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Southeast Asia’s travellers are taking longer holidays, spending more on the ground and falling hard for something the region has never exactly been short of: very good beaches.

That is the big message from the inaugural Traveloka SEA Index for Q2 2026, a new quarterly measure based on Traveloka’s own search and booking data from Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Rather than asking travellers what they might do next, the Index looks back at what customers actually searched for and booked on the platform.

Each destination receives a Demand Score from 0 to 100, ranking its year-on-year booking growth against other destinations within the same source market. A score of 100 means it was the fastest-growing destination in that market.

It is a simple idea, but the debut edition tells a lively story. Travellers are going further. They are also staying longer, travelling in larger groups in some markets and directing more money towards hotels and things to do once they arrive.

Just as importantly, Southeast Asia’s own coastlines are demanding a rather impressive share of the spotlight.

Beaches Are Doing Brisk Business

Vietnam produced some of the quarter’s biggest coastal gains.

Phú Quốc scored a perfect Demand Score of 100, with bookings jumping 86 per cent year-on-year. Con Dao, Hoi An and Da Nang also performed strongly, while bookings for Ba Na Hills, one of Da Nang’s best-known attractions, surged 132 per cent.

Malaysia showed much the same appetite for sand, sea and an excellent excuse to ignore emails.

Krabi was the fastest-growing international destination for Malaysian Traveloka customers, recording a Demand Score of 100 and booking at about five times the pace of the previous year.

Closer to home, Kuala Terengganu also had a cracking quarter. The east-coast city, a gateway for travellers heading towards Redang and the Perhentian Islands, more than doubled its bookings year-on-year.

Then there is Bali.

Malaysian bookings to the Indonesian holiday heavyweight doubled, while average stays increased from 2.3 to 2.7 nights.

Four-tenths of a night may not sound terribly dramatic over the breakfast table, but multiply it across thousands of bookings and it can mean more room nights, restaurant meals, transfers, attractions and tours.

For hotels, operators and travel sellers, those fractions have a pleasant habit of turning into revenue.

The broader signal is clear: Southeast Asian travellers remain hungry for international trips, but the region’s own beach and island destinations are becoming more competitive for longer holidays and higher-value stays.

The old favourites, in other words, are not drifting quietly into the sunset.

Quite the reverse.

Longer Stays Mean Richer Trips

The Traveloka figures also suggest travellers are trying to squeeze more from each journey.

Da Nang recorded the largest average travel party in the regional figures at 2.23 people per booking. Vietnamese travellers visiting Bangkok increased their average stay from 3.2 to 3.6 nights, while Malaysian travellers heading to Bali also booked in larger, family-sized groups.

Traveloka says that where travellers took fewer or shorter flights, some spending shifted towards accommodation and experiences instead.

That is a useful point for the travel industry.

A holiday is considerably more than the airline seat that gets somebody there. Longer stays can add extra nights to hotels, more meals to restaurants, and more passengers to tours, attractions and local transport.

They can also produce the sort of holiday people talk about long after the boarding pass has disappeared into the washing machine.

East Asia Keeps Pulling Travellers North

When Southeast Asians do head overseas, East Asia remains the great magnetic north.

Osaka, Seoul, Shanghai and Taipei were the only four international destinations to grow faster than their respective market averages across all five Southeast Asian source markets in Traveloka’s Index.

The individual winners underline the trend.

Seoul led international growth for Thailand with a Demand Score of 100 and topped Indonesia’s international ranking with 99.

Fukuoka led Singapore’s international growth at 100, while Tokyo led Vietnam with 96. Krabi claimed Malaysia’s international crown with a perfect 100.

On the domestic front, Malang led Indonesia with 90, Kuala Terengganu led Malaysia with 76, Nakhon Phanom topped Thailand at 92, and Phú Quốc led Vietnam at 100.

Singapore, naturally, has only one domestic destination. Its staycation category returned a Demand Score of 20.

Traveloka Vice President of Product, Accommodation, Umang Choudhary, described the emerging Southeast Asian traveller as “more confident and more curious than ever”. The wording is taken directly from Traveloka’s announcement.

The numbers certainly support the broader point. Famous capitals remain powerful, but travellers are increasingly willing to look beyond the standard postcard itinerary.

China’s Second Cities Are Having a Moment

One of the most commercially interesting findings for travel sellers is the rise of Chinese cities outside the traditional first-stop circuit.

Chengdu, Shenzhen, Kunming and Chongqing grew at roughly two to four times their market pace across several Southeast Asian source markets, making them the fastest-rising China cluster in the Index.

Improved access is helping.

China has mutual visa-exemption arrangements with Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia for ordinary passport holders. Chinese government sources also confirm that its broader unilateral visa-exemption arrangements for more than 40 countries have been extended through 31 December 2026.

For travel agents and tour operators, that creates room for a far richer China program.

Chengdu brings Sichuan cuisine, pandas and culture. Chongqing has extraordinary urban scenery and enormous social-media appeal. Kunming provides a gateway into Yunnan, while Shenzhen delivers a thoroughly modern city break with convenient links across the Greater Bay Area.

That means “China” is becoming less useful as one broad destination label and considerably more interesting as a collection of individual city experiences.

For a knowledgeable travel adviser, that is an opportunity rather than a nuisance.

Qingdao Is the Quarter’s Surprise Packet

And then there is Qingdao.

Traveloka says combined bookings to the Chinese coastal city from four Southeast Asian markets increased roughly nine-fold year-on-year.

There is an important qualification: the increase came from a small starting base. Nine times a small number should be handled with editorial care, but the percentage looks good in a headline.

Even so, the direction is difficult to ignore.

Qingdao airport expanded its Southeast Asian network during 2026, including direct services serving Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. China Daily reported the airport had built up 92 weekly flights to Southeast Asia by February.

Malaysia also gained a direct connection, with Qingdao Airlines beginning Qingdao-Penang services in March 2026.

New non-stop flights have a wonderful habit of turning somewhere travellers vaguely recognise on a map into somewhere they might actually book.

Qingdao therefore looks very much like one to watch.

Five Markets, Five Clear Signals

Indonesia is showing strong demand for value, culture and secondary cities, with Malang, Yogyakarta and Bandung among the destinations gaining momentum.

Malaysia is becoming more outward-looking. Traveloka says nearly half of trips captured in its data now cross a border. Bali is drawing longer family holidays, while Krabi is racing ahead.

Singapore travellers are going further and spending strongly, with East Asian destinations including Fukuoka, Jeju and Chengdu showing notable momentum.

Thailand is combining strong coastal demand at home with larger outbound trips to Seoul and Tokyo.

And Vietnam may have the clearest beach story of them all, with Phú Quốc, Da Nang, Hoi An and Con Dao sweeping into prominence.

However, there is an important caveat.

The Traveloka SEA Index reflects activity on Traveloka’s platform. It is not a count of every trip taken in Southeast Asia and should not be treated as official national arrivals data.

Its strength lies elsewhere.

Traveloka says the Index uses the same first-party search and booking signals across five major markets and will repeat the exercise quarterly. That consistency gives the travel industry a useful tool for spotting changes in demand, trip length and destination momentum.

For the travel trade, the inaugural edition therefore delivers a practical message.

Keep selling the famous cities, certainly, but watch the second ones.

Do not assume a short flight means a short holiday.

And never underestimate the persuasive power of a very good beach when travellers suddenly decide they have another night to spare.

Southeast Asia is still looking outward. Yet the region is also discovering that some of its most tempting holidays have been sitting very conveniently close to home all along.

Read the full Traveloka SEA Index here: https://www.traveloka.com/en-sg/traveloka-sea-index.