Travellers across Southeast Asia are looking beyond the region's best-known East Asian gateways, with Jeju, Fukuoka and Hangzhou gaining ground in both flight and hotel bookings, according to new booking data from travel platform Traveloka published on 9 November 2026.

The figures, based on year-on-year flight and hotel booking data, show different destinations standing out in each of the five Southeast Asian markets tracked, as travellers swap the usual Seoul, Tokyo and Shanghai itineraries for smaller cities and island escapes.

Jeju leads for Singapore, Fukuoka for Indonesia

For Traveloka's Singapore users, Jeju is the stand-out destination, with flights to the South Korean island doubling, helped by a strengthening of the direct flight route. The island offers a different pace from the usual Seoul-centred trip, with the volcanic cone of Seongsan Ilchulbong rising above the sea and coastal scenery drawing visitors away from the capital.

In Indonesia, Fukuoka is becoming a favourite. Flight bookings to the Japanese city have risen by more than 20 per cent, while hotel bookings there have grown by close to 75 per cent year on year. Visitors can spend an evening at the city's yatai food stalls around Tenjin and Nakasu, then explore Ohori Park's lake and gardens by day, with the oyster huts of Itoshima offering a quieter coastal experience nearby.

Hangzhou, Chengdu and Xiamen gain in China

Hangzhou has captured the imagination of travellers from Vietnam, where flight and accommodation bookings have more than doubled year on year, spurred by the introduction of new routes. The city's West Lake landscape, with its causeways, gardens and pagodas framed by wooded hills, is the main draw.

In Thailand, social media visibility has played a key role in Chengdu's share of China flight and accommodation bookings doubling. The UNESCO City of Gastronomy's spicy Sichuan cuisine has proved popular with Thai travellers. Travellers from Malaysia, meanwhile, are flocking to Xiamen, with its share of China flight bookings more than doubling. The car-free streets of Kulangsu, known as Piano Island, offer well-preserved colonial-era architecture and the world's largest piano museum.

Jeju and Hangzhou also topped the Singapore and Vietnam international destination lists respectively in the Q3 2026 Traveloka SEA Index, which covers July to September. Traveloka said the destination-share figures in its latest release come from a separate year-to-date analysis.

Sale runs until 12 November

Alex Jung, Head of Marketing at Traveloka, said East Asia was a kaleidoscope of travel opportunities and that the destinations gaining ground varied across Southeast Asia, with Jeju, Fukuoka and Hangzhou just a few of the fresh ideas for travellers looking for something different.

Traveloka's 11.11 Epic Sale runs from 3 to 12 November across Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, Japan and South Korea, with a regional focus on China, Japan and South Korea. Anchor offers include up to 80 per cent off flights to China, Japan and South Korea in Indonesia, up to THB 11,000 off flights to China, Japan and Taiwan in Thailand, and an extra discount of up to 25 per cent on hotel flash sales in Singapore.

Sources: PR Newswire (Traveloka), AAP.