BANGKOK, 14 July 2026: AirAsia rolls out a mega sale, offering up to 25% off on flights across Thailand, ASEAN, and beyond.
Guests can book from today until 19 July 2026 to lock in their travel dates from 27 July 2026 through 30 June 2027.
The promotion also includes a “One-Time Free Flight Change” with zero flight change fees exclusively on the AirAsia MOVE app.
Thai AirAsia Commercial Director Tansita Akrarittipirom noted that base fare discounts apply to flight codes FD (Thai AirAsia) and XJ (Thai AirAsia X) for domestic destinations, with direct service from Chiang Mai to Phuket, Hat Yai, Krabi, and Khon Kaen.
From the DMK hub, travellers can tap direct connections to Phuket, Chumphon, Hat Yai, Krabi, Trang, Lampang, Phitsanulok, Nan, Chiang Rai, Loei, Udon Thani, Ubon Ratchathani, Roi Et, Khon Kaen, Sakon Nakhon, Buriram, Narathiwat, and Ranong.
For international routes, guests can explore Asia with direct flights from Bangkok (DMK) to Colombo, Penang, Nha Trang, Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Da Nang, Phu Quoc, Yangon, Luang Prabang, Vientiane, Okinawa, Taipei, Kaohsiung, Macau, Shenzhen, Changsha, Kunming, Siem Reap, and Phnom Penh.
For those looking to travel further, direct routes are available from Bangkok (DMK to Tokyo, Osaka, Sapporo, Almaty, and Delhi. Other fantastic direct routes include Kaohsiung to Tokyo, Sapporo to Taipei, and Hat Yai to Kuala Lumpur.
KUCHING, 13 July 2026: The recently concluded Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF) 2026 has long been recognised for bringing together world-class music, living cultural traditions and the natural beauty of Sarawak.
This year, the festival added another dimension to that experience by demonstrating how sustainability can be woven naturally into every stage of the visitor journey.
From responsible consumption and waste management to meaningful partnerships that supported festivalgoers throughout the three-day celebration, RWMF 2026 showed that sustainability is not simply a message to be communicated — it is something to be experienced.
Set against the backdrop of the iconic Sarawak Cultural Village and Mount Santubong, festivalgoers spent their days moving between cultural workshops, traditional craft demonstrations, indigenous music performances, food experiences, and evening concerts featuring artists from around the world. Throughout that journey, practical initiatives helped make the festival experience more enjoyable and encouraged visitors to play their part in caring for the environment.
Among the organisations supporting this shared vision was F&N Malaysia, whose contribution extended beyond providing refreshments to promoting responsible participation in simple, accessible ways.
This year’s partnership was especially meaningful as F&N celebrates 60 years in East Malaysia, marking six decades of growing alongside the communities of Sabah and Sarawak.
“East Malaysia has been an important part of F&N’s journey since 1966, so supporting this festival is a natural extension of our connection to the community. It’s an opportunity to celebrate the richness of tradition, foster cultural exchange, and continue supporting communities, in line with what we stand for — Pure Enjoyment, Pure Goodness,” said Leong Wai Yin, Director of Marketing and Modern Trade Sales, F&N.
For a festival that unfolds almost entirely outdoors beneath the rainforest canopy, keeping visitors refreshed is an important part of creating a comfortable and enjoyable experience. Through trusted brands including 100PLUS and Borneo Springs, F&N supported festivalgoers as they explored the extensive festival grounds, allowing them to fully immerse themselves in the performances, workshops, and cultural activities that define RWMF.
The partnership also reflected the festival’s growing emphasis on sustainability through practical actions that encouraged participation rather than prescription.
Festivalgoers were invited to recycle used beverage cartons at the Borneo Springs booth in exchange for complimentary Borneo Springs drinking water, transforming responsible waste disposal into a simple yet meaningful festival experience. An interactive display also introduced visitors to F&N’s broader sustainability journey, helping to raise awareness of responsible consumption and environmental stewardship in an engaging and accessible way.
These initiatives complemented the festival’s broader sustainability aspirations by demonstrating how everyday choices—even something as simple as recycling a beverage carton—can collectively contribute to a cleaner and more responsible event environment.
The activation also reflected F&N’s broader sustainability efforts, including the use of 100% recycled PET (rPET) bottles for Borneo Springs drinking water, its commitment to zero waste to landfill across its beverage and dairy manufacturing operations, and community recycling initiatives that encourage greater environmental awareness beyond the festival grounds.
As large-scale cultural events continue to evolve, partnerships such as these demonstrate how organisations can contribute meaningfully without detracting from the festival experience itself. Rather than taking centre stage, initiatives that support visitor wellbeing, encourage responsible behaviour, and complement the festival’s sustainability goals become part of the experience, enriching the overall journey for festivalgoers.
This reflects the very spirit of RWMF, where music, culture and nature exist in harmony. Sustainability is not treated as a standalone initiative. Still, it is integrated into the way visitors experience the festival—from appreciating indigenous traditions and biodiversity to making conscious choices that help preserve the environment in which the festival takes place.
As the curtains closed on another successful edition of the Rainforest World Music Festival, visitors departed with memories of unforgettable performances, meaningful cultural exchanges, and the unique atmosphere that only Sarawak can offer.
Equally significant was the festival’s continued demonstration that world-class cultural events can inspire more responsible ways of gathering and celebrating. Through collaborations with like-minded partners such as F&N Malaysia, RWMF 2026 showed how sustainability, community and culture can come together to create an experience that resonates well beyond the final encore.
For more information on Sarawak’s tourist attractions, visit: Sarawak Tourism Board.
BANGKOK, 13 July 2026: Dusit International, one of Thailand’s leading hotel and property development companies, is expanding the domestic footprint of its distinctive lifestyle brand, ASAI Hotels, by signing hotel management agreements for two new properties in Southern Thailand: ASAI Hat Yai and ASAI Patong Phuket.
Scheduled to open in 2028 and 2029, respectively, the new-build properties reflect Dusit’s strategy to grow ASAI Hotels in destinations where culture, community, dining, and discovery come together to shape memorable stays.
Created for curious travellers seeking authentic local connections, thoughtful design, and quality experiences at accessible rates, ASAI Hotels combines compact, intelligently designed rooms with vibrant communal spaces that encourage guests to eat, work, play, and connect. Each hotel is designed to integrate with its surrounding neighbourhood, working with local businesses, creators, and communities to help guests experience each destination from a fresh perspective.
Since debuting in Thailand with ASAI Bangkok Chinatown in 2020, the brand has expanded to include ASAI Bangkok Sathorn and ASAI Kyoto Shijo in Japan. Its growing pipeline reflects increasing demand for lifestyle-led accommodation that combines convenience and comfort with authentic connections to the surrounding community.
“Today’s travellers are increasingly looking beyond traditional hotel stays. They want places that reflect the character of their destination, provide opportunities for connection, and deliver meaningful experiences without compromising on quality or value,” said Dusit International Group CEO Chanin Donavanik.
“ASAI Hotels was created with these evolving expectations in mind, and the signing of ASAI Hat Yai and ASAI Patong Phuket demonstrates our confidence in the long-term potential of Thailand’s lifestyle hospitality segment. Both destinations have their own unique energy and strong growth prospects, and we look forward to introducing hotels that connect guests with the communities, culture, and experiences that make each location special.”
Located on Samchai Road in the heart of Hat Yai’s city centre, ASAI Hat Yai will introduce the brand to one of Southern Thailand’s most important commercial and tourism hubs. A key gateway connecting Thailand with Malaysia and the wider region, Hat Yai continues to attract strong domestic and cross-border demand, supported by its transport links, thriving local businesses, popular street food scene, and distinctive Thai-Chinese heritage.
The hotel will comprise 116 thoughtfully designed guestrooms created for different styles of travel — from comfortable spaces for solo travellers and couples to larger rooms with bunk beds designed for families and groups of friends.
Facilities will include an all-day dining restaurant, café and bar, flexible co-working spaces, meeting facilities, and a fitness centre, all designed to create a vibrant neighbourhood hub where guests and locals can connect.
ASAI Patong Phuket, meanwhile, will bring the brand’s locally inspired approach to Phuket, one of Asia’s most visited island destinations and a global tourism hub that continues to attract strong demand from international and domestic travellers.
Located in the heart of Patong, just five minutes from Patong Beach and around one hour by car from Phuket International Airport, the hotel will feature approximately 85 rooms alongside a lively ground-floor café and social space built around ASAI’s signature Eat/Work/Play concept, a rooftop swimming pool, and fitness facilities. Designed to reflect Patong’s dynamic blend of beach culture, local dining, entertainment, and creative energy, the hotel will provide a welcoming base for travellers looking to experience Phuket beyond the traditional resort stay.
The ASAI Hotels brand is set to continue its international expansion in Q3 2026 with the opening of ASAI Gamuda Cove in Malaysia. Located within the 1,530-acre Gamuda Cove township near Kuala Lumpur, the hotel will mark the brand’s debut in Malaysia and introduce ASAI’s locally inspired approach within a setting that combines nature, recreation, entertainment, and community experiences. ASAI is also set to expand into the Philippines with ASAI Oslob Cebu (late 2027) and ASAI Camaya Coast (late 2028).
ASAI Hotels is one of nine distinctive brands that make up Dusit Hotels and Resorts, Dusit International’s global hospitality portfolio, encompassing luxury retreats, wellness resorts, lifestyle hotels, and contemporary city stays. The portfolio currently spans 19 countries and comprises 50 hotels and approximately 237 luxury villas under Elite Havens, the leading provider of luxury villa rentals in Asia. More than 50 Dusit Hotels and Resorts properties are in the pipeline worldwide.*
*Portfolio and pipeline figures as of 1Q 2026.
About Dusit International Established in 1949, Dusit International or Dusit Thani Public Company Limited (DUSIT) is a leading hospitality group listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand. Its operations comprise five distinct yet complementary business units: Dusit Hotels and Resorts, Dusit Hospitality Education, Dusit Foods, Real Estate Development, and Hospitality-Related Services.
Dusit International’s diversified investments in real estate development, hospitality-related services, and the food sector are part of its long-term strategy for sustainable growth, which focuses on three key areas: balance, expansion and diversification.
SINGAPORE, 13 July 2026: Aman Group, a collection of luxury hotels, resorts, and branded residences, has announced the appointment of Victor Clavell as Chief Operating Officer, based at Aman’s Swiss corporate office and reporting directly to Chairman and CEO, Vlad Doronin.
Clavell brings more than three decades of senior operational, brand, and development experience across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific. His career includes leadership roles with respected luxury hospitality brands, including The Ritz‑Carlton, Bulgari Hotels & Resorts, EDITION, W Hotels, Rosewood, and Urban Resort Concepts.
Most recently, he served as Chief Executive Officer of Urban Resort Concepts in Hong Kong, where he led the repositioning and global expansion of The PuLi Group across hospitality, residences, and retail. Before this, he was Senior Vice President & Managing Director, EMEAC at Rosewood Hotel Group, overseeing a fast‑growing region and leading the profitable turnaround of its European and Middle Eastern portfolio.
In his role as COO at Aman Group, he will oversee global operations to ensure the highest standards of guest experience, consistency, and financial performance across all brands, including Janu, as well as all properties and business units. He will work closely with the Chairman to support the company’s continued expansion across hotels, resorts, branded residences, and Aman Group’s growing lifestyle verticals.
SINGAPORE, 13 July 2026: Global Hotel Alliance (GHA), a worldwide alliance of independent hotel brands, has announced the winners of its 2026 GHA Awards, recognising outstanding achievements by member brands and hotels across the alliance’s global portfolio.
Presented during GHA’s annual CEO conference aboard Regent Seven Seas Cruises’ luxury cruise ship Seven Seas Splendour last week, the awards celebrated excellence across 13 categories spanning loyalty performance, guest engagement, technology, sustainability, marketing and luxury hospitality.
Photo credit: GHA. This year’s winners at the GHA Awards 2026.
The alliance’s most prestigious accolade, the Best Brand Performance Award, was presented to Wharf Hotels in recognition of its outstanding overall performance across the GHA DISCOVERY programme, achieving the highest levels of guest satisfaction while consistently delivering exceptional member recognition and engagement.
Kempinski Hotels and Outrigger Resorts & Hotels were named runners-up, reflecting the exceptionally high standard of performance across the alliance.
The Hotel of the Year Award was presented to Anantara Mai Khao Phuket Villas as the top-performing hotel based on GHA DISCOVERY member room nights booked over the past year, reflecting exceptional loyalty engagement and commercial success.
The Best New Hotel Award went to Lanson Place Parliament Gardens, Melbourne, in recognition of the most successful new addition to the portfolio, based on strong member engagement and rapid performance growth.
Cheval Collection earned the Best Cross-Brand Contribution Award for driving strong engagement across multiple brands within the alliance and encouraging members to explore the wider GHA portfolio. Wharf Hotels took home its second award of the evening, receiving the Best Member Recognition Award as the brand with the highest guest satisfaction scores across the alliance.
Among other winners, Hotel Groove Shinjuku, A PARKROYAL Hotel in Tokyo, received the Web & App Hotel of the Year Award for outstanding booking and revenue performance through GHA DISCOVERY’s digital channels. At the same time, JA Resorts & Hotels was recognised with the Marketing Excellence Award for exceptional engagement across the programme’s campaigns, promotions and content initiatives.
For excellence in growing the programme’s member base, Minor Hotels received the Best Enrolment Performance Award, having generated the highest number of new GHA DISCOVERY member enrolments over the past year. Rotana Hotels & Resorts was recognised with the Best Use of Technology Award for innovative deployment of digital solutions to enhance both member experiences and operational efficiency.
At the brand level, The Doyle Collection received the Most Improved Brand Performance Award for delivering significant gains in performance, engagement and collaboration within the alliance. At the same time, SAii Hotels & Resorts was named Best New Brand Performance for achieving the strongest results among brands that joined GHA in the past year.
The Green Collection Exceptional Engagement Award was presented to PARKROYAL COLLECTION Pickering, Singapore, in recognition of its outstanding contribution to sustainable hospitality, including initiatives that support local communities and environmental preservation. The Ultratravel Collection Hotel of the Year Award went to Capella Bangkok, honouring exceptional leadership in luxury hospitality and a consistent ability to meet the evolving expectations of high-end travellers.
The ceremony also paid tribute to the alliance’s long-standing members. The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts and Marco Polo Hotels were recognised for 20 years of membership, while Lungarno Collection and Shaza Hotels marked 15 years with the alliance. Outrigger Resorts & Hotels was honoured for its 10-year milestone, underscoring its valued contribution to GHA.
SINGAPORE, 13 July 2026: Dida Holdings, a global AI-first travel technology group, has launched Dida MCP*, a new AI native booking gateway that allows approved B2B partners to bring hotel search and booking capability from Dida’s global portfolio of more than 2 million hotel properties directly into their own AI apps, agents, platforms and customer experiences.
The launch addresses one of the biggest gaps emerging in digital travel. AI assistants, superapps, banking apps, loyalty programmes and connected devices are increasingly becoming places where customers plan, compare and decide. But a recommendation is only valuable if the hotel is live, available and bookable at the moment the customer wants to confirm.
Photo credit: Dida.
Dida MCP to close that gap
Through Dida MCP, approved partners can empower their users to search, compare, and book hotels within the partner’s environment—no unnecessary handoffs. No forcing the customer out of the experience.
The partner keeps the brand, the customer and the data relationship. Dida operates behind the scenes as the infrastructure that makes the hotels searchable, bookable and serviceable.
The launch does not mark a move by Dida into direct consumer travel; rather, it extends Dida’s established B2B model into the AI agent economy.
“The tech industry is currently obsessed with building AI that can talk about travel,” said Dida Holdings Group CEO Daryl Lee. “But talking does not generate revenue. Bookings do.”
“You can build the smartest chatbot in the world, but you cannot prompt-engineer live inventory. AI can recommend based on what it knows. Booking requires what is live. For 14 years, Dida has done the heavy lifting behind travel distribution: securing supply, managing rates and availability, connecting content, handling bookings, payments, settlement, confirmation and servicing”
“With Dida MCP, we are putting that infrastructure directly into the hands of approved B2B partners that own the customer relationship. You bring the customer. We do the heavy lifting. The booking happens inside your own experience.”
From recommendation to revenue
Dida was founded in 2012 to digitise and simplify global travel distribution. Today, its hotel portfolio spans more than 2 million hotel properties in more than 100 countries, supported by the content, rates, availability, booking, confirmation and servicing systems needed to complete real travel transactions at scale.
Until now, accessing that capability usually required bespoke API development, specialist travel knowledge and significant engineering time. Dida MCP changes the starting point. Approved partners can begin connecting to Dida’s hotel search and booking tools in minutes, removing much of the bespoke integration work that traditionally came first.
Dida believes it is among the first B2B travel infrastructure providers to make global hotel search and booking accessible to approved AI-enabled partners through an MCP-enabled gateway.
Built for B2B partners, not to compete with them
Dida MCP is designed for partners that want to make hotels bookable inside their own products.
For travel agencies, OTAs, TMCs, wholesalers, and tour operators, it creates a faster path to AI-native customer experiences. Their users can search, compare, and book hotels within their own agent, app, or digital interface, with booking data flowing back to the partner in real time.
For companies with large captive audiences, including banks, card programmes, loyalty platforms, telcos, e-commerce platforms, associations, superapps and consumer device makers, it creates a faster path into travel without having to build hotel supply, connectivity, payment, confirmation and servicing infrastructure from scratch.
For hotels and travel suppliers, it opens another route to qualified demand. As discovery shifts into AI-led environments, hotel supply can reach trusted partner ecosystems while preserving the controlled B2B distribution, booking and servicing processes the industry depends on.
Dida MCP is launching first with global hotel supply, one of the largest and most complex parts of travel to fulfil well. Over time, Dida expects the same approach to extend across its wider content, including flights, ground transportation and experiences, giving partners a single route to a growing range of travel products.
About Dida
Founded in 2012 and headquartered in Singapore, with major operations in Shenzhen and across Asia Pacific, Dida is a global AI-first travel technology group serving the B2B travel ecosystem.
Dida connects high-quality travel content from hotels, airlines and ancillary providers to travel agencies, TMCs, tour operators, OTAs, wholesalers and other distribution partners worldwide.
Through its core business lines, Dida Hotels, Dida Flights, Dida Go and Dida Experiences, the company gives travel partners the technology, supply connectivity, automation and data-driven insights to operate more efficiently, engage customers more deeply and grow faster.
BANGKOK, 13 July 2026: Thai Airways International is revamping its Royal Orchid Plus Benefits with ROP Smart Miles Pay and ROP Smart Miles Pay Lite.
Introduced to the media last week, THAI called the improvements to ROP “a new chapter for its frequent flyer programme, Royal Orchid Plus”, tapping new benefits through the latest technologies.
THAI Chief Executive Officer Chai Eamsiri and THAI Chief Commercial Officer Kittiphong Sansomboon officially unveiled the new benefits.
Eamsiri stated: “This enhancement of Royal Orchid Plus represents another important milestone in THAI’s ongoing development of the customer experience. We are committed to creating value beyond travel through benefits that meet members’ needs, while continuously advancing our technology and services to build long-term engagement and trust among our members.
Sansomboon added: “Over the past 33 years, the Royal Orchid Plus frequent flyer programme has continued to evolve. This latest enhancement enables members to use their miles with greater flexibility, better value, and maximum benefit through ROP Smart Miles Pay and ROP Smart Miles Pay Lite, making mileage usage easier and better aligned with today’s travel behaviour.
ROP Smart Miles Pay offers greater flexibility in paying for THAI tickets. Royal Orchid Plus members can choose to pay for tickets using a combination of cash and accrued miles, or use accrued miles to cover the full ticket fare (excluding taxes and fees), with instant seat confirmation.
Members can select the ROP Smart Miles Pay option via the airline’s website starting from 13 July 2026 to use accrued miles in place of cash when purchasing tickets for THAI flights departing from Bangkok.
In addition to expanding mileage options, THAI has further developed its membership ecosystem through the Royal Orchid Holidays (ROH) platform, which connects travel services, hotels, tourism activities, and benefits offered by business partners. This enables members to use their accrued miles more broadly while supporting the future growth of the membership programme.
For members seeking elevated experiences, the ROP Experience programme offers a curated selection of special activities throughout the year in collaboration with chefs, artists, hotels, restaurants, and leading partners.
Members can use accrued miles to redeem discounts or as a cash equivalent to participate in activities under specified terms and conditions. This reflects THAI’s commitment to creating value for accrued miles beyond travel rewards.
New Rewards – Earn more: Special bonus miles for members who earn qualifying miles under the specified criteria each calendar year, starting from 1 January 2027.
New Benefits – Elevated Privileges: Additional member benefits include dedicated check-in counters at Suvarnabhumi Airport for Silver members and complimentary Wi-Fi for members of all card tiers.
New Digital Security – Enhanced Account Access: Strengthened member data security by transitioning from a 7-digit to a 10-digit membership number to support future membership growth. The programme will also upgrade password standards, introduce email verification, and require each member to use a unique email address. Effective from 5 August 2026.
To celebrate the launch of this new chapter of Royal Orchid Plus, members who download the THAI Mobile application from today until 31 July 2026 will receive 330 bonus miles.
NEW DELHI, 13 July 2026: Air India ranks as the fourth most on-time airline in the world in June 2026 by aviation analytics firm Cirium, underscoring the airline’s continued focus on operational reliability and schedule integrity.
According to Cirium’s June 2026 On-Time Performance report, Air India recorded an on-time arrival rate of 86.85% across 15,135 flights tracked during the month. The airline also posted an on-time departure rate of 86.23% and a completion factor of 99.7%, meaning virtually all scheduled flights operated as planned.
Photo credit: Air India. Ranks fourth worldwide in Cirium’s June 2026 On-Time Performance Report.
The ranking reflects Air India’s sustained investments in operational resilience, improved network planning, and enhanced execution across its domestic and international operations.
As a hub-and-spoke network carrier operating numerous domestic and international connections through India’s two largest airports, Delhi and Mumbai, Air India manages significant operational complexity. The airline’s operations can be impacted by congestion and air traffic control restrictions at these busy airports, which often have a cascading effect across the network.
To mitigate disruptions and delays, Air India has implemented measures to improve schedule reliability and deliver a more consistent travel experience for its customers. These include improving departure punctuality, streamlining aircraft turnaround processes, enhancing real-time network monitoring, and enabling faster operational decision-making across the airline.
The airline has also focused on building greater operational resilience through robust contingency planning, enhanced cross-functional coordination, and maintaining the operational flexibility needed to respond effectively to unforeseen disruptions such as weather events, airspace restrictions, airport congestion, or technical issues. These efforts help minimise the impact of disruptions, support network stability, and ensure customers reach their destinations with greater reliability.
Air India’s improving operational performance complements its broader transformation efforts, which encompass fleet modernisation, customer experience enhancements, digital innovation, and the strengthening of global connectivity through its growing hub-and-spoke network.
Ongoing fleet modernisation
Air India is undertaking one of the world’s largest fleet renewal programmes, having placed orders for 600 new Airbus and Boeing aircraft, while simultaneously modernising its existing fleet. The airline has inducted three new Boeing 787-9 aircraft over the last six months, with additional Boeing 787-9s and Airbus A350-1000s scheduled to join the fleet later in 2026.
In parallel, Air India is progressing with the retrofit of its legacy widebody fleet. Two of its 26 legacy Boeing 787-8 aircraft featuring completely refreshed interiors have already returned to service, while three more are currently undergoing upgrades in the United States.
By the end of 2026, more than 50% of Air India’s widebody fleet is expected to feature new or upgraded interiors, significantly enhancing the customer experience across the airline’s long-haul network.
SINGAPORE, 13 July 2026: Vietjet has introduced Vietnam Halal Connect, a proposed industry-wide initiative to make travel in Vietnam more accessible and convenient for Muslim visitors, including travellers from Singapore.
The initiative was introduced at the Vietnam Halal Tourism Conference 2026 on 8 July, which brought together government representatives, international organisations and industry leaders to discuss how Vietnam can strengthen its appeal to Muslim travellers.
Photo credit: Vietjet.Vietjet Commercial Director Ha Nang Viet presents the Vietnam Halal Connect initiative.
For travellers in Singapore, the initiative comes as Vietjet continues to expand connectivity between the two countries. The airline currently operates direct services from Singapore to Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang and Phu Quoc. Its upcoming Singapore–Nha Trang service is scheduled to begin on 11 December 2026, operating four return flights each week.
Vietnam Halal Connect is envisioned as a platform that will bring together airlines, airports, accommodation providers, tourism businesses, halal certification bodies and technology partners. Through improved coordination, the initiative seeks to provide Muslim travellers with clearer information and greater confidence when planning and experiencing their trips.
As part of the initiative, Vietjet plans to work with relevant partners to expand Halal meal options, develop digital travel solutions and encourage tourism services that better address the needs of Muslim visitors. The initiative will also support the adoption of internationally recognised halal standards where applicable.
“We see strong opportunities to strengthen Vietnam’s appeal among Muslim travellers through better connectivity and services that respond to their evolving travel needs,” said Vietjet’s Commercial Director Ha Nang Viet. “Through Vietnam Halal Connect, we hope to encourage closer cooperation across the travel value chain so that Muslim travellers can explore Vietnam with greater confidence and convenience.”
Vietnamese officials speaking at the conference highlighted the country’s potential to attract a larger share of the Muslim travel market, supported by its location between Southeast Asia, Northeast Asia and the Middle East, as well as its range of cultural, culinary and coastal tourism experiences.
According to figures presented at the event, Vietnam welcomed more than 21 million international visitors in 2025, of whom approximately 600,000 were Muslim travellers. The platform also reflects Vietjet’s strategy of expanding international connectivity while supporting Vietnam’s tourism development. The airline currently operates more than 135 domestic and international routes, connecting Vietnam with destinations across Southeast Asia, South Asia, Central Asia and other markets with growing demand for Muslim travel.
As Vietnam expands its Halal tourism capabilities, Vietjet aims to support this growth by strengthening air connectivity and partnerships that enhance the overall journey, from flight and meal planning to accommodation and destination experiences.
SINGAPORE, 13 July 2026: Digital travel platform Agoda has released the latest insights on travel trends in Indonesia for the first half of 2026, revealing strong momentum for inbound travel interest from travellers across the Asia Pacific region.
Based on accommodation searches made between January and June 2026 compared to 2025, Agoda reports that Malaysia and Singapore rank as Indonesia’s top two contributors to inbound travel interest, dethroning South Korea, which now ranks third.
Australia follows in fourth place, while China emerges as the fastest-growing source market expressing travel interest in Indonesia, entering the top five ranks for the first time and overtaking Japan.
Stronger interest in Indonesia
Rising interest in Indonesia reflects shifting travel preferences across the region, with more travellers seeking a broader mix of destinations and experiences. Among Indonesia’s major inbound markets, China recorded the highest year-on-year growth in travel interest at 44%. The momentum is likely to continue throughout 2026, as Indonesia recently announced new flight routes to expand air connectivity between the two markets.
Agoda also reports growth in interest from Malaysia and Singapore at 18% and 17%, respectively, underscoring rising interest from Southeast Asian travellers even as appetite softens from some destinations in North Asia, such as Japan and South Korea. The shift in travel preferences is also likely reinforced by the weakening rupiah, which has made Indonesia even more attractive to travellers prioritising value.
Bali retains top spot for inbound travellers; Sukabumi is a rising star
Agoda’s data also highlights the destinations attracting the most international travellers to Indonesia, with Bali, Jakarta, Batam Island, Lombok, and Bandung ranking as the top five most-searched destinations. While Bali continues to lead as the country’s most sought-after destination, Jakarta and Batam’s ranking points to growing interest in urban gateways and border-island destinations, alongside established leisure hotspots like Lombok and Bandung.
Beyond the top destinations, Agoda’s data also indicates growing interest in emerging locations across Indonesia. Sukabumi emerged as the fastest-growing destination, with traveller interest rising 4.6x, driven by its lush highlands, waterfalls, and geopark landscapes. In eastern Indonesia, Manado and Gorontalo ranked as the 2nd- and 3rd-fastest-growing destinations, with searches growing by around 3x compared to H1 last year. These destinations attract travellers with their rich marine biodiversity, distinctive local culture, and vibrant culinary offerings.
Agoda Senior Country Director, Indonesia, Gede Gunawan shared: “Indonesia’s appeal is clearly broadening, especially among travellers from China and Southeast Asia. The strong growth in interest in destinations such as Sukabumi, Manado, and Gorontalo shows that travellers are eager to explore more of what Indonesia has to offer beyond Bali. The combination of affordability, accessibility, and diverse experiences positions Indonesia well for continued growth in travel interest through the rest of 2026. Agoda remains committed to supporting Indonesia’s tourism growth with a seamless platform that makes travel more accessible and easier to plan.”
