According to data from Agoda, traveling to Thailand (or more specifically, Bangkok) seems to be an annual tradition for Vietnamese travelers, with the destination consistently ranking first over the past three years.

Outside of Thailand, the Vietnamese have diverse tastes in their travel preferences — with Singapore (#2), Taipei (#3), Tokyo (#5) and Bali (#6) all making the cut.

Vietnam is yet another hot spot to visit during the Spring Festival — with the country achieving second place in the list of top country destinations for South Korea. Top cities that made the cut for the Koreans include Nha Trang (#3) and Da Nang (#4).

Tokyo, Bangkok and Taipei are the top three destinations for travelers from across Asia to celebrate the Lunar New Year. This year, Tokyo nudged Bangkok off pole position, steadily climbing the ranks from third place in 2018 to the top spot, while Taipei moves to third place.

In fact, Taiwan is a key destination this year, with four of the market’s cities featuring in the top ten, Taipei (#3), Taichung (#4), Kaohsiung (#6) and Tainan (#9). Other favourite destinations to welcome the Lunar New Year include Seoul (#7) and Chiang Mai (#10).

Lunar New Year, also known as Spring Festival, sees the biggest global migration as revellers across the globe visit family and friends. Spending quality time with family and enjoying tasty treats for reunion dinners takes precedence during the Lunar New Year, making it a perfect time for the whole family to travel together.

It is little wonder then, that Japan, Malaysia and Thailand secured top overall destinations for Asian travelers, to bring in the Lunar New Year — each offering their own unique blend of mouth-watering eats, cultural experiences and shopping havens for every member in the family to enjoy.

Lunar New Year Travel Highlights by Market:

• Travelers from China are flocking to Japan with Tokyo, Osaka and Sapporo the top international destination cities for Chinese travelers.

• Japan is the number one country for travelers from Thailand this Spring Festival, with eight of the top 10 cities in Japan.

• Meanwhile, Japanese travelers are heading to more tropical destinations this Lunar New Year – Thailand’s Bangkok, Pattaya and Chiang Mai scooping 1st, 3rd and 9th spots respectively while Singapore, Cebu and Honolulu come in 7th, 8th and 10th. Meanwhile Seoul moves up from 4th in 2019 to 2nd spot for this year.

• South Korean travelers are also heading for beach destinations to celebrate ‘Seollal’ with top ten entries including Nha Trang (#3), Da Nang (#4), (in Vietnam), Cebu (#6) (in Philippines), Guam (#8) (in Micronesia) and Bali (#10) (in Indonesia).

• Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand are the main beneficiaries from Singapore travelers this Lunar New Year, while Batam, Johor Bahru and Kuala Lumpur scoop the top three cities’ titles.

• Travelers from Taiwan are heading to international destinations to celebrate the Spring Festival are flocking to Japan with 7 of the top 10 top destinations within the country. South Korea’s Seoul (#6) and Busan (#9) are also winners this year.

• Vietnamese travelers celebrate ‘Tet Nguyen Dan’ (or Tet), and this year, once again, travelers seeking international destinations are heading to the bustling cosmopolitan cities Bangkok (#1), Singapore (#2), Taipei (#3) to celebrate.

• Malaysia, the second most visited country for travelers from across Asia this Lunar New Year, also scoops five of the top 10 international destinations for Indonesian travelers — Kuala Lumpur (#1), Genting Highlands (#4), Penang (#6), Johor Bahru (#8), and Kuching (#9).

• Malaysian travelers heading for international shores are choosing neighbouring Thailand for five of its top destination cities (Hat Yai, #1; Bangkok, #2; Krabi, #3; Phuket, #4; and Koh Lip, #10).

Q. Khuyen