Wendy Wu Tours has announced Japan as the destination of aspiration for travel this year.

In December 2017, the Asia tour specialist reached out to its past travellers and enquirers to reveal the ‘wish list’ destinations for the New Year.

A total of 33% of all people surveyed chose Japan as their dream destination for 2018, followed by Southeast Asia (30%), China (21%), and India (14%).

For those who’d already travelled to the region, Japan was also cited as the number one choice of travel destination, followed by Laos and China which was voted the 2017 best destination amongst travellers who had toured the region.

When asked what the most important part of travelling was, meeting locals was voted the most important aspect of their travel (38%), followed by a seamless tour package (31%), and information from the guide about all locations visited (15%); while 9% want to taste all the food in each destination, and 5% want hotels to be ‘near the action’.

Run the same time each year, the 2018 ‘bucket-list’ experiences in Asia were The Great Wall, the Terracotta Warriors, the Giant Pandas at the Panda Conservation Centre at Chengdu, the Silk Road in China, Singapore and Halong Bay in Vietnam.

The survey also revealed travellers in 2018 dreamed of seeing the Cherry blossoms in Japan,   experiencing a river cruise along the Mekong Delta, observing the tigers of India’s Ranthambore National Park, and exploring Nepal’s Himalayas.

Head of Product Bernadette Holmes said: “It’s incredible to see how demand for Japan has grown, and obvious that it will remain a key destination for travelers in 2018. We’re excited to see travelers interested in more off-the-beaten-track destinations like the India and Nepal.”