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Data · 2 min read24 July 2026

APAC Travellers Want to Go Somewhere. They Just Cannot Decide Where.

A Teads study found 79% of APAC consumers plan to travel but only 60% feel confident choosing a destination. Awareness is no longer the bottleneck. Confidence is.

The problem is not getting noticed. It is helping someone feel sure enough to book.

2 min read

A new Teads study across Asia-Pacific found something that should reframe how travel brands spend. People want to travel. They are just not sure where. While 79% of consumers have travelled or plan to in the next 12 months, only 60% feel confident actually choosing their next destination. Teads calls it the travel confidence gap.

The cause is not a lack of inspiration. It is too much of it. Between social media, creators, AI recommendations and every booking platform shouting at once, travellers are drowning in options. Nearly two-thirds now compare multiple destinations before booking, and most spend between one week and three months researching before they commit.

Why it matters

Most travel marketing is still built to generate awareness. Get seen, get remembered, get the booking. This data says awareness is no longer the bottleneck. Confidence is. The traveller has seen your destination. They have seen forty others too. The brand that wins is the one that removes the doubt, not the one that shouts loudest.

79% vs 60%

79% of APAC consumers plan to travel, but only 60% feel confident choosing a destination. Source: Teads APAC study.

What to do about it

Shift spend from pure awareness to decision support. Comparisons, reviews, clear itineraries, the things that build confidence.
Meet people in the long research window. If they are evaluating for weeks, one impression will not do it. Show up across the whole consideration period.
Answer the doubt directly. Cost, safety, logistics, what it is actually like. Confidence comes from questions answered, not from another pretty image.
Use your own data. Look at where people drop off between interest and booking, and fix that gap.

The Australian traveller is spoiled for choice and short on certainty. Sell the certainty.

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Filip Ivanković
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