Top 10 Emerging Potential Travel Destinations – No.1 Sees Annual Popularity Surge of 4x

The Czech capital Prague, home to numerous UNESCO World Heritage Sites, is known as the City of a Thousand Spires in Europe. In addition to the Old Town and New Town, the city also includes areas such as Hradčany, Prague Castle, and Lesser Town. (Photo provided by Shutterstock)

Explore Saipan and experience the beautiful tropical island vibes. (Photo provided by Shutterstock)

Want to avoid the crowds during the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays? Step out of your comfort zone and discover some lesser-known emerging travel gems. A global travel search engine recently released rankings of emerging potential travel destinations in the Asia-Pacific region and Taiwan, with the top three most popular emerging cities among Taiwanese travelers seeing an annual surge in search interest of up to 3 to 4 times. For those seeking a unique experience, now is the time to visit these hidden gems before they become mainstream and enjoy a more authentic, peaceful foreign charm.

Global travel search engine KAYAK has released a report on “Emerging Potential Travel Destinations,” analyzing travel locations and preferences of users in the Asia-Pacific region and Taiwan based on millions of search data entries. The goal is to help travelers discover cities they may never have considered and plan their next holiday destination accordingly.

The report shows that while Chengdu in mainland China ranks only 32nd on the list of popular search destinations among Taiwanese travelers, it topped the “Top 10 Emerging Potential Travel Destinations – Taiwan Travelers” list with an annual search growth rate of 456%. Vienna and Washington D.C. came in second and third, with annual search increases of 418% and 328% respectively.

Other countries on the list include Melbourne, recently voted the world’s most livable city, as well as U.S. and Canadian destinations such as Honolulu, Toronto, and Boston. European cities rich in iconic historical architecture and strong cultural and artistic vibes, such as Barcelona, Prague, and Madrid, are also featured. The ranking indicates that more and more Taiwanese are considering destinations beyond the Asia-Pacific region, and these long-haul travel spots have great potential to become the next big social media check-in hotspots in Taiwan.

Waikiki Beach as seen from the top of Diamond Head. (Photo by Wu Yumin)

In addition, the report also released the “Top 10 Emerging Potential Travel Destinations – Asia-Pacific Travelers.” The top three cities are all familiar to Taiwanese travelers: Saipan, Macau, and Nagoya. However, the cities that follow are less well-known or rarely visited by Taiwanese, including Vladivostok (Russia), Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia), Kota Kinabalu (Malaysia), Havana (Cuba), Nha Trang (Vietnam), Hanoi (Vietnam), and Port Blair (India).

Wei Xiaowei, Senior Director for the Asia-Pacific region at the travel search engine, said that people often see their friends traveling to the same city at the same time on social media. But there are many more cities and countries around the world worth visiting and exploring—destinations that are equally deserving of being shared on social platforms.