The hospitality and leisure group has signed memorandums of understanding with CAITO and Klook to strengthen its brand presence among Filipino travellers and widen distribution for its resort, golf, entertainment, and travel experience offerings across Vietnam.

The agreements were signed during the Vietnam–Philippines Business Forum held alongside the official visit of Tô Lâmto the Philippines.

Under the partnership, CAITO—one of the Philippines’ growing tourism industry networks—will support Vinpearl’s visibility within the local travel trade sector while helping promote its hospitality and MICE offerings in destinations including Nha Trang, Phu Quoc, and Da Nang.

Meanwhile, the collaboration with Klook will focus on expanding strategic distribution, digital tourism marketing, and travel promotion efforts across the Philippines and the wider Southeast Asian market.

Ngo Thi Huong, Chief Executive Officer of Vinpearl, said the Philippines agreements form part of a broader regional expansion drive that also includes partnerships in Thailand and Singapore.

“Vinpearl aims to drive high-quality inbound tourism to Vietnam, strengthen connectivity among ASEAN markets, and enhance the competitiveness of Vietnam’s tourism industry,” she said.

Michelle Ho, Chief Executive Officer of Klook Philippines, said Vinpearl’s integrated tourism model positions it strongly within the region’s premium travel market.

“We believe our partnership with Vinpearl will further enhance the appeal of Nha Trang, Phu Quoc and Da Nang among travelers across the region,” she said.

The latest agreements follow Vinpearl’s earlier tie-ups with regional travel and booking players including Agoda, AirAsia MOVE, BeMyGuest, and GlobalTix as the company expands its international tourism distribution network.

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Launched in January under the concept “Healing is the New Luxury”, the campaign reflects a shift in Thailand’s tourism strategy towards experiences centred on well-being, cultural immersion, and sustainability.

British singer-songwriter Henry Moodie features in the campaign’s creative, with a film documenting his travels across southern Thailand. Presented at The Cinema at Selfridges, the film follows his journey through Krabi and Trang, including visits to Ko Muk and Ko Kradan, as well as interactions with the Na Muen Sri community.

The campaign also includes a series of creator-led trips across the country, highlighting local experiences tied to wellness and cultural discovery, including cuisine, healing arts, heritage, and nature-based activities. Participating creators visited destinations such as Chumphon, Ranong, Chiang Mai, Sukhothai, Phang Nga, and Khao Lak.

TAT said the campaign aligns with its “Value over Volume” strategy, which aims to encourage deeper engagement with local communities while supporting sustainable tourism growth, as Thailand continues to reposition its tourism offerings around quality and meaningful travel experiences.

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The initiative, titled “We Don’t Wait for Fun”, targets early-career travellers aged 25 to 39 and aims to present Singapore as less stopover hub, more creative playground. 

The push will unfold partly through a debut partnership with ComplexCon in Hong Kong this month and a collaboration with Singaporean visual artist tobyato.

The campaign paints Singapore as a place where heritage and street culture rub shoulders. Old shophouses meet skate culture. 

Campaign messaging leans on three themes: “Compact Adventures”, “Unexpected Experiments”, and “Pioneering Ideas”. 

The first plays to geography. A traveller might start the day exploring murals in the Bugis district, swing east to the Peranakan shophouses of Katong-Joo Chiat, then chase adrenaline at HyperDrive on Sentosa before ending the night among the bars of Clarke Quay.

“Unexpected Experiments” pushes the city’s contrasts. Visitors can surf, ski, and skate at Trifecta, spot wildlife after dark at the Night Safari, or zipline through the trees at Mega Adventure Park.

Then comes the spectacle. “Pioneering Ideas” points to large-scale attractions such as the light displays at Gardens by the Bay and the nightly Wings of Time Fireworks Symphony performance—crowd-pleasers that double as Instagram bait for the social-media generation.

The street-culture angle will take centre stage at ComplexCon Hong Kong on 21–22 March. 

There, STB will unveil a three-metre “Sneaker Stone Dragon” installation designed by tobyato, blending sneaker aesthetics with traditional Asian guardian-lion motifs. 

The artwork draws inspiration from the historic Dragon’s Teeth Gate, a rocky landmark that once marked Singapore’s harbour entrance.

The result is deliberately hybrid: stone mythology meets sneaker culture. Laces, stitching, and bold colourways wrap around a dragon form—a nod to Singapore’s past while speaking the visual language of modern streetwear.

Visitors will also be able to win limited-edition collectibles designed by the artist, including toy sculptures, keychains, sports jerseys, socks, and stickers. 

A nostalgic playground game—Goli Shoot—will feature at the booth, echoing the marble-shooting pastime common in Singapore’s old kampongs and schoolyards.

Beyond the exhibition floor, the tourism board is linking the campaign to travel bookings through a partnership with ShopBack, the regional shopping and rewards platform. 

The promotion runs until 30 April and offers Hong Kong users travel perks tied to trips to Singapore.

“Our ‘We Don’t Wait for Fun’ campaign aims to spark curiosity among Hong Kong’s next generation of explorers,” said Andrew Phua, chief representative and executive director for Greater China at the Singapore Tourism Board. “Working with ComplexCon and tobyato invites travellers to see Singapore as a place where culture, creativity, and spontaneity meet.”

For tobyato, the collaboration draws on the city’s contradictions.

“Singapore is full of contrasts—old and new, serious and playful,” he said. “This project takes something rooted in heritage and remixes it through the lens of today’s street culture.”

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The revamped application will introduce an AI-powered chatbot designed to provide real-time assistance and personalised recommendations to users. Tourism experiences offered through Mastercard’s Priceless programme will also be integrated into the app, including selected exclusive privileges.

In addition, the app will feature travel-planning tools that allow users to create itineraries and explore destinations and attractions across the country. According to TAT, the function is intended to help travellers discover merchants, local communities, culinary experiences, and other tourism offerings, with the aim of supporting longer stays, broader spending distribution, and opportunities for local enterprises and SMEs.

“The revamped Amazing Thailand app represents a significant step forward in how we welcome and support visitors to Thailand,” said Kittipong Prapatthong, TAT deputy governor for digital, research and development. “By enhancing the end-to-end travel experience through a trusted national platform, we are strengthening Thailand’s competitiveness as a global tourism destination while creating greater opportunity for local communities and businesses.”

TAT said the platform was developed in alignment with its Amazing 5 Economy framework, which focuses on revenue generation, innovation, and sustainable tourism growth.

“Tourism growth today depends on trust, confidence, and seamless digital experiences. Through our collaboration with the Tourism Authority of Thailand, we are helping build a national platform that makes it easier for visitors to move, discover, and engage across the country with confidence,” said Safdar Khan, division president of Southeast Asia at Mastercard.

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The electronic dance music festival is traditionally held in Antwerp, with select editions mounted in other international locations. The Pattaya staging marks its first edition in Asia, a move that TAT said supports Thailand’s ambition to position itself as a “world class event hub destination”.

Thapanee Kiatphaibool, TAT governor, said, “The arrival of Tomorrowland in Thailand is a proud milestone for our country. It reflects strong international confidence in Thailand’s ability to host world-class experiences, while giving us a powerful platform to showcase the warmth of Thai hospitality to the world.”

The Thailand edition will adopt the overarching theme “Consciencia”, consistent with the editions in Belgium and Brazil. According to TAT, the concept reflects six core human emotions: wonder, love, anger, happiness, desire, and sadness. Programme elements include music curation, stage design, and an immersive narrative that are expected to reflect the theme.

The three-day event will feature six stages, with the Mainstage serving as the centrepiece. Other stages, including CORE and Freedom, will also be presented in Asia for the first time.

TAT said the event is expected to support tourism and visitor spending, in line with its broader event marketing strategy. 

Nat Kruthasoot, TAT deputy governor for tourism products and business, said, “Tomorrowland Thailand will drive high-value tourism, engage a new generation of global travellers and contribute to balanced, sustainable long-term economic growth.”

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Announced in Singapore on 25 February 2026, the agreement builds on a collaboration that began in 2018 and aims to strengthen Singapore’s position as a global travel destination while supporting local businesses through mobile-first services, digital connectivity, and data-driven insights.

The partnership will expand joint marketing campaigns across key markets, improve mobile discovery and payment services for travellers, and enhance data-sharing capabilities to better understand visitor behaviour. 

Melissa Ow, chief executive of the Singapore Tourism Board, said, “We are pleased to renew our strategic partnership with Ant International and look forward to unlocking new opportunities across key markets through Alipay+’s extensive digital wallet network. “

Initiatives will support Singapore’s long-term tourism strategy by stimulating demand and developing a future-ready travel sector.

“By combining our destination expertise with their payment technology and data capabilities, we can respond to the evolving traveller demand more nimbly and create a more seamless experiences for visitors whilst driving meaningful growth in tourism spending,” Ow added. 

Through Alipay+, merchants in Singapore can accept 25 international e-wallets and banking apps, allowing travellers from 17 markets to pay using familiar mobile payment services. 

Both organisations will also expand travel technology initiatives, including AI-powered services that provide personalised recommendations, offers, transportation information, and translation tools within partner apps.

Peng Yang, chief executive officer of Ant International, said, “Destinations are dynamic digital ecosystems that connect culture and commerce across borders, driving economic impact and inclusion.”

Yang added, “The Singapore Tourism Board has set the benchmark for how innovation, trust and public-private collaboration can power a world-class tourism economy. Together, we will support Singapore’s ambition to inspire not just as a place to visit, but one that shapes the future of travel and its shared value to communities.”

The partnership will continue destination marketing campaigns promoting Singapore to regional travellers, including a 2026 campaign featuring Dylan Wang during the Chinese New Year travel period.

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Under the MoU, the two parties will collaborate on content development and online promotions, share and analyse travel data to better understand visitor behaviour, implement sustainable tourism initiatives to manage visitor flows, and deploy digital solutions to improve traveller convenience and support local tourism stakeholders.

The agreement reflects a shift toward digital-first destination management. Initiatives under the partnership will explore technologies such as digital content solutions and audio guides, enhancing the visitor journey while helping local businesses adapt to evolving travel patterns.

The collaboration leverages Klook’s data and digital infrastructure alongside OCTB’s on-the-ground expertise to encourage exploration beyond Osaka’s city centre.

Insights from Klook’s Travel Pulse 2026 indicate strong international interest in Osaka. Among travellers planning a Japan visit in 2026, 48.6% intend to include Osaka, with Millennials showing higher intent (53.4%) compared with Gen Z (43.5%), signalling potential for increased tourism spending.

Osaka is increasingly positioned not just as a destination but as a gateway connecting travellers to surrounding regions. Klook’s platform data over the past year highlights strong mobility-related bookings — including JR Kansai passes, Shinkansen tickets, and car rentals — suggesting visitors are exploring beyond the city.

“At Klook, we see platforms as infrastructure for discovery. Insights from Travel Pulse show that travellers are moving beyond single-city itineraries, and partnerships like this allow us to translate those signals into real-world experiences,” said Wataru Masuda, general manager at Klook Japan.

These trends point to a broader shift in travel behaviour, with major cities serving as launchpads for multi-destination journeys. Partnerships like this MoU use data and discovery to support regional connectivity, distribute visitor demand more sustainably, and foster inclusive tourism growth across Osaka Prefecture.

Hiroshi Mizohata, chairman of the Osaka Convention & Tourism Bureau, said, “Osaka tourism is currently at a structural turning point. Beyond simply increasing visitor numbers, it is essential to create experiential value across the entire prefecture and to pursue continuous improvement based on data.” 

He added, “This partnership aims to refine the unique strengths of each municipality into market-ready products and to create an environment in which travellers can more easily discover new and exciting experiences.”

By combining Klook’s market data and expertise with OCTB’s research capabilities and regional knowledge, we will work together to build effective strategies that achieve both broader economic impact and sustainable growth.

Masuda also commented, “Working closely with OCTB enables us to connect data, technology, and storytelling to help travellers explore Osaka more thoroughly, while supporting small and medium-sized merchants beyond Osaka City in reaching global travellers through Klook’s platform. By amplifying discovery of experiences across the wider prefecture, we aim to encourage more balanced visitor flows that benefit local communities.”

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The agreement was formalised during a ceremonial contract signing at BYD Manila Bay, with the planned journey to be supported by ACMobility’s charging infrastructure.

“This partnership between ACMobility, BYD, and the Department of Tourism is a defining moment for sustainable travel in our country. Together, we are leading the charge to reshape the way Filipinos travel and experience the Philippines. By breaking the old mold of mobility we are able to fuel tourism with zero emissions,” said Jaime Alfonso Zobel De Ayala, CEO of ACMobility.

Moreover, the initiative will also utilise ACMobility’s Philippine EV Spine, a nationwide network designed to enable long-distance electric travel from Pagudpud to General Santos City. By integrating EV infrastructure with DOT Tourist Rest Areas, the campaign aims to highlight destinations across the country while supporting tourism activity through expanded mobility options.

“The ‘Drive Electric. Love Pinas.’ campaign is a transformative step in our mission to champion a tourism industry that is substantive, purposeful, and deeply rooted in stewardship. The initiative aligns tourism development with national policy directions on sustainability and clean energy, ensuring that as we move toward recovery and transformation, we do so with a clear commitment to environmental responsibility,” added Christina Garcia Frasco, secretary of the Department of Tourism.

Additionally, the campaign is scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2026 and will be led by Filipino-American travel vlogger Wil Dasovich, who will serve as lead navigator for a road trip across the Philippines, intending to showcase local culture and landmarks in support of the DOT’s “Love the Philippines” tourism messaging.

Bob Palanca, managing director of BYD Cars Philippines, also commented, “With this partnership, we are delivering more than just world-class electric vehicles; we are also providing Filipinos the ultimate freedom to explore our beautiful country with absolute peace of mind. We are proud to prove that with BYD and the right infrastructure, there are no boundaries to how far our passion for sustainable local travel can take us.”

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For marketers, this is a pivotal opportunity to leverage high-intent sensory signals. This meant that there is a shift in how marketing strategies and advertising techniques can be curated to adapt to these emerging preferences. 

In this latest MARKETECH APAC What’s NEXT interview, Putri Luciana Kuswara, Yango Ads’ Agency Partnership Development Manager for Asia, based in Indonesia, details how AI-driven adtech is dismantling the “ROI-gate” through precision localisation and how travelling has met a new destination.

Navigating shifting corridors

When asked how brands could adapt to travel demand shifts, Luciana highlighted vital numbers: according to recent UN Tourism Data, the first nine months of 2025 saw growth in arrivals to the region by 8%, reaching about 90% of pre-pandemic numbers.

This data, according to Luciana, entails a stern fact: international travel across APAC is recovering strongly, but unevenly. 

“While overall outbound travel from countries like China remain[s] a major engine of demand across APAC, patterns are shifting with some traditional tourism routes softening due to geopolitical dynamics,” she explained.

These are all occurring alongside what she called ’emerging corridors and segments’.

“For brands, this matters because culinary travel creates high-intent, highly contextual moments: travellers researching where to eat, what to book, where to go next, and how to share the experience. These moments are rich in signals and evolve quickly across platforms, formats, and markets.”

She added that this entails how brands could utilise adtech not to push messages, but rather to stay in step with these behaviours by identifying emerging corridors early. 

Adding to this, Luciana noted the importance of adapting creatives to local cultures to reach travellers, calling this  ‘turning inspiration into action’. This matters especially in 2026, as Southeast Asian marketers prioritising international expansion view local relevance not just as a creative choice, but as a cost-control mechanism.

She added, “We know that cost constraint is often cited as a primary barrier to market expansion, but this budget pressure doesn’t exist in isolation. It’s often compounded with several factors, including localisation complexity.”

Hence, to build efficient localisation and high-consideration journeys. Luciana underscored the power of messaging.

“One thing we are discovering is that messaging that emphasises experience, convenience and reliability consistently is outperforming price-led propositions in cross-border campaigns,” she explained.

This elaborates on the fact that, as travel decisions are growing to be more emotionally-inclined and made with high consideration, ‘advertisers need to deliver credible and native messaging through contextual targeting and culturally relevant placements’.

Looking deeper, she explained that this stems from what Yango Ads saw as a clear shift, a zooming in scale vs. the traditional looking-at-the-bigger-picture practice.

“As we work with travel brands to reach wider customers, we’ve seen a clear shift away from broader, always-on awareness campaigns and towards targeted, performance-based execution. When we work with marketers in the region, we see that ad format strategy is shifting from experimentation to discipline, concentrating on a small set of proven formats.”

Adding to this, Luciana shared, “For example, we can see in the tourism sector that awareness-driving formats such as Connected TV (CTV) and Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) have lower full AI implementation compared to e-commerce sectors. This difference comes down to how fast the sectors can demonstrate impact – e-commerce has a mature measurement framework with [a] clear indication of ROI, whereas tourism takes a much longer time for its impact to show up.”

Consequently, this places the tourism sector, according to Luciana, as one of the most ROI-gated sectors, given that budget unlock is explicitly tied to incremental uplift proof.

She emphasised, “As budget decisions are increasingly being shaped by performance indicators, the strategies that can translate experiment to result are the ones that scale quickly.”

How AI scales performance in tourism

While this “ROI-gate” has traditionally slowed momentum, Luciana shared that data and AI are now rewriting the rules of when and where demand exists. 

By identifying untapped opportunities in off-peak and cross-border travel, AI provides the precise incremental uplift that she also noted is required to unlock budgets. This shift allows the tourism sector to move past measurement lags, turning long-term awareness into immediate, scalable results that modern performance indicators demand.

“We know that marketers across Southeast Asia are reporting that AI is either fully implemented or in active pilot phases. This matters not because of automation alone, but because AI gives brands greater confidence to invest beyond traditional peak seasons and core source markets, where demand signals were previously harder to read and riskier to act on,” she continued.

Citing Indonesia as an example, she elaborated on Yango Ads’ own market data, which has shown that only 14.5% of marketers there cite difficulty measuring ROI right now. This means that AI-driven optimisation is easier to justify internally, particularly when exploring new audiences, off-peak travel, and emerging corridors.

In Thailand, meanwhile, AI is being used in campaign collaborations with the tourism board to drive tourism during off-peak seasons. 

She elaborated, “Through our recent partnership with the Tourism Authority of Thailand, AI-powered advertising technology was used to dynamically optimise targeting, creative, and timing to inspire travel outside the traditional high season in Thailand. The result was not just efficiency, but reach into new audiences and travel moments that would otherwise have been missed.”

According to her, this means that in practice, AI allows travel campaigns to respond to real behaviour rather than fixed assumptions about seasonality or traveller origin.

“The outcome speaks to the opportunity: Thailand ranked as one of the most-booked destinations among traditionally hard-to-reach Russian-speaking travellers in October 2025, based on data from Yango Ads’ OTA partner.”

Additionally, this demonstrates how performance-driven, data-led advertising can redistribute travel demand across seasons. In return, this also supports more sustainable tourism growth while unlocking value for local businesses year-round.

Relatively, this should place a top-of-mind question for marketers, she remarked. 

“How do we stand out, and how do we reach our audiences? This is where adtech steps in and to share data-backed insights on best-performing formats, audience behaviours, and localisation tactics.”

Additionally, she stated, “We know that limited resources and unclear performance signals are what hold budgets back for most travel brands. Embedding insight and optimisation into workflows reduces friction and speeds action. Brands that can move earlier and with confidence capture emerging demand before others react will win.”

As a company, she shared, they address this by combining reach with actionable insight, enabling travel brands and agencies to plan, optimise, and justify investment more efficiently, even with limited internal resources.

By anchoring strategies in AI-driven insights, brands can finally bypass the traditional “ROI-gate” that has long stifled tourism budgets, allowing them to capture high-intent travel experiences and off-peak demand with newfound confidence. 

As Luciana highlights, the winners in this evolving landscape will be those who use adtech not merely for automation, but as a bridge to cultural relevance and measurable incremental uplift, turning complex global shifts into clear, scalable growth.

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The campaign seeks to promote local delicacies and food culture through drive tourism. According to TAT, drive tourism forms part of the “journey economy”, where economic value is generated throughout the travel route rather than at a single destination. By creating multiple touchpoints along an itinerary, the initiative aims to stimulate spending and distribute income more broadly across communities in the eastern region.

The programme is anchored on what TAT refers to as the Gastronomad concept, which positions travel as a means for chefs and food enthusiasts to experience culture and gain deeper understanding of local communities through cuisine.

“Food is a powerful driver of travel decisions. By connecting gastronomy with self-drive tourism, we aim to encourage travelers to explore multiple destinations within a single journey, helping spread tourism income more evenly across the region and throughout the year,” said Kanokkittika Kritwutikon, executive director for the eastern region at TAT.

Thailand’s eastern region—comprising Samut Prakan, Chachoengsao, Chonburi, Rayong, Chanthaburi, Trat, Nakhon Nayok, Prachinburi, and Sa Kaeo—has been selected as the pilot area for the initiative due to its accessibility and varied landscapes. The provinces offer a mix of coastal and forested destinations that can be reached within short driving distances, enabling multi-stop itineraries.

Phumon Somdee, general manager of SIXT Thailand, added, “Travel today is about the experience along the way, not just the destination. Seamless mobility plays a key role in enabling travelers to explore more deeply and discover local culture at their own pace.”

The campaign will run from March to June across Thailand Gastronomy Network platforms and social media channels, including Eastern Thailand Travel and Amazing Thailand pages.

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