{"id":14644,"date":"2026-05-18T23:24:27","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T15:24:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/klhappenings.com\/?p=14644"},"modified":"2026-05-18T23:24:59","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T15:24:59","slug":"the-anime-effect-creating-a-demand-for-anime-tourism-and-travel-across-asia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/klhappenings.com\/?p=14644","title":{"rendered":"The Anime Effect: Creating a demand for anime tourism and travel across Asia"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Trip.com\u2019s latest data shows a growing demand for anime and comic-related experiences when travelling, with a 121% spike in searches for anime and comic-related travel experiences by Malaysians year-on-year (y-o-y)1<\/sup>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This interest also translates to actual demand, as Malaysian fans are showing up for some of the region\u2019s biggest events. Based on Trip.com\u2019s ticket sales data, Malaysia ranked among the top 10 markets leading ticket sales for AnimeJapan 2026<\/a> and Hong Kong\u2019s first-ever official Comic Con<\/a>.2<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n

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Globally, Trip.com\u2019s international ticket sales jumped 697% y-o-y as the exclusive overseas ticketing partner for AnimeJapan 2026. Being one of the world\u2019s largest anime events, travellers spanned across 82 countries and regions. Highly popular among Gen Zs and Millennials, more than half of ticket buyers were aged between 25 to 34 years old, and over half were males.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, Hong Kong Comic Con 2026 has gained the attention of overseas fans from Mainland China and Southeast Asia. Over 8 in 10 ticket buyers are Gen Zs and Millennials, based on Trip.com’s ticket sales data, demonstrating the popularity of anime culture among this age group. Interestingly, women constitute more than 80% of ticket sales, highlighting the genre’s growing appeal among this audience group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reel-life to Local Impact: Anime Fest+2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

More than a passing trend, reports<\/a> show that the demand for anime and comic-related content is growing exponentially, especially in Southeast Asia where there are many young and digitally native consumers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Malaysia, local anime events have also seen growing success and attention. The recent Anime Fest+ 2026 featured a mix of international and local acts, as well as appearances from popular cosplayers from China,  Indonesian VTubers, industry creators from Japan, and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Held at the Sunway Pyramid Convention Centre<\/a>, Trip.com’s data found that hotel bookings<\/a> made within 3 kilometres of the venue increased by 36% y-o-y during the duration of the event. International bookings were made by predominantly by visitors from China, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Indonesia, while Malaysians were also among the top 5 guest bookings, suggesting how both local and overseas fans are willing to travel to participate in such conventions.3<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n

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From Events to Immersive Travel Experiences<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The influence of anime culture extends beyond event attendance to broader destination travel behaviour. Fans and travellers today are also seeking a deeper and more immersive cultural experience<\/a>, from their accommodation to the activities planned on the trip. For example, newly-launched themed glamping rooms at The Farm<\/a>, a Japan country retreat, invite visitors to step into the fantasy world of Frieren, a popular anime and manga series, through physical photo spots and monuments throughout the campgrounds that recreate memorable scenes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Universal Studios Japan<\/a>, one of Trip.com’s top-booked attractions in Asia this year, has also recently collaborated with five blockbuster franchises<\/a> to bring a variety of anime experiences to visitors. This includes a new, immersive storywalk set in the world of Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, and three thrilling attractions based on Detective Conan: The World<\/em>. Meanwhile, Trip.com offers a variety of curated tours<\/a> that bring fans on an immersive journey through famous anime and manga sites, such as a Slam Dunk pilgrimage and Kamakura city day tour<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While entertainment continues to be a huge part of what influences people’s identities and travel motivations, anime culture has become a global movement that goes beyond set-jetting, but a shared community across borders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Notes:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1 Based on <\/em>Trip.com<\/em><\/a>\u2019s search data in 2026 compared to 2025.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2 Based on <\/em>Trip.com<\/em><\/a>\u2019s international ticket sales data.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

3 Based on <\/em>Trip.com<\/em><\/a> Group\u2019s data of hotel bookings made within 3 kilometres of the event venue during the event<\/em> period.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Trip.com\u2019s latest data shows a growing demand for anime and comic-related experiences when travelling, with a 121% spike in searches for anime and comic-related travel experiences by Malaysians year-on-year (y-o-y)1. This interest also translates to actual demand, as Malaysian fans are showing up for some of the region\u2019s biggest events. Based on Trip.com\u2019s ticket sales […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14645,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[981,2353,4410],"tags":[4503,4502],"class_list":["post-14644","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-anime","category-travel","category-trip-com","tag-anime-travel","tag-the-anime-effect"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/klhappenings.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image-21.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/klhappenings.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14644","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/klhappenings.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/klhappenings.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klhappenings.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klhappenings.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14644"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/klhappenings.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14644\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14647,"href":"https:\/\/klhappenings.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14644\/revisions\/14647"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klhappenings.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14645"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/klhappenings.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14644"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klhappenings.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14644"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klhappenings.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14644"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}