A new study of 3,000 travelers across five Asia-Pacific markets finds that travel decision-making in Southeast Asia has shifted from aspirational to intentional, with AI reinforcing brand loyalty rather than expanding discovery.
The findings come from dentsu’s Consumer Navigator: The APAC Consumer Travel Landscape (Q1 2026), which found that 57% of Asia-Pacific travelers use AI for travel planning, yet 53% rate AI recommendations as generic and 42% say AI makes them more likely to stick with familiar brands. According to the release, AI is functioning as a validation filter rather than a discovery engine, favoring brands that are already known and trusted.
According to the report, AI is heavily used during the pre-travel planning phase, with destination research emerging as the most common use case at 62%. Usage declines significantly during and after the trip, pointing to a gap in how AI is being used for real-time assistance and post-travel engagement.
The report release share insights on Malaysia and Vietnam in detail.
Malaysia
In Malaysia, 67% of travelers rely on social media for inspiration, 67% are choosing more affordable destinations, and 63% are influenced by geopolitical concerns, according to the study.
“Travel marketing often assumes that more inspiration automatically creates more demand. Malaysia proves the opposite,” said Audrey Chong, CEO, Malaysia, dentsu.
“Malaysian travelers have developed an unusually sharp instinct for separating perception from reality. Years of economic pressure and digital saturation have created consumers who are incredibly adaptive, knowing know how to navigate abundance without fully trusting it. That changes the role of branding entirely. This is where inspiration may open the door, but credibility is what gets a brand invited in.”
Malaysia Highlights
- 67% rely on social media for inspiration
- 67% are choosing more affordable destinations
- 63% are influenced by geopolitical concerns
Vietnam
Vietnam’s travelers show the highest tendency to prioritize experiences among APAC markets — 12 points above the regional average — yet the country also recorded the highest trip postponement rate in the region at 31%. An additional 63% are navigating geopolitical caution, and 40% see travel as an extension of everyday life, according to the findings.
“Vietnam’s travel mindset today is incredibly revealing of where Southeast Asia is heading next. This is a market with enormous appetite for experience, self-expression and personal enrichment, but also one that is acutely aware of constraint,” said Thu Nguyen, CEO, Vietnam, dentsu.
“Vietnamese consumers are simply becoming more selective about what deserves emotional and financial investment. That makes this one of the most emotionally intelligent travel markets in the region, but also one operating with far more nuance than many brands realise.”
Vietnam Highlights
- Highest propensity to prioritise experiences (12 points above regional
average) - Highest trip postponement in APAC (31%)
- 63% are navigating geopolitical caution
- 40% see travel as an extension of everyday life
Dentsu adds in the release: “Travelers are becoming more intentional, more emotionally selective, and far less easily persuaded by visibility alone. AI may be accelerating discovery, but it is also compressing consideration.”
“For travel brands across Southeast Asia, that is the real shift emerging from the study, which shows that the future of travel marketing will be won by emotional credibility, distinctiveness, and the ability to remain meaningful after the inspiration fades.”
