Emerging Asian Travel Hotspots: “Chiang Mai, Thailand” Takes the Crown for Highest Growth

Agoda analyzed traveler data from 2014 to 2015 and ranked the top 10 destinations with the highest growth rates in visitor numbers. Chiang Mai, the second-largest city in northern Thailand, not only has direct low-cost carrier flights but also saw an impressive 2.45x growth rate, securing the first place. The historic city of Ayutthaya in Thailand also ranked ninth.




Taiwanese travelers have a particular fondness for Japan. In addition to popular cities like Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto, they are increasingly visiting other destinations. Booking numbers for Nagano and Kanazawa both increased by over 2x, while visits to the hot spring town of Yufuin rose by 195%. Travelers heading to Hiroshima, Kumamoto, Fukuoka, Nagasaki, and the ski resort of Niseko in Hokkaido in 2015 also more than doubled compared to 2014.

▲ Taiwan’s favorite top 10 Asian hotspots, with Chiang Mai showing the highest growth. (Photo provided by Agoda.com)


As for Chinese travelers, the Philippine island of Dumaguete topped the list with an astonishing 8x increase in bookings compared to 2014. Following that, Japan’s Yufuin, Thailand’s Koh Lanta, and Japan’s Asahikawa all saw their booking growth rates more than triple compared to the same period in 2014. The average hotel booking volume for the other emerging travel cities on the list also increased by about 1.5x.