Traveloka, Southeast Asia’s #1 all-in-one travel platform, has released the first edition of the Traveloka SEA Index, a quarterly travel intelligence report based on its own search, research and booking data from across Southeast Asia.
The Q2, 2026 Index highlights actual travel behavior of Thai users, alongside regional trends, to identify shifting demand patterns, emerging destinations, and future travel intent. Several clear trends emerge: domestic favourite’s continue to anchor Thai travel, even as travelers channel a bigger share of their spend into longer trips overseas. Thailand’s most-booked destinations remain homegrown, with Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Hat Yai, and Phuket in the lead. The strongest momentum came from East Asia, where destinations in Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, and Taiwan significantly outpaced the wider market’s pace. Thai travelers are also the most likely to travel solo in the region.
“Thai travelers are being more deliberate about each journey – staying longer, and investing more once they’ve chosen it,” said Thipaporn Daungmak, Country Manager, Thailand and Singapore, Traveloka. “We’re seeing it in both directions. At home, risers like Nakhon Phanom and Sakon Nakhon show travelers exploring further into Thailand than the familiar circuit. Abroad, Seoul and Tokyo remain the anchors while Taipei, Sapporo and even Qingdao enter the conversation. That widening map – domestic and international – is the opportunity for everyone in this industry.”
South Korea and Japan remain ‘top outbound hotlist’
Seoul and Tokyo remain Thailand’s top outbound hotlist, with travel spend well above the norm — part of a broader ‘fewer trips, bigger journeys’ trend.
- Seoul holds the highest Demand Score of 100 and leads Thailand’s momentum table. Bookings are up two-thirds year-on-year (YoY), stays have stretched to 3.5 nights YoY, and spend runs nearly five times the average trip (4.9x).
- Tokyo follows at a Demand Score of 96, remaining Thais’ biggest international destination and one of the fastest-growing for travel spend, at 6.7x the typical trip allocation.
Taipei is strongest ‘next destination’
Thai searches for Taipei grew 39% quarter-on-quarter. That interest has company across the rest of Southeast Asia, too: Taipei is one of only four destinations, alongside Osaka, Seoul, and Shanghai, to beat the market average across all five origin markets, showing broad appeal that is building demand. Taipei already ranks among Thailand’s fastest-growing outbound destinations, with an average trip spend running 2.6x above the typical trip.
The Index suggests Thais are still in the research phase with Taipei — and that kind of early interest has historically gone on to convert into actual bookings.
Chinese secondary cities dominate the ‘Breakout’ rankings as emerging hotspots
‘Breakout’ tracks destinations outgrowing the market across several countries at once. Secondary Chinese cities take four of the top five spots, with Sapporo rounding out the list.
- Based on the Q2 growth compared with the same period last year, China’s secondary cities — Chengdu, Shenzhen, Kunming, and Chongqing — are growing at 2.6 – 3.9x market pace, on the tailwind of a mutual visa-free deal with Thailand and China’s visa waiver extension to end-2026. Chengdu draws travelers with its food culture and giant pandas, Shenzhen with its Greater Bay Area appeal, Kunming with cooler climates, and Chongqing with its buzzy skyline.
- Sapporo rounds out the top five at 2.4x pace, one of the region’s leading ‘coolcation’ picks as travelers seek cooler-weather alternatives.
Qingdao plays ‘the wildcard’
With its world-famous brewery, German-era old town, and a string of quaint city beaches, Qingdao has the makings of Southeast Asia’s next unexpected city break. Thai bookings to Qingdao surged 38-fold year-on-year, part of a combined nine-fold jump across four Southeast Asian markets — Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, and Vietnam. The surge is being driven by 92 weekly round-trip flights that now connect Qingdao to Southeast Asia, including new direct routes to Ho Chi Minh City and Penang launched earlier this year, plus Bangkok frequency doubling to 14 flights a week.
Where is Thailand’s domestic demand moving?
Destinations such as Nakhon Phanom, Pattaya, Sakon Nakhon, Trang and Surat Thani continued to outperform domestic flights, suggesting travelers are choosing different ways to explore Thailand. Nakhon Phanom, an unexpected riser on the Mekong, posted the domestic market’s highest Demand Score at 92, while Pattaya at 80 is accelerating quarter-on-quarter on the back of attractions and family travel demand.
Overall, the Traveloka SEA Index points to a clear ‘quality over quantity’ shift, as Thai travelers become more intentional in how they travel — prioritizing longer stays, higher-value experiences, and destinations that offer greater meaning. Through insights drawn from millions of searches and bookings across Southeast Asia, Traveloka continues to help travelers discover what’s next while equipping tourism partners with data to understand the evolving travel landscape.
