Asia-Pacific Autumn Travel Boom: Chiang Mai Bookings Surge 84% as Japan Tops Foliage Rankings

Data released on 22 October 2026 by Trip.com Group reveals a major autumn travel boom across Asia-Pacific, driven by both leisure foliage tourism and urban exploration. Chiang Mai in northern Thailand recorded the largest city-level booking surge at 84.3% year-on-year, followed by Surabaya in Indonesia at 63.1%, Busan in South Korea at 62.7%, Manila in the Philippines at 55.1%, and Jakarta in Indonesia at 38.1%. Japan dominated global autumn foliage rankings, securing 11 of the world's top 12 spots according to Trip.Best's 2026 Global Top 50 Autumn Foliage Attractions list, with Kyoto's Arashiyama ranked first globally. South Korea also performed strongly, with Seoul recording a 37.1% increase and Jeju City up 31.4%. Generation Z showed the strongest flight-booking growth with double-digit increases, while Millennials remained the largest segment, accounting for nearly half of all hotel and flight bookings. In mainland China, multi-destination travel was a clear trend, with 62.7% of bookings covering two or more cities and average hotel stays exceeding two nights. The data points to a broadening of Asia-Pacific tourism beyond traditional gateway cities.