In a region as culturally and economically diverse as Asia-Pacific, travel brands can’t afford a one-size-fits-all strategy. From Singapore to Indonesia to Japan, traveller behaviours, expectations, and digital habits vary widely. To stay ahead, brands must strike the right balance between global trends and local nuance.

That’s exactly what Rakuten Travel, one of Japan’s most influential online travel agencies, has done under the leadership of James Park, CEO of Rakuten Travel Singapore. From hyper-localised campaigns to mobile-first product design and AI-powered personalisation, Park’s team is transforming how travellers discover, book, and experience travel across APAC.

Think Global, Act Local: The Realities of APAC Booking Behavior

One of the biggest mistakes travel brands make is assuming regional homogeneity. In APAC, one size never fits all.

Rakuten Travel interprets global trends such as mobile-led discovery and a rising preference for experiential travel, through a local lens. For example:

• Singaporean travelers seek short-haul, urban relaxation getaways.
• Indonesian travelers prioritize nature and outdoor escapes.
• Japanese travelers lean toward wellness and cultural immersion.

These insights directly shape campaign messaging, user experience (UX) design, and even the types of properties featured on Rakuten’s platform.

Rakuten’s local teams are closest to the customer and quick to spot subtle shifts in behaviour. As James explains, ‘They’re closest to the customer and quick to pick up subtle changes in behavior.’ Combined with AI and analytics, this bottom-up model lets Rakuten act with real-time agility—critical in APAC’s fast-evolving markets.

💡Tip for brands: Combine AI with human intelligence at the local level. Your frontline teams are often your best sensors for shifting customer behaviors.

Experience-First Travel: Lessons from an Unlikely Campaign Win

An unexpected win came from a Wagyu Beef tourism package, bundled with hotel stays and tasting vouchers, in partnership with Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture. What began as a curious experiment quickly exceeded projections. As James Park notes, ‘Travelers are increasingly traveling for specific experiences - not just experiencing things while traveling.’

Experience the best of authentic Wagyu beef, a key part of Rakuten Travel's successful experience-first campaigns

📈 Action for brands: Identify culture-specific experiences that resonate by nationality then build partnerships around them.

Mobile-First Design: Reducing Friction Across the Journey

With mobile as the dominant booking channel across APAC, Rakuten Travel has made frictionless mobile UX a strategic priority. James points out how mobile comparison shopping can be frustrating for users. ‘On a phone, the smaller screen makes it harder to compare options… and annoying if you close the app and must start over.’ That’s why Rakuten prioritised features like:

• A search wizard that auto-remembers previously searched dates and destinations
• Quick links to hotels a user has already explored
• An intuitive resume function that lets users pick up where they left off without restarting their search

A seamless mobile search results page, showcasing hotels with clear pricing and availability for easy comparison.

✅ Key takeaway: Build intuitive mobile experiences aimed at delivering speed, convenience and continuity—critical for conversion in high-intent moments.

Booking Decisions in APAC Are Rooted in Culture, Family and Value

Three cultural and behavioral factors consistently influence bookings across the region:

1. Family Comes First

Multi-generational travel is on the rise, about 47% of global travellers are planning multi-generational trips in 2025, and in Hong Kong, it’s even higher, underscoring the importance of family bonding and tradition.

2. Value-Driven Decisions

Across Southeast Asia, affordability remains a top concern. Rakuten’s Super Sale campaign delivers 40–50% discounts by combining hotel and platform offers. This not only boosts bookings, especially among longer-stay visitors from South Asia, but also creates room for richer travel experiences within the same budget.

Rakuten Travel offers compelling discounts through seasonal sale coupons, enhancing value for travelers

3. Digital Confidence & Local Payment Adoption

In markets like Singapore and Indonesia, more than 50% of leisure travellers book online. Trust in digital platforms is high, with around 83% of travellers expressing confidence in online booking security. Rakuten also integrates popular local payment methods across markets to make the process even more seamless.

This foundation supports two larger trends:

• Group travel is rising globally, but holds particular cultural meaning in APAC.
• Outbound SEA travel is booming, with a 20–25% growth expected by 2025 though many still lean toward familiar destinations - with over half of top searches in markets like Vietnam, Malaysia, and Singapore staying within Southeast Asia.

🎯 Brand tip: Don’t treat these as just trends—treat them as deep-seated motivations when shaping campaign narratives or product flows.

Outbound Travel Growth: How to Inspire Beyond Familiarity

Southeast Asia is now one of the world’s most promising outbound travel engines. But despite increased spending power and better air connectivity, most travellers still favour familiar or regional destinations

Rakuten Travel is working to shift this mindset by curating destination stories beyond the obvious, by:

• Curating underexplored regions within Japan through a dedicated Travel Guides section
• Spotlighting authentic, local experiences in less touristy cities
• Investing in storytelling that brings hidden destinations to life

As a result, 30% of Rakuten bookings to Japan are now for smaller, less-touristy cities.

Discover picturesque landscapes and unique experiences, like the ones highlighted in our guide to Photogenic Spots in Summer Japan.

🌍 Insight for brands: you won’t expand traveller horizons with deals alone—you need content, context and inspiration.

Personalisation at Scale: Where AI Meets UX

Personalisation at scale is a central pillar of Rakuten Travel’s product strategy, and AI plays a key role in making it seamless and scalable.

The team uses machine learning to analyse user behaviour and surface relevant hotel options based on preferences and past interactions. The Rakuten Travel AI Assistant allows users to receive personalised hotel recommendations through natural-language chat. ‘We’re seeing conversion rates almost on par with traditional booking funnels,’ says Park. While still focused on accommodations, the long-term goal is to assist across the entire travel planning journey.

Even with sophisticated technology behind the scenes, the focus remains on simplicity, clarity, and speed. Rakuten's goal is to enhance, not complicate the traveller’s experience.

🔧 Pro tip: Use AI to handle the tedious parts of travel (e.g., price comparisons, reviews), freeing up the traveller’s mind for inspiration and decision-making.

Serving Diverse Travelers: Cultural Sensitivity in Product Design

In a culturally diverse region like APAC, sensitivity isn't optional, it’s essential.

Rakuten Travel is surfacing Muslim-friendly hotels that offer halal-certified meals, prayer facilities, and even family-appropriate onsen.

Rakuten Travel offers 'Muslim-friendly' meal plans, catering to diverse dietary and cultural needs

‘Tourism used to be general,’ says Park. ‘Now people realise it’s important to respect different cultures and religions.’ This approach reflects a deeper commitment to cultural inclusion, not just translation.

🧭 Reminder: Cultural nuance must extend into product, search filters, and promotions—not just language.

AI’s Next Frontier: Supporting the Entire Travel Lifecycle

AI is not just about booking optimisation. James envisions a future where AI dynamically adjusts itineraries, responds to disruptions, and learns from past trips to inspire future ones

The next frontier includes:

• Dynamic itinerary adjustment (e.g., if a flight is delayed, the system can automatically rebook accommodation or transportation)
• Real-time, in-trip support for dynamic travel experiences
• Post-travel engagement, using trip data to inform future recommendations

“AI won’t replace travel planning. But it will become a trusted co-pilot in navigating it.”

Agility in APAC: The Strategic Advantage for Travel Brands

Rakuten Travel applies four core principles to stay responsive:

• Run small experiments and scale what works
• Use modular systems that adapt to local requirements
• Design for regulatory complexity, using global standards like GDPR as a base to stay future-proof across all APAC markets.
• Empower local teams with decision-making authority. As Park notes, ‘They can help your business respond faster than a centralized model can.’

💬 Leadership insight: “Always begin with why!” Whether across tech, marketing or ops—shared purpose drives faster and more effective collaboration.

The Innovation Horizon: What Comes Next?

For Rakuten, the future isn’t just about AI — it’s about what AI enables. AI may drive efficiency but for James, the next wave of innovation will be fuelled by partnerships.

With increased speed and automation, Rakuten can now pursue high-impact collaborations more dynamically. With operations streamlined, Rakuten now invests in high-impact partnerships—from tourism boards to agriculture ministries — rapidly experimenting and unlocking cross-industry value.

Closing Thoughts for Digital Travel Leaders

The future of travel in APAC will belong to brands that move with insight, adapt with purpose, and innovate with empathy.

Rakuten Travel’s success shows what’s possible when global strategy meets local intelligence, when AI enhances, not overwhelms the traveller experience, and when cultural relevance is built into every touchpoint.

The path forward is clear: design for nuance, experiment boldly, and build agile systems that foster a collaborative culture and unlock regional potential.

“Without a clear objective,” Park says, “you risk just completing tasks instead of achieving outcomes.”

Our contributor:

James Park, CEO, Rakuten Travel Singapore