It’s official, Asia is back: brighter, bolder and more ambitious than ever. The region took longer than others to shake off pandemic-related restrictions and border closures, but it came back strong, eager to remind foreigners what they were missing.
The titanic expanse of the continent has presented a wealth of things to do; However, new revelries, occasions and accommodation features await you throughout the region. Sri Lanka is rising like a phoenix from the economic crisis and responding with a new food festival. wellness-focused retreats and a hiking trail that winds through three hundred kilometers of hills and centuries of history. Mongolia is easing visa restrictions to give more people the chance to delight in its vast, rugged landscapes, and Kochi is setting the standard for the city. -extensive sustainability initiatives. In the United Arab Emirates, a lesser-known emirate competes for attention, while a Japanese port city flexes its muscles when it comes to design.
Expansive green spaces, fascinating resorts, luxury night trains, and the ancient Silk Road – our list of Asia’s 11 most productive destinations in 2024, fully informed through writers from around the world, is full of reasons to head east. .
Don’t also check out our 2023 global list of foreign stopover destinations, reviewed by U. S. -founded Condé Nast Traveler editors. Selina Denman and Julian Manning
This is a component of our global consultant for put options in 2024. Find our lists of selling options in Africa, Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific, Central and South America, Europe, North America and the Caribbean.
Opt for: A culinary renaissance in one of the world’s Chinatowns
Chinatown, which remains one of Bangkok’s liveliest neighborhoods, is on this year’s list for its ever-exciting food scene. Next year, expect a new wave of restaurants to emerge in this brilliant link.
With family-friendly noodle restaurants, incense shrines and tuk-tuks echoing down centuries-old alleys, Chinatown has been one of Bangkok’s liveliest communities. In the mid-2010s, chefs, mixologists and gallery owners began moving into the dilapidated row houses on the outskirts of the community and now, a new wave of restaurateurs is heading to Chinatown’s shiny link, Yaowarat Road. Among them is Australian chef and Thai food guru David Thompson, who, at his Chop Chop Cook Shop, draws inspiration from recipes (butter shrimp, braised peas) from the Chinese-Western food places that caused all the rage in Bangkok in the 1930s. Upstairs, the Goldsmith Bar transforms not-unusual community ingredients (shiitake syrup, osmanthus oolong) into intoxicating drinks, and will soon be joined by a Chinese restaurant on the most sensitive floor and terrace most sensitive of the roof.
Lucky Duck, another newcomer, has set up shop in a nearby historic building and serves drinks inspired by Chinese videos of yesteryear. Thailand’s busy Charmgang restaurant is set to open a more casual sibling, Charmkrung, where wines and soft snacks will dominate the menu; And judging by the many constructions lately hidden between tarps and bamboo scaffolding, more bars and places to eat will follow. But how much replacing is too much?2024 provides an opportunity to revel in the charm of this historic community as it continues to evolve. Chris Schalkx
To discover: nature reserves, central Vietnam, fireworks festival
The “City of Bridges,” Da Nang, is a 21st-century beach destination connected to old grocery stores and imperial centers. Take advantage of new flights to Da Nang to explore the entire coast.
Da Nang, a trendy coastal city situated amid dozens of UNESCO-recognized sites in the center of the country (including the ancient port city of Hoi An and the former imperial capital of Hue), is one of the wonderful good luck stories from post-Covid Asia, with Foreign arrivals in 2023 surpassing pre-pandemic numbers, thanks in part to new air directions that make access to the City of Bridges easier than ever . In 2023, Vietnam Airlines reopened its popular direction to Tokyo, Taiwan’s China Airlines introduced direct flights from Taipei. , and several Southeast Asian budget airlines have introduced flights to the city, with many more in the pipeline. Every June, more than 150 flights bring tourists eager to attend the Da Nang International Fireworks Festival.
The Son Tra Peninsula, located just 20 minutes from the city center, is another tourist attraction, home to a 17-story, 220-foot statue of Lady Buddha, as well as endangered red-footed douc langurs that live in the peninsula’s wild. reserve. Central Vietnamese culinary specialties such as Mì Quảng, the region’s official noodle soup, and Bánh Xèo turmeric pancakes deserve to be another feature of any itinerary.
Hotel developers and hoteliers are taking note of Da Nang’s newfound popularity. On the Son Tra Peninsula, the Bill Bensley-designed Intercontinental Sun Peninsula Resort recently completed an extensive renovation for its 10th anniversary that includes a new club lounge, villas and a spa concept. IHG Hotel Group’s voco Ma Belle Danang opened in the city in 2023, and 2024 will mark the arrival of Da Nang’s first Mandarin Oriental assets and a South Asian Fusion Hotel Group outpost. It’s aimed at wellness. -Dan Q. Dao
Opt for: lesser-known trails, new viewpoints, the foreign folk festival
The Mustang Trail Race is just one of many occasions on the horizon in the Kathmandu Valley, designed to inspire you to embrace and immerse yourself in the Himalayan landscape.
Kathmandu Valley’s position as Nepal’s cultural hub will be restored in early 2024 with the return of the Nepal International Folk Festival in March (its first in-person edition since 2020) and the biennial Film Southasia, South Asia’s premier documentary festival. then in the year.
High above the picturesque ridges of the Kathmandu Valley lie the emerging destinations of Dhulikhel and Chandragiri, packed with hidden trails that offer an unexpected option to Nepal’s busiest and most difficult routes. In Dhulikhel, Thai hotel company Dusit Hotels and Resorts recently unveiled a captivating luxury resort, while the nearby Namo Buddha Eco Resort provides the opportunity to explore Nepal’s sustainable agricultural practices.
Supported by a commitment to improve the country’s tourism infrastructure with the launch of the Nepal Tourism Decade in 2023, in 2024 the Kathmandu Valley will continue to serve as a gateway to the rest of Nepal’s tourist hotspots, with improved road and air connectivity between Kathmandu and Nepal. Pokhara Valleys and Mustang. Si well additions to Pokhara’s hotel landscape in 2024, like The Glamour Luxury Resort, will be located in wider valley overlooks, less difficult access to the once-secluded Mustang Valley leads to the arrival of luxury lodging features. such as the magnificent 29-suite Shinta Mani Mustang designed by Bill Bensley, and occasions such as the Mustang Trail Race, designed to inspire visitors to fully immerse themselves in this unique Himalayan landscape. -Amulya Gyawali
Opt for: new art spaces, Japanese design, hotels
In Kobe, Japan, cutting-edge spaces, such as the new skincare boutique Officine Universelle Buly (left), are creatively inspired by their maritime heritage.
Nestled between rugged mountains and shimmering seas in southwestern Japan, the port city of Kobe seriously improves its design credentials. On the middle level is Wave Kobe, a new art area from Teruhiro Yanagihara Studio (TYS). Spanning the upper levels of a sublime old bank from the 1930s, it houses a gallery, a bookshop, a café, a wine bar, a florist and a design studio. In a perfectly balanced display of fresh Japanese design (and a mirror image of Kobe’s maritime heritage), the renovated interiors combine ornate walls of classic Japanese plaster and clean, minimalist lines with giant windows, stone floors, and ornate mosaics.
Further proof of Kobe’s design dominance is the arrival of the French handcrafted perfume and skincare logo Officine Universelle Buly in mid-2023, with its boutique and café interiors stacked extravagantly with iconic taste: expanses of red-veined marble encouraged through chocolate Kobe beef lacquers and “dripping lamps. “Recent plans by Trunk, arguably Tokyo’s most modern hotel group, to make Kobe the setting for its first hotel outside the capital are further proof of the city’s importance. And the Kobe Port Tower, a panoramic observation deck on the shores of Osaka Bay, will reopen in early 2024 with a series of new facilities, adding a new museum showcasing light-themed art and a sleek 360-degree rotating café. -Danielle Démétriou
Opt for: sustainable initiatives, amazing waterways, local festivals
Kochi designs are old school. For one, Kochi’s 10 islands will run entirely on solar power until 2024. But local festivals like the ancient Thrissur Pooram temple and Kochi-Muziris Biannale retain texture and history. that make the position special.
Kochi’s waterways have attracted visitors for centuries, its verdant backwaters, lagoons, and rivers are as exciting to travelers today as they were to Arab, Chinese, and European traders in the 13th century. As one of the world’s first, its river metro formula: a socially inclusive shipping option connecting 10 islands along a 78-kilometer network; It’s already groundbreaking when it was introduced in 2021, but it will raise the bar even higher until the end of 2024, when it transitions to going fully solar-powered.
The move is part of a broader effort to convert Kerala’s monetary and commercial capital into a solar plant. The city’s outer airport (CIAL) is the first in the world to run solely on solar energy and has recently been upgraded with the arrival of a dedicated business jet terminal, the largest in India. This will be complemented by a refurbished airport hotel in mid-2024, as existing assets will be brought under the Taj banner and modernized accordingly. Improvements are also being carried out at Kochi’s 150-year-old Ernakulam market. , which is expected to reveal its multi-year redesign in early 2024.
On a larger scale, Kerala Tourism 2. 0, the state’s $43 million sustainable tourism initiative for 2023-2024, will focus on improving infrastructure and corridors between Kochi and lesser-visited destinations such as Munnar and Kozhikode, as well as local festivals, from the ancient collection of the Thrissur Pooram temple to the Kochi-Muziris Biennale. Meanwhile, guilty tour operator The Blue Yonder, which created a sunset gastronomic delight encouraged through Kochi’s historic Chinese fishing nets in 2023 in Ezhikkara, provides a chance to revel in the conservation-concentrated mangrove trails and climate-resilient Pokkali rice farms, throughout its renovation in 2023-2024. Nila River Trips: Two-week odysseys along the state’s cultural lifeline, from Palakkad Breach to Ponnani. -Taarika John
Opt for: Visa-Free Entry, Quirky Cultural Experiences, Adventure
Adventurous travelers in search of an adrenaline rush will find anything they like in Mongolia, and it will never be less difficult for them than it will be in 2024, with a new generation of nationalities able to stop in Mongolia without a visa, and more.
Mongolia has long been the destination for adrenaline-seeking adventurers (as participants in the wonderfully chaotic “no route” Mongolian rally will attest), however, the country is expanding beyond that niche as its tourism board aims to attract a million tourists a year. In 2023, the country introduced visa waiver for another 34 nationalities (bringing the total to 61) in a crusade that is expected to last until 2025.
The launch of new luxury accommodations, cultural tours, and the announcement of the country’s first direct flight to the United States, bound in 2024 to Chinggis Khaan International Airport, worth $650 million, are further testament to Mongolia’s tourism ambitions.
Following the good fortune of the sturdy yet elegant Three Camel Lodge, luxury accommodation options in Mongolia are expanding with institutions such as Yeruu Lodge, which opened in 2023. Quirky cultural reports are one of the most compelling reasons to stop in the country’s vast and rugged landscape. and local operator Breanna Wilson offers the best. After a fortunate season of horseback riding and the Naadam Festival, a colorful display of strength, horsemanship, and marksmanship, in 2023, Wilson is expanding her 2024 tours to include a Digital Nomad Week, a women-only retreat in the Orkhon Valley, and 3 full-day archery education sessions with Namnaa Academy, an organization that began reviving the ancient art of fixed archery in 2020. – Ali Wunderman
Opt for: exciting adventure sports; accommodation options; and the novelty of the mountains in the Middle East
Advances in adventure tourism are taking place in the rocky mountains of Ras Al Khaimah (and along its little-known coastline), with Jebel Jais serving as the base for a thriving zipline scene.
With its rocky mountains and low-key coastline, Ras Al Khaimah has long served as a weekend getaway for UAE residents. But with several advancements in adventure tourism underway and an influx of luxury homes waiting to open in the UAE’s fourth-largest emirate, a lot is right now to put Ras Al Khaimah on the global tourism map. On an island off the coast, the 174-room Anantara Mina Al Arab Resort, home to the country’s first overwater villas, will welcome its first visitors in January, joining through a 155-room Nikki Beach Resort in 2026.
But most of the action takes place on the slopes of Jebel Jais, the highest mountain in the United Arab Emirates. Among the peaks that are already home to the world’s longest zipline, adrenaline junkies will soon be launching themselves into the blue under sail. And if all that activity makes you want a comfortable place to rest, the 70 sumptuous rooms of the new nature-focused Saij Mountain Lodge will be the best places to sleep when it opens in 2024. Qatar Airways has resumed daily direct flights from its Doha hub at Ras Al Khaimah International Airport in November, making the lesser-known emirate more available than ever.
Opt for: bragging rights, unspoiled nature, a novelty in sustainability
The Red Sea in Saudi Arabia has an untouched desert and colorful coral reefs, any of which will constitute an ambitious progression of sustainable tourism in the destination by 2024.
Creating a new tourist destination in a domain of pristine natural beauty (adding coral reefs that are home to critically endangered species, a pristine desert, and dormant volcanoes) is a beautiful tightrope to walk on. Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea aims to address this situation. those demanding situations with ambitious efforts that will turn it into a hub for regenerative tourism, driven one hundred percent by renewable energy. Only 22 of the region’s more than 90 islands will be developed, and nine have been designated as protected conservation domains. Efforts will be made in the scenes, some of which are visual and visitable.
The new mangrove parks will be populated with trees recently grown in a mangrove nursery (the task aims to plant 50 million by 2030). The first phase of the destination, which includes 16 luxury hotels, is powered by 760,000 solar panels, and the world’s mangrove park The world’s first zero-carbon 5G network has already been installed. Three resorts (Six Senses Southern Dunes, Nujuma and The St. John’s. Regis) will open their doors in the coming months, each with its own strict program of sustainability measures, ranging from lighting—lightweight modular structures to smart landscaping, smart waste management, and local sourcing. Transportation within the destination will be via electric vehicles, and hydrogen-powered seaplanes will eventually ferry visitors between the islands. Can there ever be a luxury tourist destination?In fact, sustainability remains to be seen, but efforts in the Red Sea do indeed test that hypothesis. -Nicola Chilton
Opt for: forest trails, new stays, Taylor Swift fashion
Singapore’s glamor has been legendary, but things will take things up a notch next year with the return of Belmond with its highly anticipated Eastern
Even despite Singapore’s hyperkinetic standards, 2024 is shaping up to be an unusually dynamic year. March will mark the beginning of Taylor Swift’s fever at the Kallang National Stadium, as the pop star lights up the waterfront in her only Southeast Asian stop on the list. -breaking tour The Rases. Se says hotel bookings have surged in advance, just after a series of high-profile openings in 2023, adding the highly anticipated Mondrian Singapore Duxton, near Chinatown. The relaunches and openings will continue through 2024, with the Grand Hyatt at the luxurious junction of Orchard Road and Scotts Road featuring an all-new look, and Raffles opening its spa and villa-style hotel on Sentosa Island.
Singapore is also adding interesting accessories to its impressive green roof. The country’s landscape masterpiece, Gardens Through the Bay, is on display until May with the world’s longest sculpture: a 192-meter parade depicting 60 endangered animals cast in bronze. it will soon be available in 10 other neighborhoods (including Jurong Lake District and Punggol), and some will connect to the city’s green network of more than three hundred kilometers of park connectors. A 230-meter-long forest trail and lagoon-style pool will be among the highlights of the soon-to-be-reopening Big Sister Island Marine Park.
Not to mention the mythical glamour of Singapore, which reigns supreme, as Belmond returns with his long-awaited Eastern
Opt for: the old charm of the Silk Road, looking ahead to the long term with new high-speed rail lines
Samarkand is one of four cities in Uzbekistan benefiting from renewed interest in the Silk Road, with Afrosiyob, a new high-speed rail network linking its turquoise blue minarets and tiles to the country’s capital, Tashkent, and much more. Routes to Khiva, the tourist capital of the Islamic world in 2024, will be available next year
For centuries, investors traveled the ancient Silk Road, winding west from China to Iran and Turkey, sharing their stories and cultures along with textiles, tea, and perfumes. Today, four cities in Uzbekistan (Samarkand, Tashkent, Bukhara and Khiva) benefit from renewed interest in this historic route. Explorers may have once faced long and arduous camel journeys, but the new Afrosiyob high-speed trains have a lifeline connecting the country’s capital, Tashkent, with Samarkand and Bukhara. In 2024, this 600-kilometer rail network will be extended to Khiva, making it even easier to identify cities on Uzbekistan’s Silk Road.
While Samarkand’s minarets and turquoise blue tiles are the hallmark of Timurid royal architecture (resplendent in the towering monoliths of Registan Square), Bukhara is the site of attractive mosque complexes and centuries-old carpet-making traditions. In Tashkent, home of the 2024 FIFA Futsal World Cup, legacy meets more cosmopolitan verve, and Swissôtel will open its first assets there in 2024.
Khiva, the last railway stop, has also been declared the tourist capital of the Islamic world in 2024, perfectly positioning it to showcase the dust-and-straw walls and impeccably preserved fortifications of Itchan Kala, a UNESCO-certified urban center with more than 50 ancient monuments. – Lakshmi Sankaran
Opt for: wellness retreats, a new food festival, a two-hundred-mile nature trail
Kayaam House is one of many openings that are testament to the wellness and wellness boom that is shaping Sri Lanka’s tourism industry of late.
In the face of economic uncertainty, Sri Lanka’s tourism industry is in the midst of a boom in luxury and wellness, from its tea-filled highlands to its palm-fringed shores. In the south of the country, new luxury hotels continue to seduce. These include Kayaam House and Ahu Bay by local luxury specialist, Resplendent Ceylon; a Hilton hotel next to Yala National Park on the edge of the Indian Ocean, one of the most productive places to spot Sri Lanka’s elusive leopards; and the Art Deco-inspired Charleston, which opens in December at the UNESCO-listed Fort de Galle. The already established Kalukana House, a colonial villa in the coastal town of Weligama, designed by British-Sri Lankan interior designer Dee Gibson, is making its mark with retreats aimed at women’s empowerment, adding yoga, breathwork, reiki and Ayurveda.
A comprehensive renovation of the nine-room Meraki, which employs locals and offers yoga, holistic treatments, island-based vegetarian dishes and handicrafts in Matara’s Polhena Beach district, is expected to be unveiled in early 2024; and a luxury getaway for a workout. Makahiya is preparing to launch its own brand of personalized retreats.
In January, the Galle Literary Festival will return after a five-year hiatus, with appearances by literary figures such as Shehan Karunatilaka and Alexander McCall Smith, while Gourmet Galle, the country’s new food festival, will highlight 12 chefs across 12 locations, ranging from beaches to rice fields, over a 12-week period, From January to March.
Inland continues the progression of the Pekoe Trail, a new network of three hundred kilometres of routes that winds through the Sri Lankan highlands. Passing historic tea plantations, colonial properties, local villages, sacred shrines and forests teeming with biodiversity, it’s a new way to revel in Sri Lanka’s lush hills, especially when combined with the remains of boutique homes such as W15 Hanthana, the sumptuous Goatfell or the Kelburne Estate, which is scheduled to open in December 2024. – Zinara Rathnayake
By NTC Editors
By NTC Editors
By the editors of the CNT
By NTC editors
By NTC Editors
By the editors of the CNT
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