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Summer 2025: Tokyo leads but this beach in Vietnam is the real surprise
Where we're headed: Japan rises, Vietnam surprises
Tokyo and Osaka are the world's top two trending summer destinations this year, driven by a mix of cultural magnetism, a weaker yen (which stretches tourist budgets), and a surge in flight bookings.
Meanwhile, Vietnam's coastal city of Nha Trang has quietly climbed the charts, thanks to its picture-perfect beaches and vibrant nightlife. It's a stark sign that value-for-money and authentic local experiences are beginning to rival big-name cities in traveler interest.
China and India—still Asia's travel titans:
The Chinese Mainland retained its position as the world's largest outbound travel market in 2024. Chinese travelers are increasingly prioritizing value and visa- friendly destinations including Japan, Malaysia, and Singapore. Interest in Central Asian destinations such as Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan is also increasing.
India again posted the country's highest number of outbound travelers on record in 2024. Indian tourists are exploring a broad mix of destinations—the top three being Abu Dhabi, Hanoi, and Bali—with growth supported by expanded direct flight connections and a rapidly growing middle class that is eager to travel. Together, the two markets continue to play an outsized role in shaping global travel flowsA few observations:
The top emerging destinations were Tokyo, Japan; Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and Osaka, Japan. Amid the depreciation of the Japanese Yen (JPY), Tokyo became the most visited city in the world in 2024 — displacing Bangkok, which had held the top spot for the past decade.
Recent reforms made it easier to travel to Saudi Arabia which spurred a rise in passenger traffic to Jeddah and Riyadh. The government's economic diversification efforts have also attracted newcomers: Investment in massive projects has created jobs and boosted business travel, while the development of tourism and leisure infrastructure is turning the kingdom into an emerging leisure destination.
A surge in European visitors boosted Tirana, Albania, into the top 15. In fact, Tirana gained the largest increase in European visitors — led by tourists from Italy — of any city in 2024.
Buoyed by a strong U.S. dollar, many Americans chose to travel abroad over the last few years, from Cancun to Tokyo to Rome.
Experiences over itineraries:
Across Asia-Pacific, travelers are prioritizing dining, nature, and wellness as key motivators for travel, seeking meaningful moments over traditional sightseeing. Destinations like Gianyar in Bali, Indonesia, known for its iconic Babi Guling spit-roasted pork, and Queenstown in New Zealand—where restaurants welcomed tourists from 44 countries in 2024—are standing out as globalized culinary hotspots. According to MEI's Wellness Trend Index2
(WTI), Thailand is among the destinations leading the way in relaxation experiences and self-care, where visitors can reconnect with nature in immersive eco lodges or find calm in meditation retreats.
Sports fandom fuels travel:
The rise of sports tourism continues, with major events like the Australian Open tennis tournament and Baseball World Series in Los Angeles drawing significant international spend. Shohei Ohtani's World Series debut saw spending by Japanese visitors surge by 91%, six times the broader cross-border boost, highlighting how sporting events are proving to be powerful travel catalysts for fans.
Travelers from Asia-Pacific tend to be more sensitive to exchange rate shifts.
A weaker yen throughout much of 2024 played a significant role in boosting Japan's inbound tourism, making the country a compelling destination for visitors in search of value. Notably, a 1% depreciation of the JPY against the RMB is associated with a 1.5% increase in tourists from the Chinese Mainland. However, visitors from New Zealand and the U.S. rose only around 0.2% in response to the same degree of depreciation relative to their currencies. In 2024, the number of Singaporean visitors to Japan hit record highs — thanks to a 40% rise in the Singapore Dollar (SGD) vs. Japanese Yen (JPY), even as airfare and hotels got pricier.
Turning to the U.S., MEI's analysis shows that tourists from India, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan are particularly sensitive to exchange rate fluctuations, after accounting for other factors. Specifically, a 1% depreciation of the United States Dollar (USD) against their local currencies corresponds to an approximate 0.6–0.8% increase in the number of tourists traveling to the U.S. These findings, consistent with our earlier analysis of tourism to Japan, suggest that these travelers are more responsive to exchange rate movements when selecting outbound destinations.
Wellness tourism is booming: Namibia, South Africa and Thailand top the Wellness Travel Index with eco-lodges and retreats. Meanwhile, the median restaurant in Istanbul hosted tourists from 67 different countries in 2024.
The shifting sands of business travel: Corporates today are limiting global travel in favor of regional trips. And while people are taking fewer business trips overall, the average duration is longer, suggesting efforts to stretch travel budgets. For example, U.S.-based travelers' trips to Asia-Pacific increased from 8.8 days to 10.2 days.
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