Dining is the biggest driver of travel loyalty in Asia Pacific, Marriott report finds 

Dining has emerged as the strongest driver shaping travel loyalty across Asia Pacific — overtaking sightseeing and shopping, according to a new report by Marriott Bonvoy, the hotel loyalty programme by hospitality giant, Marriott International.

The Loyalty Trends Report 2026, released on Thursday, showed that 63 percent of travellers across Asia Pacific excluding China (APEC) prioritise culinary experiences on their trips, signalling the importance of F&B-related earn and redemptions in the hotel loyalty space. This also shows how travellers, especially in Singapore and Japan, are increasingly choosing hotel loyalty programmes through experiential and value propositions in the dining space.

The report surveyed 1,731 travellers across eight markets: Singapore, Australia, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam.

The findings by the hospitality group, which runs over 750 properties in the region, point to a broader shift of how hotel loyalty is being defined. Rather than revolving solely around free stays or elite status, loyalty programmes are increasingly tied to spending related to travel priorities. Besides dining, the other priorities are nature/sightseeing (59 percent), shopping (45 percent) and cultural immersion (40 percent).

Travellers motivated by culinary experiences displayed the strongest loyalty — they are more likely to earn and redeem points through dining-related activities, making dining one of the “most powerful and scalable levers” for hotel loyalty engagement.

Recognising the growing demand for gastronomy travel, Marriott International has been organising the Luxury Dining Series, which returns for its third annual edition this year. The series comprises dining and mixology collaborations across the group’s properties in APAC. The 2026 series, held from August to October, comprises six stops in Vietnam, Thailand, Maldives, Indonesia and Japan. Participating properties include JW Marriott Phu Quoc Emerald Bay Resort & Spa and on board the Luminara, The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection, which sails across Japan.

Singapore travellers: Value Optimisers

True to its pragmatic trait, travellers from Singapore are categorised as “Value Optimisers”, alongside those from Australia and Thailand. They are attracted to loyalty programmes that deliver value, flexibility and visible savings. 60 percent of the survey respondents from Singapore earn loyalty points through stays, while 58 percent redeem their points on upgrades by the property.

However, when it comes to staying engaged in a hotel loyalty programme, Singapore sits at the bottom among the eight markets. Indonesia and India are ranked at the top with 77 percent of respondents being engaged in the programme over the past year, while Singapore falls behind at 55 percent.

On Singapore’s engagement rate, Mei Xue Ying, VP, Marketing, APEC at Marriott International shared, at a press briefing, that the hotel loyalty programme space in the city-state is busy and cluttered, with travellers here being savvy about maximising the value of participating in such programmes.

To that end, Marriott has formed strategic partnerships with companies like Singapore Airlines for members to cross-earn and redeem points beyond hotels. It is also looking at exciting ways to engage the Singapore market. One of them is The Never-Ending Staycation package, launched in April, centres around a comedic mini-series starring local creative talent Annette Lee. Special staycation packages across the group’s 19 properties in Singapore will be rolled out till the end of this year.

While most members in APEC redeem loyalty points on small redemptions that can be used immediately, a growing number are spending points on exclusive experiences such as VIP tickets to events and once-in-a-lifetime experiences like celebrity meet-and-greets. Travellers from growth markets such as Vietnam, India and Indonesia are more inclined to spend points on exclusive experiences.

Upcoming exclusive experiences by Marriott Bonvoy this year include those at the FIFA World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico, and the Celine Dion concert in Paris.

John Toomey, Chief Commercial Officer, APEC at Marriott International, says the report’s findings reflect a growing need for hotel loyalty programmes to adapt to differing consumer behaviours across the region.

“Hotel loyalty programs must evolve into adaptive ecosystems that grow with travellers, rather than simply around them,” he said in the report. “In a region as diverse and fast-moving as APEC, brands that deeply understand local behaviours and cultural nuances will move beyond scale to earn lasting relevance and advocacy.”

Read the full report here.