Travelers are looking for new experiences to celebrate the start of 2022. Agoda data shows that travellers across Asia are showing their ongoing desire to get out, to getaway and to escape the constrictions and controls of Covid impacted regions, venturing into the big cities and the traditional, celebration destinations.
Famous cities remain hot destinations but the travel trend to ‘escape’ to more off-beat nature or beach destinations dominates this year’s New Year’s Eve plans, according to data from digital travel platform, Agoda. Furthermore, travelers are choosing luxury to ring in the New Year this year too.
Asia wide, capital cities and well-known vacation spots continue to dominate each market’s top destinations for New Year’s Eve. In India, Goa, New Delhi, and Mumbai retained their spots in the top three, with New Delhi surpassing Mumbai as the second most popular travel destination, while Goa retained its pole position. The ‘French capital of India’, Pondicherry, jumped in popularity this year and surpassed Chennai to make its way to the top 5. The data also shows that there are many newcomers who joined this year’s top 10 list – Andaman and Nicobar Islands (#7), Udaipur (#8), and Manali (#10).
Looking at the rest of Asia, while Bangkok returned to Thailand’s number one spot, world class beach destinations like Bali (Indonesia), Cebu (Philippines), Pattaya (Thailand), Jeju Island (South Korea), and Penang (Malaysia) made it to the list with partygoers this year taking advantage of the lifting of restrictions to be more adventurous and exploring further. Agoda’s data shows that across many markets there are many newcomers to this year’s top ten, including coastal destinations Batam Island (Indonesia, #10), and Kenting (Taiwan, #10). Lush green mountains and scenic destinations including Khao Kho (Thailand, #9), Bohol (the Philippines, #8), and Ninh Binh (Vietnam, #10) also gained in popularity. In Vietnam, Sapa and Dalat knock Hanoi out of this year’s top three.
Another dominant trend across most of Asia is that of travelers taking care of themselves after on-and-off lockdowns this year. According to data by Agoda, the preference for 4-5 star hotels has grown even stronger, with Taiwan and Thailand travelers upgrading to 4-5 star hotels, from 1-3.5 star accommodation for New Year’s Eve this year, joining Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, South Korea, and Vietnam travelers who continue to choose 4-5 star venues to celebrate the arrival of 2022. In India, however, 1-3.5 star hotels remain popular among travelers, reflective of trends in 2020.
“Travel is back, although domestic travel remains the predominant source of business for Asian destinations during this NYE celebration season. Agoda data shows that travelers across Asia are showing their ongoing desire to get out, to getaway and to escape the constrictions and controls of Covid impacted regions, venturing into the big cities and the traditional, celebration destinations. The city staycay is booming. Equally the appeal of Asia’s beaches, stunning scenery and freedom of open space has people heading for the coast and mountains in droves. In Vietnam, Hanoi was knocked out of the top three by Sapa. Meanwhile Kuching in Borneo unseated Langkawi for a spot in Malaysia’s top three, and Boracay sprung into second spot for the Philippines. In addition, consumers want luxury. There are great 4-5 star luxury hotel deals available during the COVID recovery. Data shows that Taiwanese and Thai travelers are booking higher star category hotels compared to last year, joining travelers from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Korea and Vietnam in the hunt for a luxurious end to a tough 2021,” says Timothy Hughes, Vice President Corporate Development, Agoda.
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