When cost pressures peaked across APAC in early 2026, travelers didn't stop, they made different choices and prioritized experiences. New Klook data shows what held, and what changed.
Travel costs across Asia Pacific climbed sharply in early 2026, driven by elevated fuel costs and cost-of-living pressures across the region. But that pressure hasn't impacted travel intent. New research from Klook, a leading pan-regional experiences platform in Asia Pacific, surveying APAC travelers finds that 95% did not cancel or postpone a single trip.
Travel hasn't stopped, but it looks different
Travel patterns have shifted, even if demand remains strong. 63% cite travel costs, cost-of-living, or personal finances as the biggest factors shaping their outlook for the rest of the year. Rather than cutting back on experiences, travelers are opting to trim costs elsewhere first: 25% are reducing spending on flights and accommodation, and 19% are choosing nearer destinations, while only 18% are reducing their budget for experiences.
“Cost pressures across APAC this year were real, but they have not stopped people from travelling,” said Marcus Yong, Vice President of Global Marketing at Klook. “Instead, travelers are making more considered choices around where they go and how they spend, while continuing to prioritise the experiences that give a trip its meaning.”
To maximize their travel budgets, APAC travelers are adopting smarter planning habits:
- 47% are actively seeking out deals, discounts, and bundled offers, with the highest bargain-hunting activity in the Philippines (59%), Malaysia (55%), and Indonesia (55%).
- 42% are booking earlier to secure better pricing, a trend most prominent in Vietnam (52%) and Indonesia (51%).
Despite these adjustments, 72% of travelers are heading into the second half of the year with confidence levels matching or exceeding those they held at the start of the year.
Experiences are driving travel decisions in 2026 and beyond
Experience-first planning is also changing where people end up. More than half of APAC travelers no longer start with a destination, 23% begin with a specific activity and determine their destination from there.
Travel discovery is increasingly accelerated by AI, with travelers being able to surface recommendations for destinations and experiences more quickly.
- 94% have used or are open to using AI for travel planning,
- 57% have used it to find new destinations or experiences, with 36% going on to book it
But at the point of decision, human validation still leads. Verified reviews are the most trusted source (58%), ahead of friends and family (49%), content creators (35%), and AI suggestions (33%).
Putting lesser-known destinations on the map
73% of APAC travelers say they would visit a secondary or lesser-known city specifically to attend a unique local event, festival, or activity. Thailand recorded the highest intent at 86%, followed by Vietnam (80%) and Malaysia (79%), with Hong Kong the lowest at 57%.
The majority of APAC travelers (77%) took a side trip to a lesser-known location on their most recent vacation. For 34% of them, that detour became the defining memory of the entire trip.
Overcrowding is accelerating this shift, with 63% saying it has influenced their interest in less-visited places, with 20% now actively avoiding popular spots.
Destinations to watch in 2026
Based on Klook internal data, demand remains highly resilient heading into the rest of the year, anchored by sustained momentum in both core hubs and hyper-local cities across Asia and Europe.
- Mainland China: travelers are flocking to core cultural and economic cities like Guangzhou and Beijing
- Taiwan: travelers are searching for local coastal and offshore getaways in Penghu, Pingtung, and Yilan County.
- Vietnam: cementing demand across Southeast Asia towards core destinations like Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and Da Nang.
- Korea: experiencing a surge in demand to coastal cities such as Busan, Sokcho, and Jeonju.
- Italy, Switzerland and Germany: capturing top travel demand in Europe, with travelers heading to lesser-explored cities such as Siena and Positano in Italy, Alpnach in Switzerland, and Stadt Wehlen and Pogtei in Germany.
*About Klook Travel Pulse
Klook Travel Pulse is an annual global consumer research uncovering emerging travel behaviours and sentiment from Millennials and Gen Z which makes up Klook’s core user base and the dominant force in the global travel market. This latest edition in June 2026 surveys 1,020 consumers from Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and India.
*Klook internal data based on period-on-period comparison from 1H 2026 and 2H 2025, and 2Q 2026 vs 1Q 2026.
