Lunar New Year holidays are now not just a time for families to gather and welcome the New Year it seems.
The biggest world migration takes place during the Lunar New Year season when people travel across borders to visit friends and family.
Some Asian travellers are taking the holiday opportunity to fly off overseas for long vacations.
It appears that Japan can expect more tourists flocking to Tokyo this Lunar New Year holiday, as the capital of Japan has taken the spot of top tourist destination away from Bangkok this year.
Tourists are flocking to Tokyo, Bangkok and Taipei, with Taiwan also being a popular destination this year.
Four of the island republic’s cities, namely Taipei (#3), Taichung (#4), Kaohsiung (#6) and Tainan (#9) are listed in this year’s top ten destinations.
With their exquisite blend of delicious cuisine, cultural experiences and shopping havens – Japan, Malaysia and Thailand are the top three overall destinations for Asian travellers this year.
Chinese travellers are making a beeline to the Land of the Rising Sun with Tokyo, Osaka and Sapporo being the hot destinations.
Thai tourists are also heading to Japan, with eight of their ten most visited cities being Japanese.
Japan is also receiving flocks of Taiwanese tourists, with the country having seven of the top ten destinations favoured by Taiwanese holidaymakers.
Inversely, Japanese holidaymakers are heading to warmer lands and are landing in Bangkok (#1), Pattaya (#3) and Chiang Mai (#9).
They are also heading to Seoul (#2), Singapore (#7), Cebu (#8) and Honolulu (#10).
South Korean travellers are hitting the beaches of Nha Trang (#3), Da Nang (#4), Cebu (#6), Guam (#8) and Bali (#10).
Singaporeans meanwhile are not travelling too far away, heading to Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand.
Batam, Johor Bahru and Kuala Lumpur are the top three cities playing host to these Singaporean vacationers.
Malaysia has also been receiving an influx of Indonesian tourists, with our neighbours hitting Kuala Lumpur (#1), Gentling Highlands (#4), Penang (#6), Johor Bahru (#8) and Kuching (#9).
Vietnamese travellers celebrating Tet Nguen Dan are heading to Bangkok (#1), Singapore (#2) and Taipei (#3) to celebrate the Lunar New Year.
So, where are your fellow Malaysians heading this year? Most Malaysian tourists are heading north to Hat Yai (#1), Bangkok (#2), Krabi (#3), Phuket (#4) and Koh Lipe (#10).
Being located right in the heart of Southeast Asia, Malaysia is a tourist magnet during this Lunar New Year, being the second-most visited country by Asians in 2020.