HONG KONG, 1 September 2025: Bangkok and destinations across Thailand continued to make a strong showing in the 2025 Best in Travel Poll for SmartTravelAsia released on Monday, 1 September, despite the absence of THAI Airways on the list of the Top 10 Airlines Overall Worldwide and for Business Class.
Bangkok ranked first as the top Holiday Destination (with Bali and Tokyo sharing the second spot).
Singapore continued to make a strong showing, ranking first for Business & Meetings, with Singapore Airlines ranked No. 1 Overall Worldwide (up two places) and Cabin Service.
Singapore Changi Airport continued its dominance at No.1 among the World’s Best Airports.
Hong Kong made a massive comeback after several years in the doldrums. Cathay Pacific Airways ranked No.2 Overall Worldwide (after SQ) and for Cabin Service. The city ranked No. 4 for Meetings and No. 5 for Leisure.
This year’s awards were dominated by hotels in Bangkok, Bali, Singapore, Vietnam and Tokyo, with Hong Kong making a strong showing.
TOP BRANDS 2025: Singapore Airlines (Best Airline Worldwide, and for Cabin Service); Qatar Airways (Best Business Class Worldwide); AirAsia (Best Budget Airline Asia); Singapore Changi Airport (Best Airport Worldwide); Bangkok (Best Holiday Destination); Singapore (Best City for Meetings); Amanpuri (Best Luxury Hotel Asia); Capella Hanoi (Best Boutique/Lifestyle Hotel, Asia); The Ritz-Carlton Bangkok (Best Business & Meetings Hotel); Buahan, a Banyan Tree Escape (Best Sustainable Hotel, Asia); Bulgari Resort Bali (Best Spa Hotel); The Oberoi Udaivilas (Best Wedding Hotel); Centara Grand Mirage Beach Resort Pattaya (Best Family Hotel), Peninsula Manila (Best Hotel for Service); Dusit Thani Bangkok (Best New Hotel).
As a group, Hyatt dominated the Smart Travel Asia lists with 13 positions, followed by Raffles and Ritz (six each), Aman Resorts and Banyan Tree (five each), and Capella, Mandarin Oriental, Peninsula and MGM (each with four rankings).
BRAND CONFUSION: One of the biggest takeaways from the 2025 SmartTravelAsia Best in Travel Poll was the growing confusion regarding brands. As many as 48% of readers in ongoing surveys and focus groups reported having a very poor understanding of travel brands today (38% were not really sure) following the mega-mergers and new line rollouts. This year’s votes saw a surge in interest from long-haul regions, including the USA, Australia, and the UK, as well as from regional hubs such as Singapore, India, China, Malaysia, and Thailand. As outbound travel increases again, this was where the search for brand clarity was most keen, judging from the queries received.
WARS, HERITAGE, FAMILY: The continued instability in the Middle East has impacted several prominent airlines, airports, and destinations in the region. Thailand lost some votes as the Cambodia border crisis brewed, but saw a late surge to recover. Japan, too, saw a brief dip in travel from Hong Kong in early July as manga comic Big Quake predictions spread, causing flight cancellations from Hong Kong; however, both Tokyo and Kyoto ultimately attracted the votes.
Growing interest in culture and heritage has enabled some smaller destinations to maintain their Top 10 rankings despite intense competition. And the surge in demand for fun family hotels boosted a surprising new category of accommodation — casino hotels (with Marina Bay Sands, MGM COTAI, MGM MACAU, Wynn Macau, OKADA Manila and Hyatt City of Dreams Manila emerging on the Top 10 Lists).
GENERATIONAL SPLIT: What travellers want in 2025 is service and experience — some of this is a response to over-automation. The ‘Best Hotel Service’ category was added in 2024. Interestingly, the highest awardees here are not always luxury properties. Some are older classics or unknowns. Younger travellers welcomed contactless innovation and design minimalism (their offbeat experimentation offering some delightful finds). Still, older baby boomers and Gen-Xers pushed back against any loss of ‘touch points’, favouring traditional spots with familiar faces.
TRIPS AND EARNINGS DIP: Readers on average took 12 air trips (down from 16) in the past year (with 12% taking 31-40 air trips and 3% over 50 trips). They earned an average USD152,000 per annum (household income; down from USD172,000 in 2024).
ENGAGEMENT RISES: Key interests were broadly similar to those in 2024, but were pursued more actively — dining and nightlife (74%); culture, heritage, and history (69%); shopping (69%); spas and wellness (68%); and adventure and nature (58%). These were followed by child-friendly resorts (58%); conferences and meetings (46%); resort weddings (36%); golf (24%); casinos (23%); cruises (21%); and diving (15%).
The 2025 Best in Travel Poll for SmartTravelAsia.com readers (June to late August) will be released on Monday, 1 September. See Results of the Smart Travel Asia Best in Travel Poll 2025
OVER 20 YEARS: SmartTravelAsia launched in February 2003 as the region’s first fully online publication. Many readers from its former print magazines migrated to the online publication. Over 60% visit the magazine directly via bookmarks, referrals, monthly e-newsletters, social media and newspaper and magazine reprints, as well as through diverse search engines including Bing, Duck Duck Go, Baidu, Yandex, Naver, Kagi, SwissCows, ChatGPT and new AI platforms.
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