Travel & Tourism in an Age of Uncertainty: 12 Key Themes to Watch in South East Asia & Asia Pacific in 2026

If 2025 heralded a new Age of Uncertainty across global political landscapes and economic sectors, what does 2026 hold in store for South East Asia and the broader Asia Pacific region? And how will the myriad risks and uncertainties that emerged last year influence travel and tourism patterns in 2026? Was 2025 the end of days for many post-pandemic travel 'trends'? And what vital lessons did 2025 teach us for the rest of the decade? To kickstart 2026, Gary and Hannah analyse 12 topics, themes and developments that we think will shape travel economies in the 11 nations of ASEAN, plus India, China and Japan. No spoilers, but our broad-ranging discussion journeys from travel infrastructure investment to human-engineered tourism, and the fight for regulated (alternative) accommodation to the AI challenges that the travel industry is failing to confront. Plus, which two countries, one in South East Asia and one in North East Asia, do we expect to dominate the regional discourse in 2026 - and why? All this and much more as we preview a year that is harder than most to predict!