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Hotel groups across Asia-Pacific are reporting record signings and strong development pipelines, underscoring confidence in the region’s growth
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Travel spending remains resilient, with consumers continuing to prioritise travel despite geopolitical and economic uncertainties
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Industry forecasts point to sustained growth, with rising international arrivals and strengthening intra-Asia travel through 2027
Despite a backdrop of intensifying geopolitical tensions, travel and tourism business leaders in Asia-Pacific are stepping into 2026 with optimism.
Coming off another year of “exceptional year of growth and development momentum”, Marriott International’s Asia-Pacific excluding China (APEC) team expects strong performance in 2026 and forward.
The company’s 2025 performance report for the APEC region, issued on February 12, boasted the third consecutive year of record-breaking development activity. There were 187 organic deals representing more than 28,000 rooms signed in 2025, a 32 per cent year-over-year increase. And the company closed the year with more than more than 730 open properties across 22 countries in APEC, spanning 27 brands, and with more than 400 hotels and over 86,000 rooms in the development pipeline.
Commenting on the 2025 results, Rajeev Menon, president, Asia-Pacific excluding China, Marriott International, said he remains “pretty optimistic and bullish (about) our part of the region”.
Another lodging heavyweight in Asia-Pacific, Ascott, signed a record 19,000 units across 102 properties in 2025, marking 27 per cent year-on-year growth. Its portfolio expansion has resulted in entry into new destinations in the region, such as Wellington (New Zealand), Phuket (Thailand), Langkawi (Malaysia), and Lucknow (India).
Simon Cameron, founder of luxury travel agency, Lightfoot Travel, who sees continued appetite for travel among high-net-worth clients, said travel interest in Asia-Pacific destinations can be inferred from the rate of luxury hotel development in the region.
“Look at the number of Shangri-Las, Amans, Rosewoods and Mandarin Orientals that have opened or are opening here,” said Cameron, adding that airline expansion into new destinations are also spurring travel interest and contributing to tourism growth.
Travel spend holds strong
Simon Baptist, principal economist, Visa Asia Pacific, told TTG Asia that Asia-Pacific bears a “generally resilient outlook”.
“Our latest indicators, including the Spending Momentum Index (SMI) Report for 4Q2025, show a region moving in different gears: some markets are easing after very strong rebounds, while others are stabilising as cost pressures moderate. What’s most notable is that spending patterns are being shaped less by a single regional trend and more by local factors, from household purchasing power to price sensitivity and category‑level shifts,” Baptist explained.
Due to VUCA conditions, he expects spending confidence to remain uneven across Asia in 2026. While some households adjust to higher living costs, others are benefiting from stronger labour markets and stabilising economic conditions.
He added: “Across emerging Asia, we see spending growth normalising after a strong surge in 2024 and early 2025 in many markets. Indonesia and Thailand eased more sharply, while India and Vietnam moderated more gradually. This looks less like a slowdown and more like a return to a sustainable pace as post‑pandemic effects fade.
“So, even in a VUCA environment, consumption in Asia remains resilient, though drivers differ by market, ranging from tourism to wage conditions to inflation.”
In a world of growing geopolitical tensions, Menon regards “hospitality (as) the frontline troops of the economy” – it thrives in times of peace and stability.
“Yet, something has changed after the pandemic,” he said. “People are putting a higher priority on travel over other expenses. This isn’t a short-term trend. It is clear in every research and credit card data that around the world people are prioritising travel and experiences well over many other expense items on their day to day basis.”
Menon also highlighted the growing attention the region is getting for its economic progress, which has a positive impact on travel consumption.
“Due to investments in South-east Asia and South Asia from Western and Chinese sources, this region has seen a real emergence of the middle-class over the last six to eight years. These people are acquiring wealth, they are aspirational, they want to travel – all of which bode well for the world of hospitality,” he stated.
Illustrating the value of intra-Asia travel, Menon shared that Marriott International’s APEC room night mix was dominated by APEC travellers in 2025 – the segment made up 56.4 per cent of the total. India (29 per cent), Japan (15 per cent), Australia (11 per cent), South Korea (nine per cent), and Indonesia (eight per cent), formed the top five APEC source markets of travellers.
“Once, we had to rely heavily on other parts of the world to bring travellers to our region. Today, almost 57 per cent of the business in our world is being generated in Asia-Pacific excluding China,” he stated.
The economic importance of Asia-Pacific can be seen from the way global analysts are regarding the region. Menon noted that analysts used to look at how China’s activities were impacting the rest of Asia-Pacific a decade ago. In recent years, however, analysts have been reviewing APEC’s development as a standalone entity, and placing as much importance on the region when compared to China.
Travel tech firm Klook’s latest Travel Pulse research, conducted with consumer insights platform GWI and involving 11,000 respondents globally, supports observations of a resilient travel appetite. It found that 88 per cent of respondents plan on either maintaining or increasing their travel budgets in 2026.
“We hear a lot of talk about recession, intensifying economic pressure, and rising cost of living, so this intention to travel and spend is a very, very positive sign,” remarked Marcus Yong, vice president global marketing at Klook.
Travel intention is stronger among Asia-Pacific respondents (64 per cent) compared to those in the west (43 per cent). Travellers from Indonesia, India, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam are found to be most willing to splurge on travel this year.
The Singapore travel market is also one to watch, according to Yong, as residents in the city-state lead the way in terms of expected travel spend in 2026.
According to the Travel Pulse research, travellers from Singapore are expected to spend US$2,500 on their next trip this year, compared to US$2,089 and US$2,080 by travellers from Hong Kong and China, respectively.
“Asia continues to be the heartbeat of where all this is happening,” commented Yong, adding that Asia-Pacific travellers are two times more likely than their western counterparts to spend more on destination experiences.
Sixty-one per cent of respondents also intend to make a trip within the first half of the new year compared to 50 per cent who said the same in 2025.
While civil unrest have caused some clients to reconsider destinations, Cameron said there were many other destinations for travellers to choose from, allowing holidays to proceed.
Encouraging projections
Industry players’ confidence in Asia-Pacific’s travel and tourism health is backed by further data.
PATA’s Asia Pacific Visitor Forecasts 2025–2027 report, updated in mid-2025, tracked an encouraging and continuous improvement in international visitor arrivals (IVAs) to Asia-Pacific. IVAs are expected to reach 801 million by 2027 in a realistic medium scenario, up from 692 million in 2025.
The forecast, produced in collaboration with the Hospitality and Tourism Research Centre of the School of Hotel and Tourism Management at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, acknowledges the volatile environment that travel and tourism operates in.
The study found that Asia-Pacific region’s tourism performance will return to pre-Covid levels even under a severe projection scenario.
Euromonitor International’s Top 100 City Destinations Index 2025, published last December, also highlighted strong growth in IVAs to Asia-Pacific. It marked Asia-Pacific as the second-largest region for international arrivals, recording the fastest growth globally with inbound trips rising 10 per cent to surpass 350 million.
Hot destinations, according to the index, include Bangkok, Hong Kong, Macau, Tokyo, Singapore, and Seoul.
It said that tourism momentum across the region was supported by visa relaxations, infrastructure upgrades, and high-profile cultural and sporting events, strengthening connectivity and enhancing visitor experiences.
