Where Asians want to travel in Asia in 2025

Booking.com data indicates Japan is a dominant travel destination across Asia-Pacific, topping search lists in 70% of analyzed territories, including Tokyo and Osaka. Conversely, Thailand's tourism sector faces significant headwinds, with foreign visitor arrivals down 7% year-over-year and projections revised to 33 million from 37 million, primarily due to declining search interest from key markets like China (-20% for Bangkok). This contrasts with strong domestic or regional preferences observed among Vietnamese, Indian (e.g., Dubai), and Malaysian travelers, highlighting divergent performance and investment opportunities within the regional travel and hospitality sectors.

Analysis

Analysis of H1 travel search data from Booking.com reveals a significant divergence in consumer demand across the Asia-Pacific region, presenting a bifurcated outlook for national tourism economies. Japan has emerged as the clear leader, ranking as the top searched destination in 70% of the analyzed APAC territories, with cities like Tokyo and Osaka showing broad appeal. This strong interest signals a robust growth trajectory for Japan's hospitality and travel-related sectors. In stark contrast, Thailand's tourism industry is facing considerable headwinds. Foreign visitor arrivals from January to mid-August fell 7% year-over-year, prompting a significant downward revision of the annual tourist forecast to 33 million from 37 million. This underperformance is directly correlated with waning interest from key source markets, evidenced by a 20% YoY plunge in searches for Bangkok from China. The data also highlights distinct, localized trends, such as the strong preference for domestic travel in Vietnam and Malaysia, and the concentrated flow of Indian travelers to Dubai, which accounts for over 10% of the city's arrivals.

Key Decisions for Investors

• Investors should consider overweighting exposure to Japanese hospitality, retail, and transportation sectors to capitalize on the country's dominant position in regional travel demand.
• It is prudent to exercise caution on Thai tourism-related assets, as declining visitor arrivals and a sharp drop in interest from the key Chinese market signal significant near-term revenue risks.
• Re-evaluate broad APAC travel portfolios in favor of a country-specific approach, focusing on markets with resilient domestic demand like Vietnam or strong bilateral travel corridors such as the India-to-Dubai route.