Asia

Elephants across Asia are slipping toward extinction in slow, brutal steps as forests shrink and development carves up their habitats. Recent syntheses of field surveys and satellite tracking estimate there are roughly 40,000 to 50,000 Asian elephants left in the wild, a population that has fallen by more than half over the last three generations. They now occupy only about 15 percent of their historical range, stretching across a mosaic of protected areas, agricultural landscapes, and human settlements from India to Southeast Asia. The story of these “giants” is not merely about wildlife; it is a barometer of how Asia negotiates land use, food security, and livelihoods in a rapidly urbanizing world, and it holds clear implications for Thai forests, farmers, and families who share the land with elephants.

Travel in Asia is entering a new era where artificial intelligence is no longer a curiosity but a driving force behind how people plan, decide, and experience journeys. A recent discussion gathering four voices from across Asia’s travel ecosystem highlights a global shift toward AI-powered personalization, coupled with a fierce appetite for trustworthy, authentic experiences. The takeaway for Thai readers is clear: the next generation of travel will be defined not only by clever algorithms but by how well those algorithms respect local cultures, protect privacy, and preserve the human touches that travelers value.

A new wave of research on where to live abroad places Thailand squarely in Asia’s spotlight for expats. The latest International Expat Insider data show that five Asian countries are among the world’s top expat destinations, with Thailand ranking fourth overall. The study, which surveyed more than 10,000 expatriates across 172 nationalities, ties personal finances directly to happiness, and it highlights how affordability, culture, and career opportunities are shaping where people choose to live, work, and raise families overseas. For Thai readers, the findings come with immediate relevance: they map a regional shift in where foreigners, including long-stay visitors and remote workers, are choosing to settle—and they illuminate what Thailand is doing right and where gaps remain in its own landscape.

A wave of recent research suggests Southeast Asia is at a pivotal crossroads: the high-speed growth that defined the region for two decades may be losing some of its punch. The latest studies point to a mixed picture of progress and fragility—an economy that has outgrown some of its early engines, yet still carrying enormous potential if policies adapt fast enough. For Thailand, the findings carry clear implications. The kingdom’s ambitions — from keeping tourism resilient to maintaining a modern manufacturing base and safeguarding an aging society — hinge on reforms that strengthen productivity, education, and social protection while embracing digital transformation and climate resilience.

Across Asia’s high-performing property markets, a troubling consensus is taking hold: housing is increasingly unaffordable for ordinary households, and policy efforts so far have not tackled the deeper forces driving skyward prices. The leading cities—from Hong Kong and Singapore to Shanghai, Tokyo, and Seoul—have enjoyed economic dynamism and urban magnetism, yet the same forces fueling growth are now making homes an ever more distant dream for many residents. The overarching message from researchers and international policymakers is clear: if governments do not address the root causes, affordability will continue to erode social cohesion, choke mobility, and threaten the very benefits urbanization promises.

In a region famed for its glittering shows of wealth, a new language of affluence is quietly taking over the minds of Asia’s ultra-wealthy. Silent luxury, a movement that values craftsmanship, longevity, and deeply personal experiences over logos and conspicuous branding, is redefining what it means to be rich in 2025. For Thai readers, this trend arrives at a moment when wellness tourism, curated hospitality, and high-end experiential travel are already climbing the ladder of importance in both domestic and international markets. The shift signals not just a taste for exclusivity, but a shift in values: spending less on visible status and more on meaningful, long-lasting moments with family, culture, and nature.

A sweeping Afrobarometer survey capturing tens of thousands of African citizens across dozens of countries finds that China’s reputation as a development partner remains high, even as concerns over debt and the quality of Chinese goods persist. For Thai readers and policymakers watching any shift in global influence, the findings map a complex picture: widespread appreciation for infrastructure and investment, tempered by worries about repayment and the long-term sustainability of debt-financed projects. In Thailand’s own context—where development cooperation, regional engagement, and careful budgeting are daily realities—the African case offers both lessons and cautions about how partnerships with external powers unfold on the ground.

Luxury cruise line Explora Journeys has announced a bold expansion into Asia for 2027, marking its first substantial foray into the region with a dedicated Asia itineraries season. The move comes as the company unveils its 2027-28 journeys collection, featuring the debut of its new Explora III ship on Asian shores and a broader plan to offer nearly 200 destinations across 59 countries in less than a year. For Thai travelers and industry stakeholders, this signals a new chapter in Southeast Asia’s growing appeal as a premium, experience-rich travel corridor, one that could ripple through Bangkok’s travel ecosystems, coastal ports, and the broader Thai luxury tourism market.

A sweeping new line of blended proteins is moving from lab benches into pantries across Asia, and its promise could ripple through Thailand’s food security, farming, and everyday meals. In a major regional effort led by NECTAR, a consortium studying the “Future of the Industry: Balanced Proteins APAC” is testing how combinations of plant, fungal, and animal-adjacent ingredients can deliver meat-like satisfaction while easing pressure on land, water, and farming systems. The Singapore-focused phase in particular shows taste tests where blends sometimes outshine traditional animal meat in consumer panels. If these early signals hold, Thai households—facing rising protein prices and shifting dietary expectations—could see more versatile, culturally familiar options at markets and in eateries within a few years.

A growing wave in travel is turning legends into experiences you can book. From private tours of ancient sites that are usually closed to the public, to stays in heritage hotels once ruled by local families, travelers around the world are chasing immersive encounters that feel “legendary.” For Thai travelers, this shift translates into a new menu of opportunities and choices: how to balance authentic immersion with responsible tourism, how to safeguard cultural integrity, and how to bring a sense of wonder back home after a journey that felt timeless.

A sobering new regional study shows Singaporean scam victims incur the highest average losses per person in Southeast Asia, at about US$2,132, with Malaysia in second place. The figures underscore a widening financial toll from an escalating wave of digital fraud as more people move money online, shop on social platforms, and engage with unfamiliar investment offers. For Thai readers, the findings carry immediate relevance: scams do not stay within national borders, and the methods that work in one country often migrate across the region, targeting households across income levels and ages.

Scientists have identified remains that may be the oldest mummies in the world, dating back as far as 12,000 years, and they appear to come from across Southeast Asia. The discovery pushes the known history of deliberate, or at least assisted, preservation of human bodies far earlier than the famous Chinchorro mummies of South America and predates the well-known Pharaoh mummies of ancient Egypt. The remains were found in a spread of sites in parts of China and Vietnam, with potential connections to communities in neighboring countries including the Philippines, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia. Researchers emphasize that the mummified remains show signs of heat exposure, suggesting smoke-drying over fires as a preservation method used by hunter-gatherer groups long before agriculture took hold in the region. The finding hints at a long, shared prehistory of ritual and memory in Southeast Asia, where keeping the body intact was believed to sustain bonds between the living and the dead.

A new wave of travel research is elevating city planning for aging visitors, highlighting seven Asian cities as standout destinations for seniors. The study emphasizes accessibility, reliable healthcare, safety, and senior-friendly experiences as the core ingredients that make these urban centers especially welcoming to older travelers. For Thai readers, the findings come at a moment when families are increasingly planning elder-friendly vacations, and when Thailand itself is expanding its appeal as a gateway to the region for older travelers seeking comfort, culture, and ease of movement.

A new wave of research is prompting a hard re-think about East Asia’s declining birth rates. Rather than simply attributing shrinking families to economic hardship or high living costs, a growing body of work suggests a deeper social dynamic: when societies push for every child to be a flawless masterpiece, the decision to have more children becomes even more fraught. The debate, sparked by a provocative commentary on East Asia’s demographic trajectory, asks whether the real bottleneck is not just fertility, but the cultural and institutional burdens placed on parenting in hyper-competitive environments.

South Korea, long celebrated as Asia’s most polished blend of high-speed tech, pristine public transit, and easy, passport-free tourism, is one of the few developed nations where Google Maps struggles to function as expected. Millions visit every year, hoping a confident tap on their screens will guide them from temple to temple, from subway to street vendor, with the same reliability they’ve come to rely on elsewhere. But a combination of national security concerns and geospatial data policy has created a friction that even the world’s most ubiquitous navigation tool cannot easily resolve in this country. For Thai readers, this isn’t just a curiosity about a foreign map app. It’s a reminder that digital tools that seem universal can be shaped by local laws, sovereignty worries, and the rapid evolution of data governance in a technology-driven era.

Bangkok is quietly reshaping Southeast Asia’s digital backbone. In early 2025, the city’s data center footprint crossed 2.5 gigawatts of IT load, a figure that positions Bangkok as the region’s second-largest market after Johor, Malaysia. The numbers reflect a shift from small, retail-leaning facilities to purpose-built, hyperscale campuses clustered around Bangkok’s metropolitan hub and the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC). Cloud services now account for roughly 38% of Thailand’s total data center capacity, with AI workloads expanding rapidly and shaping the next wave of infrastructure needs. The story is not just about bigger buildings and bigger numbers; it is about how a capital city with strong land availability, stable power, and a strategic geographic position is becoming a fulcrum for Southeast Asia’s tech ambitions—and what that means for Thai workers, policymakers, and communities.

Southeast Asia’s post‑pandemic tourism rebound has been powerful but patchy, with major markets returning to roughly 80–100 percent of 2019 visitor levels while showing widely different trajectories this year. The six largest destinations — Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines — together received about 114 million international visitors in 2024, roughly 89 percent of 2019 levels, yet patterns since then point to a region recovering unevenly and, in some cases, cooling again (The Diplomat explainer).

The morning mist lifts from Wat Pho’s golden spires as another stream of international visitors begins exploring Bangkok’s ancient temples. Yet behind these familiar scenes, Thailand’s tourism industry faces a complex reality that mirrors broader challenges across Southeast Asia.

Thailand stands as the region’s undisputed tourism leader, welcoming 35 million international visitors in 2024—a remarkable recovery that outpaces most regional competitors. However, this achievement masks underlying vulnerabilities that could reshape the kingdom’s tourism landscape in 2025 and beyond.

Thailand remains Southeast Asia’s tourism leader, yet the path ahead is nuanced. As Bangkok’s dawn rituals meet the footsteps of international visitors, the broader picture reveals both resilience and caution for the years ahead.

After the pandemic, Thailand welcomed 35 million international visitors in 2024, a strong rebound that outpaced many regional peers. Still, this milestone sits alongside vulnerabilities that could shape 2025 and beyond, especially as momentum in mid-2025 hints that growth may slow without targeted strategies.

Japanese students are increasingly turning their sights to Asian study destinations such as Taiwan, South Korea, Malaysia and the Philippines as inflation and a weakened yen make traditional Western options more costly. This shift is visible in recent outbound volumes and agent surveys showing both a rebound in overall numbers and a marked rise in short- to mid-term programmes in Asia, a change that creates new opportunities — and new responsibilities — for Thai universities and the broader education and service sectors in Thailand (Japan Times report).

A quiet education shift is reshaping where Japanese students study abroad. With rising living costs and a weaker yen, many are moving away from Western destinations toward Thailand, Malaysia, South Korea, and Taiwan. The aim is high-quality education at a fraction of Western prices.

In 2024, over 70,000 Japanese students studied abroad, bouncing back to about 90% of pre-pandemic levels. Yet the destinations have shifted. Asian nations now hold a larger and faster-growing share of the market than Western leaders since 2020, according to the Japan Association of Overseas Studies.

An OECD report released this spring warns that rapidly growing cities across Southeast Asia face a funding gap for green, resilient and inclusive urban development unless governments diversify financing instruments, strengthen subnational creditworthiness and crowd in private investment through targeted risk-sharing tools and project pipelines. The report, Financing Sustainable Cities in Southeast Asia: Diversifying Instruments and Leveraging Private Investment, focuses on the ASEAN‑5 — Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam — and argues that existing public budgets and traditional bank lending will not be enough to deliver mass transit, flood defences, clean water, affordable housing and low‑carbon energy at the speed cities need. The analysis, issued by the OECD and presented at regional events in April–May 2025, lays out practical steps for national and local policymakers to mobilise a broader mix of instruments — municipal bonds, green and sustainability bonds, blended finance facilities, public‑private partnerships with stronger safeguards, and value‑capture tools — while improving governance and transparency to make urban projects bankable for institutional investors (OECD report).

A groundbreaking OECD study released this spring delivers a stark warning that Southeast Asia’s rapidly expanding urban centers stand at a financial crossroads, with traditional funding mechanisms proving catastrophically inadequate for the green infrastructure revolution these cities desperately need. The comprehensive analysis, titled “Financing Sustainable Cities in Southeast Asia: Diversifying Instruments and Leveraging Private Investment,” focuses laser-sharp attention on the ASEAN-5 nations—Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam—revealing how conventional public budgets and standard banking relationships cannot possibly deliver the mass transit systems, flood protection networks, clean water infrastructure, affordable housing developments, and low-carbon energy installations these urban areas require at breakneck speed. International development experts who presented the OECD findings at high-level regional conferences throughout April and May 2025 outlined an ambitious roadmap requiring national and local policymakers to fundamentally restructure their approach to urban finance through innovative instruments including municipal bonds, green and sustainability-linked securities, sophisticated blended finance facilities, reformed public-private partnerships with enhanced social safeguards, and strategic value-capture mechanisms that improve governance transparency to make urban projects genuinely attractive to major institutional investors.

A forthcoming OECD study warns that Southeast Asia’s fast-growing cities face a funding crisis. Traditional budgets and standard bank lending can no longer deliver the mass transit, flood protection, clean water, affordable housing, and low-carbon energy systems needed at scale. The report, Financing Sustainable Cities in Southeast Asia: Diversifying Instruments and Leveraging Private Investment, focuses on Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. It recommends a shift toward municipal bonds, sustainability-linked securities, blended finance, enhanced public-private partnerships with social safeguards, and value-capture mechanisms to attract long-term institutional capital.