The new Visa Global Travel Intentions 2026 study shows a significant shift in the behavior of Asia-Pacific tourists: demand for travel is not disappearing, but becoming more cautious, practical, and tied to clear logistics. Travelers are more often choosing familiar destinations within the region, booking basic trip elements earlier, more actively checking visa, insurance, and payment terms, and leaving room for flexible decisions once on-site.
For the tourism market, this is not a minor change in mood, but a signal of a new format of competition. In 2026, it is no longer enough to convince a traveler with a beautiful picture or a loud advertising campaign. They need clear rules, a predictable budget, reliable digital services, secure payments, simple transport after arrival, and the ability to quickly adapt the plan if prices, weather, flight schedules, or local conditions change.
What Exactly the Visa Study Showed
Visa released the key findings of the new Global Travel Intentions issue on June 16, 2026. The company calls GTI one of its longest-running research projects on traveler behavior: the program has been tracking travel intentions, trip planning, and payment habits for over two decades. In the new issue, over 47,000 respondents worldwide were surveyed, including over 17,000 in Asia-Pacific countries.
The main conclusion of the study is not that people have started traveling less. On the contrary, Visa records a steady interest in trips. But this interest has become less impulsive. Tourists are more carefully weighing costs, more often choosing destinations that seem familiar or logistically simple, and paying more attention to things that previously might have remained secondary: payment security, card acceptance, insurance, local news, transport costs, and the ability to change plans without excessive loss.
According to Visa, 63% of surveyed travelers from the Asia-Pacific region made trips within the region itself. This is significantly higher than the share of trips to Central Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Europe, or North America. Japan dominates noticeably in the list of most attractive destinations: almost every fifth respondent named it a key destination, and among plans for the next 12 months, Japan was mentioned by over a quarter of those surveyed. Other strong destinations include Australia, Hong Kong, South Korea, and Thailand.
Why Tourists Stay in the Region More Often
The shift toward intra-regional trips has several reasons. First is cost. Aviation fuel, exchange rates, hotel rates, and general inflation are forcing tourists to more carefully calculate the total price of the trip, not just the cost of the ticket. Second is predictability. Shorter flights, familiar entry rules, better air connectivity, and a lower risk of complex transfers make the trip psychologically simpler.
The third reason is the experience of the pandemic and subsequent crises, which taught tourists to plan with a margin. Travelers have become more attentive to whether it is easy to return home, whether customary payment instruments are accepted in the country, whether there is clear transport from the airport, and whether a hotel or excursion can be quickly changed. This is why large aviation hubs and cities with well-developed infrastructure are gaining an advantage.
In this context, for readers planning trips through key Asian hubs, pages with information about Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK), Singapore Changi Airport (SIN), Tokyo Haneda (HND), and Seoul Incheon (ICN) may be practical. Such hubs are important not only as arrival points but also as transfer points, overnight stays, or starting points for more complex routes across Asia.
Travel is Becoming More Thought-Out, But Not Less Emotional
Cautious planning does not mean that tourists are giving up on experiences. In the Visa study, 37% of respondents from the Asia-Pacific region noted that they plan trips around unique local experiences, especially those related to food and culture. This is higher than the global average, which is listed in Visa's materials at 29%.
Another indicative signal is the interest in major events. Every fourth respondent in the region is ready to travel for sporting or entertainment events, including the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Formula 1, or K-pop. This means the tourist is not becoming more passive. They simply want a strong emotional reason for the trip to be supported by normal logistics, clear costs, and a sense of control.
For destinations, this is an important lesson. A city, resort, or travel company can no longer rely solely on the general brand of the country. They need to show specific value: gastronomic routes, cultural quarters, festivals, natural locations, convenient transfers, short routes from the airport, transparent prices, and the ability to easily pay for services digitally.
AI and Digital Tools Have Become Part of Trip Preparation
A separate block of the Visa study concerns how tourists prepare for travel. Almost half of those surveyed in the Asia-Pacific region use artificial intelligence tools to search for destinations and ideas. Travelers also use AI to select recommendations, reviews, local tours, and leisure options.
This does not mean that tourists fully trust algorithms. Rather, AI is becoming the first filter: it helps collect options, compare districts, find less obvious locations, and form an initial route. After this, people still verify information through official sites, maps, airline pages, hotel platforms, social networks, and recommendations from other travelers.
For tourists, the practical conclusion is simple: AI is convenient for inspiration and structuring a route, but it should not be the sole source of decisions. Before booking, it is worth separately checking visa rules, passport validity, medical insurance terms, hotel cancellation policies, airline baggage rules, current flight schedules, and transport from the airport. This is especially important if the route includes several countries or overnight transfers.
Basic Bookings Are Made Earlier, While On-Site Decisions Remain Flexible
One of the most interesting observations by Visa is the difference between what tourists want to fix in advance and what they leave open. Almost four out of five respondents booked accommodation before the start of the trip. This is logical: a hotel or apartment determines the budget, district, transport, and sense of security. At the same time, only about half of those surveyed booked experiences or activities in advance.
Even more flexibility is seen in decisions about food and local transport. According to Visa, most decisions regarding restaurants and a significant part of transport choices are made after arrival. Tourists want to have a framework for the route, but do not want to lose the freedom to react to weather, mood, local advice, or price changes.
This explains why pages with practical logistics remain important even for experienced travelers. Before a night or morning flight, it is worth checking hotels near Changi Airport (SIN), hotels near Tokyo Narita (NRT), or hotels near Bangkok Suvarnabhumi (BKK). If the main question is how to quickly get to the city after arrival, materials about transfers and taxis from BKK and transfers from Changi Airport will be useful.
What This Means for Airlines, Hotels, and Destinations
For airlines, the new data confirms the importance of regional routes, clear tariffs, and quality communication regarding schedule changes. If travelers become more sensitive to risk, they will more often choose a carrier that transparently explains baggage, transfers, refunds, and rebooking. This is especially relevant for short trips, where even one delay can ruin the entire route.
For hotels, the main factor becomes not only price, but also flexibility. Free or inexpensive cancellation, clear check-in time, clear information about transport, support for digital payments, and an honest description of the area can influence the choice no less than a photo of the room. A tourist who books accommodation early wants to be sure they are not buying an extra problem.
For tourism offices and cities, the conclusion is even broader: it is necessary to promote not only landmarks, but also convenience. If a destination wants to win in the new demand model, it needs to show how a tourist will get from the airport, where it is best to stay, which districts are suitable for a short trip, which events are truly worth planning in advance, and what can be left for on-site.
Why This Is Important Not Only for Asia
Although the new Visa data primarily concerns the Asia-Pacific region, the trend has global significance. After several years of price, geopolitical, and transport shocks, tourists in different parts of the world behave similarly: they are not giving up on travel, but want better control over risks. This is why the role of shorter routes, regional hubs, digital planning, insurance, transparent rules, and payment security is growing.
A joint material by Google and Visa regarding Southeast Asian travelers also shows that people more often search for trips outside the traditional peak and book earlier. In 2025, according to the Visa data provided there, the average booking horizon for travel purchases in six Southeast Asian markets grew to 83 days compared to 46 days a year earlier. This is further evidence that travelers are not retreating from travel, but are restructuring the way they buy it.
What Tourists Should Do Before a Trip in 2026
The practical conclusion for travelers can be formulated as follows: in 2026, the winner is not the one who books the cheapest, but the one who sees the full picture of the trip. Before buying a flight ticket, it is worth checking not only the price, but also the transfer time, arrival airport, baggage, the possibility of changing the date, transit requirements, and the real cost of the way to the hotel.
- Book accommodation and main flights in advance if the trip falls on holidays, festivals, or a major sporting event.
- Leave some excursions and restaurants open until arrival if you want flexibility and a better sense of place.
- Check whether your cards and mobile wallets are accepted in the country, and have a backup payment method.
- Do not rely solely on AI advice: verify critical details with official sources.
- Allow time for transport from the airport, especially in large cities like Bangkok, Tokyo, Seoul, Hong Kong, or Singapore.
Conclusion
Visa's data does not show a decline in tourism demand. It shows the maturation of the traveler. Asia-Pacific tourists still want to discover new places, attend events, taste local cuisine, and get vivid experiences. But now they more often want these experiences to be supported by clear logistics, secure payments, flexible terms, and the ability to control the budget.
For the market, this means that in 2026, the winner is not simply the loudest destination, but the most convenient and reliable. For tourists, it means that a good trip begins not with a random promotion, but with a thought-out route, verified conditions, and a healthy margin of flexibility.