Recent data indicates a noticeable shift among tourists journeying to destinations across the Asia-Pacific region, including beloved Bali. Travelers are increasingly gravitating towards more individually tailored and deeply enriching travel experiences.
For the past half-decade, Bali has dedicated significant efforts to encourage visitors to embrace more culturally immersive and meaningful encounters. It seems these concerted initiatives are beginning to yield positive results.
While Bali has traditionally been celebrated for its exquisite beaches, abundant sunshine, and crystal-clear waters, the island also boasts one of the globe’s most distinctive cultures and a community renowned for its cultural generosity.
Holidaymakers arriving in Bali can easily confine themselves to the familiar comforts of a resort stay, seldom venturing beyond their hotel’s boundaries, opting for international cuisine, and having minimal interaction with the local culture.
Balinese leadership has been eager to move beyond this model in their latest tourism development plans and island-wide tourism strategies. Their aim is to ensure that tourism not only safeguards the islandâs cherished heritage but also sustains and champions the very best of its contemporary culture.
Insights from the online accommodation platform, booking.com, reveal that individuals planning trips to the Asia-Pacific region, including popular spots like Bali, are now favoring vacation rentals over traditional hotels. Moreover, there’s a growing preference for distinctive spaces and unique destinations. A rising desire exists to host friends and family during vacations, complete with the flexibility to dine and prepare meals in a âhome-away-from-homeâ setting.
Laura Houldsworth, Managing Director of Booking.com Asia Pacific, informed reporters, “Weâre observing a high volume of searches across the entire region. Bali remains a primary destination, but almost every country is now experiencing significant interest in this specific type of accommodation.”
She highlighted a surge in holiday home searches, noting a consistent flow of inquiries for various styles of vacation properties. This includes beachfront properties in prime coastal locations, traditional-style residences in Japan and South Korea, and charming wooden cabins in Vietnam and Thailand. Searches for private villas nestled in mountainous regions, lakeside cottages, and even luxury camping experiences are also on an upward trend. Such accommodation choices are readily available in areas like Kintamani and Bedugul within Bali.
Houldsworth further explained, “Today’s travelers are seeking out more personalized and profound experiences. Consequently, vacation homes are emerging as a pivotal element in this burgeoning trend.” These findings were derived from a survey conducted in July 2025, involving over 8,000 potential travelers to the Asia Pacific region. Key destinations that garnered extensive searches included Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand, India, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Houldsworth concluded her statements by emphasizing, “These discoveries also empower property owners to better grasp traveler preferences and adequately prepare for their guestsâ needs, ultimately bolstering the local economy.”
Booking.com isn’t the sole entity striving to assist property owners in better serving tourists and their local communities; Airbnb shares this objective. Over the past decade, Bali’s relationship with Airbnb and private villa rentals has been a complex mix of approval and apprehension.
On one side, the skyrocketing demand for these types of properties has fostered the growth of new businesses and drawn increased numbers of visitors to the island, thereby boosting revenue.
Conversely, unregulated tourism development has often led to the conversion of vast areas of productive agricultural land. This has placed considerable strain on existing infrastructure and inflicted immeasurable environmental damage.
In September 2025, Airbnb collaborated with UNESCO to introduce the âBali Cultural Guidebook.â This guide aims to support tourists during their journeys, helping them discover less-frequented cultural sites.
Airbnb has consistently advocated for and showcased the worldâs most unique lodging options, while UNESCO remains dedicated to the preservation and conservation of the planetâs most vital ecological and cultural landscapes.
The guidebook was consciously designed to equip travelers with the information needed to make more astute decisions, fostering truly meaningful travel experiences. It also serves tourism business owners and employees, enabling them to craft enriching experiences for tourists without compromising cultural values or their commitments to sustainability.
ARTICLE SUMMARY:
The article discusses how tourists visiting the Asia-Pacific, including Bali, are increasingly seeking personalized and meaningful travel experiences. Bali has focused on promoting culturally immersive tourism, shifting from typical resort stays. Data from booking.com shows a rising preference for vacation rentals over hotels, with travelers desiring unique spaces and the ability to host friends and family. Laura Houldsworth from booking.com highlighted Bali as a key destination in this trend, noting searches for various holiday home styles across the region. She emphasized that vacation homes fulfill the demand for personalized experiences, based on a July 2025 survey of 8,000 travelers. Airbnb has also engaged with this trend; despite past love-hate relationships due to unregulated development causing environmental damage, Airbnb partnered with UNESCO in September 2025 to launch the “Bali Cultural Guidebook.” This guide aims to help travelers discover cultural sites and empower tourism businesses to offer meaningful, sustainable experiences while preserving cultural values.
