OPINION

Another cliff-hanger poll with some earthshaking results

Manga mania, comic book predictions, war, border tensions and kidnappings saw this year's 2025 Smart Travel Asia Best in Travel Poll turn into a veritable roller-coaster. The search for brand clarity was a major takeaway as was the demand for top service and the human touch.

by Vijay Verghese/ Editor

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A manga comic prediction about a Big Japan Quake on 5 July 2025 saw a great many flight cancellations from Hong Kong as the date neared. Our voting seismograph recorded the dip though Tokyo and Kyoto recovered to score high as Holiday Destinations in our Top 10 Lists/collage: Vijay Verghese

MAGAZINE POLLS often seem a mundane business with the usual winners and a plethora of categories to please all. Try ‘most anticipated opening’, which summons images of folks hugging themselves and shivering in excitement. Who are these people? Yet, watching our June-August reader vote seismograph, we spotted some definite tremors. What were people anticipating?

Continuing in the fine apocalyptic tradition of Godzilla and other space monsters who periodically terrorise Japan, manga comic creator Ryo Tatsuki had provoked some excitement in 1999, predicting a giant earthquake for Tokyo — precisely on 5 July 2025. Fan fears were stoked with a more recent reprint of the comic and then again after Japanese scientists calmly estimated a death toll of roughly 300,000 in the event of any serious Nankai Trough dislocation. As the date neared, panic mounted and many Hongkongers, for one, cancelled Japan holiday plans.

Votes for Japan — a traditionally popular destination —immediately dried up as beach destinations climbed. Yet travel confidence had recovered sufficiently by late July to enable a strong finish for both Tokyo and Kyoto as Top 10 choices.

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Continued instability in the Middle East impacted several prominent airlines, airports and destinations in that region. Qatar Airways and Emirates lost their exalted perches (though Qatar Airways narrowly held on to No.1 for Business Class) while Singapore Airlines snuck back into the No.1 position as the Best Airline Worldwide (and for Cabin Service too) shadowed by Cathay Pacific in second position. In many ways Cathay’s return marked a revival of Hong Kong’s fortunes after a few years in the doldrums with the city rating well for both Leisure and Business Meets and the airport and hotels performing well.

{the sharp rise in demand for family hotels with kid distractions boosted a surprising new category of accommodation — casino hotels...

The Thailand-Cambodia border crisis, talks and skirmishes — that resulted in the suspension of the Thai prime minister — buffeted Bangkok for a while though the episode failed to impact on Angkor’s standing. Several Chinese voters had already abandoned Thailand after reports surfaced about kidnappings and forced labour involving visitors from China. Despite this, the country witnessed a modest uptick to recover with Bangkok weighing in as the No.1 Holiday Destination.

Growing interest in culture and heritage saw some smaller destinations like Macau hold on to Top 10 ranks despite intense competition from nature and surf getaways. And the rise in demand for family hotels boosted a surprising new category of accommodation — casino hotels. This sees the rise of names like Okada Manila, MGM COTAI, and C.O.D Manila.

Confusion over brand was one of the biggest takeaways from the 2025 Smart Travel Asia Best in Travel Poll. As many as 48% of readers on ongoing surveys and focus groups said they had a very poor understanding of travel brands (38% were not really sure) after the mega-mergers and new line rollouts. As evidenced by mail-in queries and vote changes, the keenest demand for brand clarity was from long-haul markets like USA, Australia and UK as well as from high outbound travel countries Singapore, India, China, Malaysia and Thailand.

Was there a generational split? Yes. Younger travellers welcomed contactless innovation and design minimalism (their offbeat experimentation offering some delightful finds like Innit and Somewhere — both in Lombok) but older baby boomers and Gen-Xers pushed back against any loss of 'touch points', favouring traditional spots with familiar faces. What travellers want in 2025 is service and experience. Recognising this, our 'Best Hotel Service' category was created in 2024. Interestingly, the highest awardees for service are not necessarily luxe properties. Some are older classics or even unknowns. In both cases there is a clear promise of a relationship and therein lies the appeal. Watch for Philippines and Indian properties as rising stars here.

While total travel and income dipped, destination engagement was up dramatically with dining, culture, shopping and wellness leading the to-do list.

Smart Travel Asia launched in February 2003 as the region’s first fully online publication. It was considered a “mad” enterprise at the time. It continues to be. Many readers from our former print magazines migrated online with us and we thank them. Over 60% of readers visit us directly through bookmarks, referrals, monthly e-newsletters, social media, and newspaper and magazine reprints. This bypasses search in many instances and helps protect our reader privacy data. A modestly off-the-grid space is perfect for an independent boutique magazine like ours. Yet we are easily found on diverse search through platforms like Duck Duck Go, Bing, Baidu, Yandex, Naver, Kagi, SwissCows, ChatGPT and AI platforms.

To our readers: “May the Force be with you.” Thank you for voting and safe travels.