Inside Asia Pacific’s travel powerhouse: 10 trends redefining “The Next 20”

The numbers speak for themselves – a region that accounts for two-thirds of the world’s population – but beyond the numbers are nuances that are driving change in this global powerhouse of travel.

WiT, together with Phocuswright, peel back the curtain on the shifts taking place in Asia Pacific with this list of 10 trends redefining The Next 20, ahead of the WiT Singapore conference taking place October 6-8.

China looking inward

Long known as a powerhouse outbound market, China was historically cautious about opening its borders to international visitors. That stance is shifting. To support its economy and tourism sector, the government has accelerated inbound-friendly measures through 2024 and 2025, expanding visa-free transit to 55 countries, introducing an ASEAN business visa and signing visa-free agreements with six GCC nations. Together with active regional promotions, these moves mark a clear change in China’s strategy—positioning itself as a more open and welcoming destination.

East Asia: The return of seasonality

Following the post-reopening surge in 2023 and parts of 2024, seasonal travel patterns returned in 2025 across most of the region. Bookings are once again concentrated around public holidays, festivals, school breaks, and the Christmas/New Year period. This shift is significant—more stable activity compared with the volatile post-Covid years indicates that markets are resuming growth in line with their own rhythms rather than a region-wide upswing. That said, not all Asian destinations are expected to reach 2019 inbound levels this year, while others—such as Japan, Vietnam, and likely Malaysia—are set to surpass them.

Japan’s tourism tsunami

Japan’s inbound boom continues, with monthly, quarterly, and half-yearly arrivals records repeatedly broken in the first eight months of 2025. The big questions now are whether demand will eventually hit a ceiling (and, if so, when)—or, if not, how destinations will cope with even larger tourist volumes. Much depends on whether government and industry efforts at regional revitalization can successfully spread visitors beyond the major hubs. With a target of 60 million inbound visitors set for 2030, the challenge will be balancing growth with sustainability.

Vietnam’s meteoric rise

Vietnam is Southeast Asia’s breakout star in 2025, on track for a record 25 million visitors. In the first eight months alone, it welcomed nearly 14 million international arrivals—up more than 20% year-on-year—driven by relaxed visa rules, expanded air connectivity, and bold destination marketing. This surge is reshaping airline routes and fueling demand across the region, especially in Thailand.

APAC’s outbound boom

China remains at the heart of Asia’s travel ecosystem and has long been critical to the world’s tourism flows, powering destinations from Southeast Asia to Europe and the Americas. It is still among the largest outbound source markets, though long-haul recovery lags with flight capacity constraints. Closer to home, short-haul demand is booming as travelers prioritize affordability and proximity.

But it’s not just about China anymore — South Korea recorded about 28.7 million outbound trips in 2024, underscoring its return as one of Asia’s most important source markets. At the same time, India’s outbound travel is expanding rapidly, with countries worldwide easing visa rules and tailoring campaigns to attract Indian tourists — a clear sign that India is becoming a major force in global tourism. Together, China + India + South Korea make Asia-Pacific the world’s most dynamic outbound travel powerhouse.

Global brands pivot East

Global hospitality brands are zeroing in on South Asia and Asia-Pacific as core to their future growth. Marriott International had a standout 2024 in South Asia, signing 42 new deals for 7,000 rooms, pushing its pipeline to nearly 20,000 rooms. Meanwhile Hyatt is accelerating its luxury and lifestyle brand expansion across Asia Pacific with plans for nearly 90 properties over the next five years, including new entries under Thompson Hotels, Andaz, The Standard and Park Hyatt in markets such as Thailand, Malaysia and Australia. Hilton has committed to opening 75 Hampton by Hilton hotels in India through a licensing agreement with NILE Hospitality. IHG has also hit a major milestone back in 2023 in APAC — operating more than 1,000 open hotels across the region, with strong investment in its Luxury & Lifestyle brands.

These moves show that Asia-Pacific – especially India, Greater China, and Southeast Asia – isn’t just a growth market, it’s becoming indispensable for global hotel chains’ revenue growth, portfolio diversification, and brand relevance.

Young travellers drive the beat

Live events and tourism are booming across Asia as destinations leverage concerts, festivals, and sports to attract regional travelers. Taylor Swift’s 2024 Singapore concerts alone generated an estimated US$225–370 million in local economic impact, underscoring the power of music tourism. Thailand has hosted Creamfields Asia and other large music festivals recently, while Hong Kong’s revival of tourism includes Rugby Sevens, Art Basel, and major concerts at the new Kai Tak Stadium. Hotspots include Singapore, Thailand, South Korea, Japan, India, and Hong Kong, with young adults (20–40) driving demand, particularly for music and pop culture events, while sports like cricket and rugby draw family and fan segments. Increasingly, Asian destinations are using such mega-events as a soft-power tool to boost global visibility and compete for high-spending visitors.

Faith fuels India’s tourism boom

Spiritual tourism has emerged as one of the fastest-growing drivers of India’s travel market, with hotel bookings across 56 pilgrimage destinations rising 19% in FY 2024-25, according to MakeMyTrip. Demand is no longer limited to senior citizens — millennials and Gen Z are flocking to sites like Ayodhya’s Ram Temple, Varanasi’s Kashi Vishwanath, Tirupati and Puri, seeking both spiritual solace and experiential add-ons. During Maha Kumbh 2025 in Prayagraj, Ixigo reported a 2.6× jump in bookings, with sharp growth in solo and women travelers. Improved connectivity, infrastructure upgrades under the PRASAD scheme, and bundled offerings like yoga retreats, cultural trails, and wellness stays are making these journeys more accessible and appealing. With India’s younger workforce increasingly craving mindful breaks from fast-paced lives, spiritual tourism is no longer just a tradition — it is fast becoming a mainstream lifestyle travel segment powering India’s tourism growth.

Countless deals, one seamless journey

Partnerships are emerging as the biggest disruptors in Asia’s travel boom, with airlines, hotels, tech players, fintechs, OTAs and countless other businesses joining forces to capture more of the traveler’s journey. In India, Marriott’s tie-up with Flipkart turns Bonvoy points into a lifestyle currency, embedding hotel rewards into everyday shopping. In China, Capital A (AirAsia’s parent) has partnered with Ant International (Alipay+) to integrate digital wallets, payment orchestration, and loyalty tech into AirAsia MOVE, fusing travel and fintech to power seamless cross-border spend. And in Japan/East Asia, Sabre’s alliance with Loco Partners is boosting the global visibility of Japanese hotels and ryokans by plugging them into stronger international distribution. There are countless such deals of every size across the region, but the message is clear: these partnerships are game-changing plays that are extending brand power, collapsing category boundaries, and redefining how Asia travels.

APAC travellers go all-in on AI

According to Booking.com’s Global AI Sentiment Report 2025, which surveyed over 37,000 people across 33 markets, travelers in Asia-Pacific are all in on AI: 95% say they’re excited about its role in travel and 82% are not only familiar with AI but eager to integrate it into their future travel experiences. In fact, 93% plan to use AI in trip planning, though only 8% fully trust AI and just 16% are comfortable with AI making decisions for them. Most see it as a co-pilot rather than a pilot—using it to research destinations, pick trip timing, uncover local experiences and restaurants, and cut planning stress. Crucially, APAC travelers also want AI to help them avoid overcrowded spots and connect with community-driven experiences, underscoring that the appetite is huge, but adoption hinges on transparency and control.

Editor’s notes:

All these trends, and more, will be covered in depth at WiT Singapore, Oct 6-8. Sign up here.

Coney Dongre is the Research Manager at Phocuswright.