Where Southeast Asians really want to live, work and travel

Mass media commonly portrays Southeast Asia as an exciting, adventure-fuelled and culturally rich region – if often an exoticised one – for inhabitants and visitors alike. The final section of the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute’s State of Southeast Asia 2026 Survey, based on respondents’ “relocation preference and travel choices”, adds to the already abundant evidence of the “soft power” of regiona