The place Southeast Asians most want to travel to.

Vietnamese tourists pose for photos next to a tuk-tuk in Bangkok, Thailand, in April. Photo: Phuong Lam .

Southeast Asia has long been considered a vibrant region, rich in cultural identity and attractive to tourists as well as those seeking opportunities to study, work, or settle. A new survey by the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute) further demonstrates the growing appeal of countries in the region, according to SCMP .

The State of Southeast Asia 2026 Survey is based on responses from Southeast Asian citizens regarding "choices of where to live, work, and travel." This is considered one of the measures reflecting the attractiveness of countries, alongside economic and military indicators.

While Singapore leads the way in terms of places to live and work, Thailand is the most popular destination when it comes to tourism . The survey shows that the country is the most chosen destination in ASEAN. Notably, 85.7% of Thais surveyed said they still prefer domestic travel over international travel.

According to experts, the choice of travel destination is often influenced more by exchange rates, costs, and tourism promotion campaigns than by decisions to relocate or change jobs.

Vietnamese tourists captured scenes of Bangkok streets, Thailand, in April. Photo: Phuong Lam.

Meanwhile, Japan continues to be one of the most popular out-of-region destinations for Southeast Asians. Many Indonesians, Filipinos, and Thais now work in Japan, as the country faces a rapidly aging population.

Japan's long-term investments in human resource training, trade, and development aid in Southeast Asia, along with strong tourism promotion campaigns and a weakening yen in recent years, have contributed to strengthening the country's attractiveness.

For Filipinos and Indonesians, Singapore is a top travel destination, partly due to the large community of workers and students living there.

The survey also revealed that the four most popular ASEAN countries for both tourism and residence were Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, and Vietnam, although rankings varied. Vietnam's presence in the top group reflects the growing prominence of its tourism industry and the attractiveness of the region's rapidly developing economy .

In addition, people in the five largest ASEAN economies, including Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam, all show a high preference for domestic tourism.

International tourists flock to check in at the railway-side coffee street in Hanoi, July 2025. Photo: Chau Sa.

According to the authors, the difference between choosing a place to visit and a place to live shows that "soft power" is not a homogeneous concept. A country may be very attractive to short-term tourists but not necessarily a place many people would want to move to permanently, and vice versa.

Dr. Irna Nurlina Binte Masron, a research fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, argues that the survey results show ASEAN needs to promote deeper integration, leveraging the complementarity among member states to build a more unified and attractive regional image.

According to her, in the future, labor, tourism, and residency flows within the region will be increasingly influenced by demographic and economic factors. This will create both opportunities and challenges for each member country as well as for the entire ASEAN bloc.

Source: https://znews.vn/noi-nguoi-dong-nam-a-muon-du-lich-nhat-post1655753.html