Vietnam leads growth as Southeast Asians increasingly traveling within the region
Agoda’s H1 2026 data shows Southeast Asian travellers are increasingly booking trips to neighboring countries, with Vietnam the standout destination; accommodation searches rose across every regional market, from 20% (Indonesia) to 98% (Philippines), and Vietnam entered the Philippines’ top five outbound flight destinations for the first time, driven by visa-free access, longer stays, and better flight connectivity.
Malaysia also gained traction, notably in Cambodia, where searches rose 24% and Malaysia became the second most popular outbound flight destination, aided by Tourism Malaysia’s Visit Malaysia 2026 campaign. Indonesia saw growing interest too, up 18% from Malaysia and 17% from Singapore. Agoda SVP Andrew Smith said travelers are opting for closer, lower-friction destinations rather than pulling back from travel altogether. This aligns with survey findings that nearly a third of travellers plan short 1-3 day trips in 2026.
Cloudbeds launches RMS, combining unified hotel data with automated pricing
Cloudbeds has launched Cloudbeds RMS, a new revenue management system that unifies real-time property performance, market intelligence, pricing recommendations and automated rate execution into one system, built on Cloudbeds’ unified data layer, Signals. The RMS draws on data already flowing through the hotel, reservations, booking pace, occupancy, time to arrival, length of stay and channel behavior, alongside competitor rates and market demand to produce more informed forecasts and pricing recommendations.
Jason Richards, Cloudbeds’ Chief Business Officer, said the system brings revenue intelligence to hotels without requiring a large revenue team or complex tech stack. Key features include deeper pricing intelligence via Signals’ unified data – “Autopilot” automation that manages routine rate changes within each property’s defined strategy and limits while allowing manual intervention, native integration with Cloudbeds PMS and channel manager for faster action on pricing opportunities, and forecast/occupancy insights that can trigger targeted campaigns through Cloudbeds Guest Marketing during slower periods.
Zeal Connect launches AI-first travel CRM
Zeal Connect has launched Zeal CRM, an AI-first CRM for travel that completes a platform covering the full booking lifecycle, from enquiry to quote to sale to service, for OTAs, B2B travel agencies, TMCs, DMCs and tour operators. Zeal CRM’s AI structures enquiries, versions quotes as clients change plans and pulls in supplier pricing during quote-building. Won deals then flow into Zeal Desk, where amendments, cancellations and escalations are managed against live booking data, keeping everything in one record.
Zeal’s products are already live at companies including EaseMyTrip, Go Global Travel, Tailor Beds, Akbar Travels, TripMax, iTrip and Peak Point across India, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Europe and Southeast Asia. Classic Holidays’ Managing Director Rishabh Doshi said the platform helped handle about 40% more volume this year with the same team and faster customer response times. Zeal Connect co-founder and CEO Yogesh Chaudhari said the next phase of travel tech is about maintaining service quality at scale without proportional headcount growth.
Airbnb appoints Zhiqiu Kong as Regional Director for Asia
Airbnb has appointed longtime company veteran Zhiqiu Kong as Regional Director for Asia, expanding his role from leading China operations to overseeing China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia under one regional leadership structure. He has over a decade at Airbnb across product, growth and business strategy, and said Asia, representing about a third of global travel demand, remains central to the company’s growth given its expanding traveler base and large Gen Z population. As part of the reshuffle, Michael He, who has nine years at Airbnb and most recently led China’s Business and Growth Operations, becomes Country Manager for China, reporting to Kong. He’ll lead China strategy, market partnerships and stakeholder relations. Airbnb said the changes reflect its commitment to accelerating sustainable growth across Asia.
China’s OTA giants face slowing growth, regulatory crackdown and AI disruption
Phocuswright’s China Travel Market Essentials 2026 highlights that China’s travel market is growing at a moderate pace, with online penetration advancing via mobile adoption in lower-tier cities, even as deflationary pressure tempers headline growth. China’s OTA sector generated $60.9 billion in gross revenue in 2025, on a projected trajectory from $51.9 billion in 2023 to $82.2 billion by 2029, but the market is looking over-supplied as a handful of major players compete amid moderating growth and weakening profit forecasts. Regulatory scrutiny has intensified as Beijing targets “neijuan” (involution/zero-sum price competition). In July 2026, Trip.com, China’s largest OTA, where accommodation makes up 42% of 2025 revenue, was fined $763 million following a six-month anti-monopoly investigation into illegal pricing, traffic allocation and platform exclusivity practices with hotel suppliers, marking the sector’s first anti-monopoly case involving an OTA.
Meanwhile, AI-enabled e-commerce is reshaping how travelers search, compare and book, making them more informed and assertive, with booking windows growing shorter and more volatile, a shift set to test all major players, including pure OTAs like Trip.com, conglomerate-backed platforms like Fliggy (Alibaba) and Tongcheng (Tencent), and mega-marketplaces like Meituan and JD.com. To strengthen its position, Tongcheng, majority-backed by Trip.com and Tencent, has pursued cross-segment acquisitions, including Wanda Hotels & Resorts, a stake in Hunan Airlines, and a potential deal for ride-hailing firm Dida. Social commerce platforms like Douyin and Xiaohongshu also pose competitive pressure, offering travel-adjacent options without relying on travel for their core revenue.
