BANGKOK, 20 January 2020: Tokyo, Bangkok and Taipei are the top three destinations for Lunar New Year travellers from across Asia, according to data from Agoda.
This year, Tokyo nudged Bangkok off pole position, steadily climbing the ranks from third place in 2018 to the top spot, while Taipei moves to third place.
In fact, Taiwan is a key destination this year, with four of the market’s cities featuring in the top 10, Taipei (3), Taichung (4), Kaohsiung (6) and Tainan (9). Other favourite destinations to welcome the Lunar New Year include Seoul (7) and Chiang Mai (10).
Lunar New Year, also known as Spring Festival, sees the biggest global migration as revellers across the globe visit family and friends.
Spending quality time with family and enjoying tasty treats for reunion dinners takes precedence during the Lunar New Year so it is little wonder then, that Japan, Malaysia and Thailand secured top overall destinations for Asian travellers.
Highlights by markets
Travellers from China are flocking to Japan with Tokyo, Osaka and Sapporo the top international destination cities for Chinese travellers.
Japan is the number one country for travellers from Thailand this Spring Festival, with eight of the top 10 cities in Japan.
Meanwhile, Japanese travellers are heading to more tropical destinations this Lunar New Year – Thailand’s Bangkok, Pattaya and Chiang Mai scooping 1st, 3rd and 9th spots respectively while Singapore, Cebu and Honolulu come in 7th, 8th and 10th. Seoul moves up from 4th in 2019 to 2nd spot for this year.
South Korean travellers are also heading for beach destinations to celebrate ‘Seollal’ with top ten entries including Nha Trang (3), Da Nang (4), (in Vietnam), Cebu (6) (in Philippines), Guam (8) (in Micronesia) and Bali (10) (in Indonesia).
Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand are the main beneficiaries from Singapore travellers this Lunar New Year, while Batam, Johor Bahru and Kuala Lumpur scoop the top three cities’ titles.
Travellers from Taiwan are heading to international destinations to celebrate the Spring Festival are flocking to Japan with 7 of the top 10 top destinations within the country. South Korea’s Seoul (6) and Busan (9) are also winners this year.
Vietnamese travellers celebrate ‘Tet Nguen Dan’ (or Tet), and this year, once again, travellers seeking international destinations are heading to the bustling cosmopolitan cities Bangkok (1), Singapore (2), Taipei (3) to celebrate.
Malaysia, the second most visited country for travellers from across Asia this Lunar New Year, also scoops five of the top 10 international destinations for Indonesian travellers — Kuala Lumpur (1), Genting Highlands (4), Penang (6), Johor Bahru (8), and Kuching (9).
Malaysian travellers heading for international shores are choosing neighbouring Thailand for five of its top destination cities (Hat Yai, 1; Bangkok, 2; Krabi, 3; Phuket, 4; and Koh Lipe, 10).
Among Thai travellers, Japan continues to be a hot travel destination, with Tokyo (1), Osaka (2), Sapporo (3), Nagoya (4) and Kyoto (8) being popular picks, and hidden gems like Takayama (5), Hakodate (6) and Fujikawaguchiko (7) joining the list for the first time.
Among regional travellers, Thai cities like Bangkok and Chiang Mai are also highly sought-after destinations to ring in the Lunar New Year – which place second and tenth respectively in the 2020 list. Thailand’s beaches and lively shopping options are particularly attractive to those in Malaysia, with Hat Yai (1), Bangkok (2), Krabi (4), Phuket (6) and Koh Lipe (10) all being part of their top 10 list for Lunar New Year travels.
Agoda collated booking data from origin markets for 2018, 2019 and 2020 Lunar New Year dates:
16 – 17 February 2018;
5 – 6 February 2019;
25 – 26 January 2020.
