (2%)
- 18(30%)
![Independent Platforms]()
Independent Platforms - 16(26%)
Facebook - 13(21%)
Reddit - 4(7%)
Discord - 3(5%)
Slack - 2(3%)
Telegram - 2(3%)Circle
- 1(2%)
Mighty Networks
Format mix
- 47(77%)Forum / feed-based
- 9(15%)Chat communities
- 3(5%)Private membership
- 2(3%)Other platforms
Most listings are forum / feed-based (77%).
Independent Platforms leads, but Facebook and Reddit also represent meaningful shares.
Audience Size & Access
Community size
- Tiny: 1 communities (2%)
- Small: 7 communities (11%)
- Medium: 3 communities (5%)
- Large: 3 communities (5%)
- Huge: 16 communities (26%)
- Massive: 9 communities (15%)
- Gigantic: 8 communities (13%)
- 1(2%)Tiny<20 members
- 7(11%)Small20-100 members
- 3(5%)Medium100-1,000 members
- 3(5%)Large1,000-10,000 members
- 16(26%)Huge10,000-100,000 members
- 9(15%)Massive100,000-1M members
- 8(13%)Gigantic1M+ members
14 communities have unknown member counts.
Free vs paid
- Free to join: 52 communities (85%)
- Paid or apply-to-join: 9 communities (15%)
The average is much higher than the median (1.8M vs 75K), which usually means a few large groups are pulling the average up.
How Travel Differs From Other Categories
Travel is larger, and more platform-diverse, compared with typical Hive Index topics.
| Metric | Travel | Hive Index average |
|---|---|---|
| Free to join | 85% | 84% |
| Median members | 75K | 25K |
| Average members | 1.8M | 668K |
| Paid or apply-to-join | 15% | 16% |
| Live chat | 34% | 41% |
| Discord share | 7% | 17% |
Feature Mix
Common features appear in at least 15% of listings.
Common Features
- Forum: 47 communities (77%)
- Live Chat: 21 communities (34%)
- Online/Offline Events: 14 communities (23%)
- Newsletter: 11 communities (18%)
- Paid Community: 9 communities (15%)
- 77%Forum
- 34%Live Chat
- 23%Online/Offline Events
- 18%Newsletter
- 15%Paid Community
Niche Features
- Job Board: 6 communities (10%)
- Member Perks: 6 communities (10%)
- Courses: 3 communities (5%)
- Pairing: 1 communities (2%)
- 10%Job Board
- 10%Member Perks
- 5%Courses
- 2%Pairing
Forum appears on 77% of listings.
What Visitors Click
- Outbound clicks / mo
- 81
Platform supply vs. clicks
| Platform | Communities | Share of communities | Outbound clicks | Share of clicks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent Platforms | 18 | 30% | 6 | 8% |
| 16 | 26% | 44 | 56% | |
| 13 | 21% | 3 | 4% | |
| Discord | 4 | 7% | 8 | 10% |
| Slack | 3 | 5% | 7 | 9% |
| Telegram | 2 | 3% | 6 | 8% |
| Circle | 2 | 3% | 2 | 3% |
| Mighty Networks | 1 | 2% | 1 | 1% |
Share is calculated within this topic.
Facebook gets 56% of clicks but only 26% of listings, so visitors click it more than you'd expect from supply alone.
Most-clicked formats
- 53(68%)Forum / feed-based
- 21(27%)Chat communities
- 3(4%)Private membership
- 1(1%)Other platforms
Most-clicked features
- 49(63%)Forum
- 38(49%)Live Chat
- 17(22%)Newsletter
- 12(15%)Job Board
- 9(12%)Online/Offline Events
- 6(8%)Member Perks
Most-clicked size ranges
- 23(29%)Huge
- 15(19%)Gigantic
- 11(14%)Massive
- 7(9%)Medium
- 2(3%)Small
Top-clicked listings
- 11(14%)Girls Love Travel
- 11(14%)Van Life Europe
- 6(8%)The Points Party
Most clicks go to forum / feed-based and chat communities communities.
Trends
Founded year
- 2008: 1 communities (6%)
- 2009: 2 communities (11%)
- 2010: 3 communities (17%)
- 2011: 1 communities (6%)
- 2012: 2 communities (11%)
- 2013: 1 communities (6%)
- 2014: 2 communities (11%)
- 2015: 1 communities (6%)
- 2017: 1 communities (6%)
- 2018: 1 communities (6%)
- 2020: 2 communities (11%)
- 2023: 1 communities (6%)
43 communities have no founding year on file.
Most listed groups were founded around 2010.
Methodology & FAQ
Methodology
This report uses communities in the Hive Index database tagged as Travel. We exclude removed or suppressed listings. Member counts, traffic, features, reviews, and ratings may vary by source and are updated periodically.
Updated periodically