Asia’s top travel markets are rebounding on their own terms — favoring regional trips, redefining luxury, and reshaping global travel demand.

Asia’s outbound travel is back, but it looks very different across the region's three most important markets: India, China, and Japan.

Skift Research’s latest report, Asia Rising: Inside the Minds of 2025’s Most Valuable Travelers, unpacks what’s driving these markets, where they’re headed, and how travel brands must adapt.

Domestic and regional travel are the clear winners in Asia’s recovery story. India and China have bounced back with force, showing a surge in domestic movement and short-haul international trips. Japan, by contrast, remains more hesitant — a market still cautious, still restrained.

When we compare current travel activity to 2019, the picture is unmistakable: Long-haul isn’t leading Asia’s return. Instead, the region is rewriting its travel script with a stronger focus on proximity, frequency, and familiarity.

Despite outbound travel spending climbing back to $250.6 billion in 2024, China hasn’t regained its pre-pandemic long-haul momentum. There’s a deeper shift underway. Today’s Chinese traveler is increasingly inclined to stay closer to home, driven by a mix of geopolitical caution, rising safety consciousness, and a reevaluation of travel’s purpose.

The appetite for exploring distant markets has dimmed — not disappeared, but no longer automatic. This is no temporary pause; it’s a structural recalibration.

Barriers to outbound travel remain, but they’re evolving.

In China, the shadow of geopolitics looms large, coupled with lingering safety anxieties and the psychological weight of the pandemic. India and Japan are confronting a different set of obstacles: surging travel costs that are reshaping decision-making across income segments.

Visa issues, limited air connectivity, and health concerns cut across all three markets, creating friction at every stage of the traveler journey. These hurdles don’t just delay trips — they reshape destination choices and dampen long-haul demand.

When Asian travelers do choose to spend, their preferences reveal striking cultural nuance. Everyone wants luxury accommodations, but beyond that, each market indulges differently.

Beneath the shared desire for comfort lies a layered, regional story of what luxury really means.

Asia isn’t returning to old habits. It’s moving forward with a new set of expectations, values, and priorities. For travel brands hoping to engage with the region’s most valuable travelers in 2025, understanding these shifts is non-negotiable.

Read the full report → Asia Rising: Inside the Minds of 2025’s Most Valuable Travelers