China and Japan the top Asia bucket list destinations; Hong Kong edges out Singapore, Phuket the top city

Phuket is the most popular Asian city destination, appearing on almost half of global travellers’ bucket lists, followed by Tokyo and Hong Kong, survey finds

China’s Great Wall and Forbidden City and Japan’s Mount Fuji are the top Asian tourist attractions

Reading Time:3 minutes

In a survey of travellers’ bucket lists, Mount Fuji in Japan is the second most popular Asian destination. Photo: Alamy

Published: 7:45am, 28 Jun 2019Updated: 7:13pm, 29 Jun 2019

What’s on your bucket list? Phuket in Thailand? China’s Great Wall? If so, you are not alone. Data collected by airport bus company Hoppa (hoppa.com) has revealed the world’s most popular bucket list destinations for 2019, from cities and countries to attractions and events.

It underlines the importance of Thailand, China and Japan in the Asian tourism market, and globally, puts Australia in top spot in virtually every category.

Dominating the “Top 10 Asian cities” ranking is Phuket, Thailand, which appears on almost half of all travellers’ bucket lists. The most popular destination in Asia by a significant margin, the Thai island city already gets over nine million visitors each year to its sandy beaches, Phang Nga Bay, and Phi Phi Islands.

Behind Phuket in the rankings is Tokyo, followed by Hong Kong, which just edged out Singapore for third place.

Ha Long Bay in Vietnam is Asia’s fifth most popular destination. Photo: Alamy

The survey asked travellers from Europe, North America and Australasia for the contents of their bucket lists, each respondent being allowed to offer multiple answers for each category.

As well as being the most popular city in Asia, Phuket earned second place globally, finishing behind only Sydney, Australia in the global rankings.