Japan and South Korea Converge With Many Asian Markets as Travel Spending Powers Experience-Led Tourism

Asian travellers are changing the economics of their holidays, with 59% of Southeast Asian travellers planning to spend more per trip. Hilton’s September 2026 Southeast Asia Pulse Check found this was a stronger growth signal than taking more trips, staying longer or visiting more destinations. Yet the wider evidence shows that Asia is not simply travelling less, with 43% planning more trips and 50% planning more destinations per journey.

The more revealing shift concerns what travellers expect each journey to deliver. Shorter regional breaks, value-conscious accommodation, culinary experiences, shopping, family travel and destination discovery are increasingly overlapping. Data from Hilton, Agoda, Visa, Google and official tourism statistics suggests that travellers are becoming more deliberate about where they spend.

The Fewer-Trips Story Needs Rewriting

The idea that Asian travellers are taking fewer trips does not fit the latest evidence across the region. Agoda’s 2026 Travel Outlook found 35% of surveyed Asian travellers plan four to six trips, while 32% of Indonesian respondents expect to take at least 11 trips. Indonesia also records 14% planning journeys lasting 13 days or more.

At the same time, average journey duration has shortened across several travel corridors. Google data in the e-Conomy SEA 2025 report shows average Southeast Asia trips falling from 3.5 days in 2024 to 3.2 days in 2025. Trips within Asia Pacific declined from 6.1 to 5.3 days, while journeys beyond APAC fell from 10 to 8.7 days.

The distinction matters for travellers and the industry. Fewer nights do not automatically mean less travel, especially when travellers make several shorter breaks during a year. Instead, the emerging pattern points towards more compressed itineraries, regional mobility and selective spending.

Eight Markets Reveal Eight Different Habits

The regional picture becomes clearer when individual markets are separated. Vietnam stands out for frequency and exploration, while Thailand and Indonesia show particularly strong spending intentions. The Philippines leans towards longer journeys, creating a diverse Asian travel landscape rather than one uniform consumer pattern.

Hilton’s research found 55% of Vietnam-based travellers expect to travel more frequently and 60% expect to visit more destinations per trip. Thailand recorded a 69% intention to spend more per trip, while Indonesia reached 68%. In the Philippines, 51% expected longer trips.

Agoda’s research adds another layer. Malaysia shows a strong value orientation, with 63% willing to consider lesser-known destinations when doing so lowers costs. Indonesia combines high travel ambitions with a strong domestic preference, while Japan and Thailand show particularly strong appetite for domestic journeys.

These differences matter because travellers in each market face different costs, connectivity patterns, incomes and domestic alternatives.

Shorter Breaks Are Becoming More Strategic

The rise of shorter travel is not necessarily a retreat from tourism. Instead, it can reflect a practical response to cost pressures, work schedules and uncertainty.

Agoda’s research found 32% of Asian respondents planning one-to-three-day trips. It also found that 35% planned four to six trips, indicating how micro-breaks can coexist with relatively high annual travel frequency.

Japan provides a particularly clear example. Agoda found 67% of Japanese respondents expected to travel more domestically than internationally in 2026. During the 2026 Obon period, Japanese domestic travel interest rose 12%, while overseas interest increased 13%, showing that local and international travel can grow simultaneously.

For travellers, the practical implication is significant. A three-day regional break can reduce leave requirements while allowing money to be concentrated on food, attractions, shopping or upgraded transport.

The Hotel Bill Is Not Getting Everything

One of the most intriguing elements of the data concerns accommodation. Travellers may express higher overall spending intentions without abandoning price sensitivity when choosing where to sleep.

Agoda found that 39% of Asian travellers consider price the most important accommodation factor, ahead of location at 30% and reviews at 18%. Two in five respondents planned to devote 6–10% of their income to travel.

Malaysia, Vietnam and Indonesia are especially revealing. Most travellers in these markets favour accommodation costing less than US$50 per night. In Malaysia, 64% expect to spend US$50 or less, while 59% identify price as the most important accommodation factor. Indonesia records 54% choosing the same price band.

That creates an important distinction between total holiday value and room value. Travellers can economise on accommodation while preserving money for activities, restaurants, retail and memorable experiences.

Food Is Moving Into the Holiday Budget

Food is becoming more than an amenity attached to a destination. It increasingly influences the destination decision itself.

Hilton found 47% of Southeast Asian travellers cite food and culinary experiences among their destination considerations. Agoda’s 2026 research similarly placed culinary experiences among Asia’s leading travel motivators. Vietnam recorded 35%, South Korea 34%, Malaysia 33%, Japan 32% and Indonesia 31% citing food as a key reason for travel.

This creates opportunities well beyond conventional restaurant tourism. Street-food trails, regional cooking, markets, food festivals and destination dining can all become part of the core itinerary.

For travellers, that also changes budgeting. A lower-cost room may free funds for restaurants, tastings or specialised culinary experiences that would otherwise be excluded.

Shopping Remains a Powerful Travel Trigger

Retail spending adds another dimension to the changing holiday economy. Agoda’s 2026 data shows major differences between Asian source markets, with South Korea and the Philippines particularly strong.

The research shows shopping remains a meaningful travel motivator across Asia, ranging from luxury retail districts to markets and local artisan areas.

Malaysia’s official tourism statistics reinforce the wider significance of shopping. Domestic tourism expenditure reached RM121.3 billion in 2025, up 13.6% from 2024, with shopping accounting for 36.9% of expenditure. Food and beverages represented another 16.1%.

That is valuable context for travellers because the economic footprint of a trip extends well beyond hotels and airlines.

Domestic Travel Is Becoming a Pressure Valve

Domestic travel is emerging as a crucial component of the new travel equation. It offers shorter journey times, lower planning complexity and fewer border-related costs, while still allowing travellers to spend on accommodation, food and activities.

Malaysia provides one of the clearest official examples. Domestic visitors reached 290.1 million in 2025, an 11.5% annual increase, while domestic tourism expenditure rose 13.6% to RM121.3 billion. Average expenditure per trip increased from RM358 to RM365.

Momentum continued into 2026. Malaysia recorded 76.9 million domestic visitors in the second quarter, up 4.3% year on year. Domestic tourism expenditure reached RM32.8 billion, an annual increase of 12.3%.

The pattern illustrates why tourism growth cannot be judged solely through international arrivals. Domestic journeys can generate substantial economic value even when travellers stay within their own borders.

Young Travellers Are Changing the Tempo

Generation Z and Millennials are adding another layer to the shift. Hilton found 54% of Gen Z travellers plan to travel more frequently, while 58% expect to visit more destinations per trip. Meanwhile, 63% of Millennials intend to increase spending per trip.

Vietnam shows the strongest appetite for discovery among younger travellers. Around six in ten Gen Z and Millennial respondents there plan more frequent travel, while roughly two-thirds expect to visit more destinations per trip. Thailand’s Gen Z travellers show particularly strong spending intent, at 73%.

Agoda also found considerable appetite for spontaneity among younger Asian travellers. One in five Gen Z respondents book flights less than a week before departure, while 25% make accommodation bookings at the last minute.

This behaviour favours destinations with flexible inventory, strong digital visibility and easy transport connections.

AI Is Making Discovery More Fluid

Technology is also influencing how travellers assemble these shorter, more targeted journeys. Agoda found 63% of Asian travellers are likely to use AI when planning their next trip, particularly for attractions, translation and personalised itineraries.

The adoption rate varies considerably. Indonesia reaches 69%, Vietnam 81%, Thailand 69% and South Korea 62%. Japan is considerably lower at 29%, highlighting how uneven technology adoption remains across Asian travel markets.

For travellers, AI can make fragmented journeys easier to construct. However, users should still verify transport schedules, entry requirements, attraction opening hours and booking conditions through official channels before departure.

Bleisure Adds Another Spending Layer

Business travel is also becoming more flexible. Agoda found 76% of surveyed Asia-Pacific business travellers plan to combine business and leisure, with especially high levels in the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

The Philippines recorded 95% among business travellers, Thailand 92% and Vietnam 86%. Japan was lower but still substantial at 58%, while South Korea reached 76%.

This matters because a work trip can become a partially self-funded leisure journey. An additional night, restaurant visit, excursion or domestic flight can extend the economic footprint without requiring a completely separate holiday.

What Travellers Should Watch Now

For consumers, the emerging pattern offers a useful budgeting lesson. The cheapest trip is not necessarily the trip with the lowest room rate, because transport, dining, attraction tickets and local mobility can quickly change the final cost.

A more resilient approach is to compare the total trip basket rather than the hotel alone. Travellers should examine airfare, baggage, transfers, accommodation, meals, attractions, shopping budgets and exchange rates before deciding whether a short break genuinely offers better value.

The regional data also supports greater consideration of secondary destinations. Agoda found strong willingness to explore lesser-known locations, particularly where lower prices provide a compelling reason to move beyond established tourism centres.

Asia’s Travel Economy Is Becoming More Selective

The emerging evidence does not support a simple narrative of Asian travellers travelling less. Instead, it points towards more deliberate travel economics, where frequency, trip duration and spending can move in different directions.

Hilton’s 59% spending intention sits alongside Agoda’s evidence of frequent trips, while Google’s shorter-duration data shows that travellers are compressing some journeys. Official Malaysian statistics further demonstrate that domestic tourism can produce strong expenditure growth even when journeys remain close to home.

For travellers, the emerging opportunity is clear. A shorter journey can still feel richer when spending is concentrated on the experiences that matter most. For hotels, destinations and tourism businesses, the lesson is equally significant: winning the Asian traveller may increasingly depend on proving value across the entire journey, rather than simply selling another room night.