Going to Bali these days can sometimes be a sobering experience. It is surreal to see how quiet once-thriving areas like Seminyak
have now become; the sheer number of shuttered shops, hotels, and
restaurants points to the pain wrought by ongoing border restrictions. But the travel and hospitality industries are nothing if not resilient. A handful of high-end resorts have made their debut on the island in recent months, and many of the hotelier friends I’ve spoken to there are hopeful that better times lie just around the corner.

A mid the flurry of year-end events and get-togethers, I sometimes feel there isn’t a whole lot of time to properly reflect on the past 11-plus months. It amazes me how quickly 2025 is now upon us and all the possibilities it might bring. Our team has been hard at work putting the final touches on this print issue — may it inspire your future holidays in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond.
Foodies will salivate at two compelling stories from far sides of Malaysia. In one, photographer Mark Parren Taylor embarks on a culinary exploration of Langkawi, an Andaman Sea island better known for its beaches and rugged natural beauty. Meanwhile, DestinAsian’s editor-in-chief Christopher P. Hill details his recent experiences at the first-ever Sabah edition of the Kita Food Festival, which brings together some of the country’s top chefs as they prepare local ingredients in thought-provoking ways.

Should you be on the lookout for a cool new hotel, you’re in luck. The 2024 edition of our annual Luxe List rounds up 17 of the best new openings across the Asia-Pacific region, with firsthand reviews by our roving contributors who have pinpointed the cream of the crop. Whether you’re in the mood for a stimulating city break or prefer getting away from it all in some secluded locale, there’s bound to be at least one that tickles your fancy.
This October also happens to mark our 23rd anniversary. If there is one thing I have learned on this unforgettable journey, it is the value of being like water: staying fluid, adapting to challenges and new environments, while always moving forward.

Though I’m much more of a beach and city person at heart, there are times when I can really understand the appeal of a mountain getaway. Especially in a country as enigmatic as Bhutan, a bucket-list destination for adventurous travelers the world over. Who wouldn’t be excited at the prospect of breathing fresh Himalayan air, of slowing down to commune with nature and appreciate the here and now? Friends who have been tell me that Bhutan maintains much of its distinctive charm and centuries-old traditions. That much is clear when you read this edition’s cover story by New York–based photographer Matt Dutile, who has been lucky enough to visit the kingdom on multiple occasions. In a similar vein, Mark Parren Taylor embarks on a journey to discover the sights and traditional Japanese inns around the foot of Mount Fuji. He gives us more than a few reasons to linger by the scenic lakes girding the north side of the slumbering volcano.

On a recent break in Belgium, I discovered that the “capital of Europe” was still as charming as I remember from my last visit 30 years ago. As I stood in Brussels’ cobblestoned central square after dark, gazing up at the illuminated facade of the Gothic Town Hall, I wondered why I had waited so long to return. Perhaps life got in the way — as did countless other trips over the decades to places like Bali, the Cyclades, America, and Australia. This year’s June/July edition comes packed with summery content. I’ve always been a big fan of tropical islands, and DestinAsian’s editor-in-chief Christopher P. Hill had the great fortune of staying in one of the South Pacific’s most exclusive private-island resorts. Reading his account has me convinced that Fiji is well worth the 10-hour schlep from Singapore or Hong Kong.

Sometimes on our travels, we encounter hotels that truly stand out from the pack. They might deliver a winning trifecta of supremely comfortable accommodations, discreet yet attentive service, and the F&B to match. The memories  of that experience might even last long after the trip. Once a year, we give the wider public the chance to chime in for our Readers’ Choice Awards — the full results for its 17th edition are now published within these pages. If you didn’t get the chance to cast your vote and nominate your favorite airlines, cruise lines, destinations, and places to stay this time around, there’s always next time. Our feature stories this issue will appeal to gourmands and nature-lovers alike. Ever the adventurous eater, deputy editor James Louie heads to Bali to check out Ubud’s flourishing restaurant scene, focusing on high-end venues that champion local ingredients and Balinese culture in surprising ways. His story is accompanied by beautiful photos from Martin Westlake, who has regularly shot for DestinAsian over the years.

What does autumn mean to you? Admittedly, we don’t have four distinct seasons here in tropical Southeast Asia, but thinking back to my college years in the  Amer-ican Midwest, I fondly recall the crisp blue skies, the vibrant reds and yellows of the fall foliage, and a slew of outdoor festivals that take advantage of the mild weather. No matter which side of the equator you live on, autumn will always be closely associated with the harvest, and DestinAsian’s latest Luxe List spotlights a crop of notable new hotels that have opened across the Asia-Pacific region in the past year. From a candy-colored boutique retreat in Rajasthan—as shown on the cover—and a leafy beachside resort on the Gulf of Thailand, to stylish high-rise digs in Tokyo and Australia’s Gold Coast, the 2023 lineup shows off the kaleidoscopic diversity of the luxury hospitality scene in this part of the world. There’s much more to discover elsewhere in the magazine. With their toddler and two teenagers in tow, Claire Knox and her Cambodian husband make a much-awaited return to Siem Reap, where the family takes stock of the city’s attractions, revisit beloved old haunts that hold special memories for them, and reconnect with loved ones after a pandemic-induced separation.

For me, unforgettable journeys don’t have to involve long spells away from home or a concerted effort to reach far-flung locales; it could be an eye-opening side trip from an already familiar destination, a relaxing small-ship cruise with old friends, maybe even a spontaneous holi-day to a new place served with direct flights from the nearest airport (Kuching, I’m looking at you). Whatever your interests in travel, I’m sure you will find something that piques your curiosity within these pages. Following a repeat visit to Mauritius, DestinAsian’s longtime editor-in-chief Christopher P. Hill gets his first rendezvous with Réunion, a French overseas département in the Indian Ocean. It’s an island seemingly custom-made for the adventurous, with landscapes that are as diverse as the multicultural population: think subtropical forests, serrated mountainsides, swaths of sugarcane fields, and stark moonscapes created by an active volcano.

By the time you read this, summer will have well and truly come to the Northern Hemisphere. Perhaps, like I am, you’re counting down the days until a well-deserved mid-year break. Though I returned from a family vacation in Italy barely a month ago, I can’t help contemplating another trip to take advantage of those long days when Europe is at its sunniest and most relaxed. This June/July edition marks something of a milestone for us, as it’s the first bimonthly issue since DestinAsian went quarterly in the early months of the pandemic. My team and I look forward to bringing you inspirational travel content more frequently, both via the printed word and a brand-new website that is now being developed from the ground up. Foodies have much to savor in this issue. In the cover story, our editor-in-chief Christopher P. Hill embarks on a culinary exploration of Bhutan, a land famous for its monasteries and mountains but not so much for its food. Over the course of a weeklong adventure through the Himalayan kingdom’s central and western valleys,
he discovers there’s far more to the hearty local cuisine than cheese and chilies. We’ve always been keen to lift the lid on up-and-coming locales, and deputy editor James Louie has gone to Taiwan to meet some of the creative minds who are driving the ambitious urban regeneration of Kaohsiung. Naomi Goddard’s accompanying
images capture the changes afoot in the seaside metropolis, which sets a fine example for other port cities to follow.

I was recently in Sydney, where I relished the chance to soak up the city’s laid-back lifestyle and the long, sunny days of the Australian summer. On the agenda were walks by the harbor and visits to exciting new restaurants and places to stay. I even got to check out the soon-to-open Capella hotel, which is welcoming its first guests on March 15. Without revealing too much, I can tell you it’s going to be absolutely gorgeous. In fact, I would not be surprised to see it crack the top 10 list for Best Hotel in Australia in a future edition of our annual Readers’ Choice Awards. That, of course, is our cover story this issue, with rankings based on the results of a three-month poll conducted late last year, when subscribers from around the Asia-Pacific region chimed in to nominate their all-time favorites in categories spanning not just hotels but also airlines and destinations. Elsewhere in the magazine, our editor-in-chief Christopher P. Hill recounts his recent stay at Bawah Reserve in Indonesia’s far-flung Anambas Archipel- ago. The kind of mindful, eco-conscious barefoot luxury it offers makes for a welcome breather from our hectic urban routines. If you’re reading this in Singapore, you’re in luck: all it takes to get there is a high-speed ferry across the strait to Batam, followed by a scenic seaplane flight.

With winter coming soon to the Northern Hemisphere, that long-awaited ski trip to Japan — something that was off-limits during the previous two seasons — can finally become a reality. Who wouldn’t want to balance some action in Hokkaido’s powder playgrounds with onsen soaks and superlative seafood? Being more of a beach person myself, I tend to gravitate toward warm-weather destinations like Bali and the Maldives. But wherever your preferences lie, I’m sure you have the upcoming holidays all planned out. This, our closing issue of 2022, is jam-packed with travel ideas for the next year and beyond. Two months before the World Cup kicked off, our editor-in-chief Christopher P. Hill flew to Qatar to take in the Gulf country’s burgeoning art and creative scene, which includes cultural institutions designed by the likes of Jean Nouvel and Rem Koolhaas. Farther west at the very intersection of Asia and Europe, Joe Yogerst explores the rich history and culture of the Republic of Georgia, and gets a memorable taste of local hospitality along the way. There’s also a special pictorial feature of images by the late photojournalist Alison Wright, drawn from her remarkable new photo book Grit and Grace: Women at Work in the Emerging World. In South Korea, longtime DestinAsian contributor Jonathan Hopfner guides us through Seoul’s bohemian Seongsu-dong district, which is perhaps the definition of an industrial-chic neighborhood. Tokyo based photographer James Whitlow Delano catches the ferry from main-land Honshu to Sado Island in the Sea of Japan, a bastion of traditional culture that’s still off the radar of most foreign visitors. Meanwhile, food writer and Morocco expert Jeff Koelher samples mouth-watering tagines and more when he ventures deep into the Berber heartland of the High Atlas mountains.

As tempting as it may be to cram as many trips into our calendars as possible — especially now, in a conscious effort to make up for two-plus years of lost time — I’m finding that there is a better way. Travel can be far more fulfilling when we do it mindfully, spacing out those holidays and choosing hotels and operators that are bound to make the experience a truly special one. That dovetails nicely with the 2022 edition of our Luxe List, which spotlights the best new hotels that have opened across the Asia-Pacific region within the past year. From a rejuvenated palace-fort in Rajasthan and a Balinese back-to nature retreat to modish Kyoto lodgings, all 17 of the featured properties have been tried and tested by our network of correspondents on the ground. Understandably, some of us may have qualms about long-haul travel as we (finally) emerge from the pandemic, but a world of wonders exists right on your doorstep here in Southeast Asia. Regular DestinAsian contributor Chris Schalkx checks into one of the newest beachfront resorts on Vietnam’s Phu  Quoc Island, the pride of a rebooted luxury hotel brand. Meanwhile, food writer and travel guide author Austin Bush journeys to the former Laotian capital of Luang Prabang, where modern-day chefs are taking inspiration from royal recipes written down a century ago. In neighboring Thailand, journalist Ron Gluckman trades the buzz of Bangkok for a low-key Andaman Sea sojourn in Khao Lak, a stretch of coastline up the road from Phuket that has been rediscovered by local travelers. Bali-based adventurer Mark Eveleigh recounts a no-frills trip up Indonesia’s long-est river in an excerpt from his brand-new book Kopi Dulu:  Caffeine-fuelled Travels through Indonesia.

Where are you going this summer? Now that the school holidays are just around the corner, some of us may be taking the chance to venture beyond our immediate backyards, and perhaps even embark on our first long-haul vacation in more than two years. There’s no doubt that travel is getting easier. Having recently spent some time in Australia and Turkey, I can tell you how exhilarating it feels to be out in the world again. Our team has been hard at work the past few months to put together this very issue: you may have noticed a fresh redesign with a more playful and dynamic look, while the contents offer plenty of inspiration for future trips. Flip ahead to the Dispatches section and you’ll find an excerpt from a new cookbook written by two Balinese food experts keen to preserve the island’s rich culinary heritage. Over in the Maldives, Bangkok-based contributor Chris Schalkx decompresses at a pioneering private-island wellness resort whose programs defy expectations that restoring balance necessarily means self-deprivation. Two other adventures encourage us to go off the beaten track: Kate Eshelby ex-plores a little-visited corner of Bangladesh with her family, and UAE resident Nicola Chilton recounts a recent foray to Ras Al Khaimah, a small emirate often overlooked in favor of its flashier neighbors. The lineup of feature stories is just as tantalizing. In South Korea, photographer Mark Parren Taylor hops on a train from Seoul to Jeonju, the purported birthplace of bibimbap, to dig into its food scene. South African writer Jane Broughton turns the spotlight on the latest barefoot-luxe resort to grace Mozambique’s Bazaruto Archipelago, where the sensitively designed villas blend in with the landscape and profits are channeled directly into marine conservation. In the cover story, our editor-in-chief Christopher P. Hill reports on how the hospitality industry is empowering local communities on the Indonesian island of Sumba.

Spring has always been a time of regrowth and regeneration, and this particular season of 2022 feels especially significant. Many of us are on the cusp of realizing our long-postponed travel plans, mapping out an overseas holiday or a muchawaited reunion with family and friends. As more countries roll back their border restrictions, quarantine-free travel will eventually be the norm rather than the exception. For now, I’m most excited about the return of the annual DestinAsian Readers’ Choice Awards, which recognizes the very best our home region has to offer, whether it’s hotels, airlines, or destinations. All were nominated by readers like yourself. A few of our winners might be newer entries, but the majority are repeat finalists from previous years, which says something about consistency and the loyal following that these brands and properties have successfully cultivated. The feature stories this issue speak to our collective yearning for wide-open spaces after experiencing multiple lockdowns and extended periods of staying at home. Tokyo based photographer James Whitlow Delano brings us to the lesserknown subtropical island of Amami Oshima — recently inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List — to see its natural wonders and unique traditions. Those planning a rural escape in Europe this year will want to read through Debbie Pappyn’s roundup of countryside hotels in Portugal’s Alentejo region. If you’re a foodie, you’ll relish the insider’s tips on Chiang Mai from acclaimed American chef Andy Ricker, who built his career out of introducing the cuisine of northern Thailand to the States. It’s understandable to be put off by the extra paperwork, the new hoops we must jump through just to get on a plane and leave the country. Don’t be. The process may be somewhat different from before, but I can tell you the world is still ripe for exploration, and there’s nothing quite like the excitement of venturing somewhere new.

Despite the immense challenges of the past 22 months I have never doubted the resilience of the travel industry, andits ability to rebound when given the chance. We’ve watchedhow pent-up demand in Europe and the United States fueleda major boom during the northern summer. Closer to home,international travel within the Asia-Pacific region is finallymaking a comeback: the recent large-scale reopening ofThailand to the fully vaccinated has started a chain reaction, with Cambodia following suit and Malaysia expected todo the same in January. Singapore, of course, is continuingits pragmatic approach of expanding its Vaccinated TravelLanes to an ever-growing list of countries. The broad consensus is that the way we spend our precious time off will be different after Covid, staying longer in each place in pursuit of more meaningful experiences. Naturally, our final issue of 2021 comes packed with ideas for when you’re ready to dust off your passport. Photographer Karolina Wiercigroch takes us on a fascinating romp through the steppes of Central Asia as she explores the cuisine of Kyrgyzstan. Over in the North Atlantic, the windswept Faroe Islands are the focus of a feature story by Barry Stone, who was captivated by the rugged charm of this remote Danish territory. Dubai-based contributor Nicola Chilton journeys to the once-forbidden kingdom of Saudi Arabia to visit AlUla, a region where the fantastical desert landscape is dotted with ancient heritage sites and more than afew 21st-century surprises. Elsewhere in the magazine, we get afirst look at Hong Kong’s landmark M+museum, a groundbreaking institutiondedicated to visual culture and a mustsee once quarantine restrictions ease.We’ve also compiled 15 new experiencesin Australia for those planning a tripdown under. As 2021 comes to a close, I hope you have the chance to go on a well-deserved holiday, whether it may be domestic or overseas, that leaves you refreshed and energized for the year ahead.

Twenty years ago this October, DestinAsian launched its first-ever print issue. The dream was to create a world-class travel magazine for and by Asia-based travelers with a global outlook. What a journey it’s been. There have been many ups and downs over the past two  decades: DestinAsian was born just weeks after 9/11,  and in the subsequent years, we’ve dealt with the effects of calamities both natural and man-made. But the Covid-19 pandemic beats them all by the sheer scale of the disruption to our daily lives and travel habits. Over the summer, I took my first international trip since March 2020. The United States has been welcoming visitors from most countries in Asia and I leapt at the chance to go. I wanted to see firsthand what it was like to have the majority of people fully vaccinated and have businesses opening back up. It proved an eye-opening experience. In Chicago, shops and restaurants were back in full swing; almost 90 percent of the more than 385,000 revelers who showed up at the annual Lollapalooza music festival had received their jabs. That event was a resounding success. America showed me there is indeed life after Covid-19, even with the onset of a global surge driven by the Delta variant. But the war against the virus is far from over, especially here in Asia, and I cannot over-emphasize the importance of vaccination and maintaining health and safety protocols even after you’ve received all necessary doses. That is still the best way for us to get out of this pandemic. To our loyal partners and readers, all of us here at DestinAsian thank you for your continued support over the last two decades. As you have surely noticed, our printing frequency and page count has been reduced for the past year and a half, but as borders open up and international travel makes a rebound, we hope to return to our regular publishing schedule soon. 

By the time you read this, it will have been roughly a year since Covid-19 triggered an unprecedented shutdown of international travel. But spring is nearing in the Northern Hemisphere, and this season of rebirth will no doubt have a special significance for millions around the world. Now, more than ever, we are seeing shoots of hope pushing through an otherwise bleak environment. I’m sure you’ve been following the global race to vaccinate as any people as possible against the virus — smaller nations such as Israel and the UAE have been leading the way, while much larger countries like the United States and United Kingdom are both making remarkable progress on that front.

So, here we are at the end of what has been an appalling year for the travel industry. I cannot think of anyone who hasn’t had their life turned upside-down by the Covid-19 pandemic. There is, of course, some light at the end of the tunnel, thanks to the recent announcements of successful clinical trials for multiple vaccines that have been developed at record speed. We’re especially heartened by AstraZeneca’s commitment to make its own vaccine available to less well-off countries at reasonable prices — and the fact that its long-lasting agents are immensely practical, as they can be stored at tempera- tures comparable to those found in an ordinary fridge.

What does it mean to publish a travel magazine when international travel is, for most of us, an unrealistic dream? That’s a question I’ve dwelled on many times since the end of March, and the answers so often seem trite in the grand scheme of things. Writing this note in mid-July, I wish I could say the coronavirus pandemic was being brought under control. There are, of course, a handful of destinations around the Asia-Pacific region—New Zealand, Taiwan, and Thailand come to mind—that have so far kept the disease at bay. But with case numbers still climbing globally,  and some places now facing a sudden resurgence of Covid-19, the hard truth is that overseas travel as we once knew it will not be possible for the foreseeable future.

I write this note at an unprecedented moment in modern history, when an increasing number of countries are closing their borders and advising against all travel in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. Flights are being canceled, cruise lines are suspending their operations, and national lockdowns are threatening to keep everyone at home. I know the world will recover from this, and I fervently hope that the tide will turn in the months ahead. Until then, though, we must all brace ourselves for major disruptions to our lives. For DestinAsian, this means the cancellation or our annual June/July Islands Issue. The magazine you’re holding in your hands will regrettably be the last one you see until August, when I hope our regular publishing cycle will resume. This has not been an easy decision and I apologize for any disappointment this brings to our readers and business partners, but I also look forward to coming back stronger than ever once this health crisis is under control. We’ll be using the occasion to ramp up our online content to give you the latest travel news and updates, so do check out our website and social media platforms...

As I write this from a desk in Amsterdam, one of my favorite European cities, I’m mindful of the fact that in some ways, the dawn of a new decade feels no different from the opening weeks of 2019 or the year before it. As the 19th-century French novelist Alphonse Karr famously wrote, “the more things change, the more they stay the same.” This might also say something about the quality of the many repeat winners in the 15th edition of our annual Readers’ Choice Awards, which celebrates the Asia-Pacific region’s best hotels, destinations, and for the very first time ever, cruise lines.

I’m of the opinion that the journey matters just as much as the destination—and I don’t mean that purely as an airline enthusiast. To pause and look back in retrospect, to understand the road we’ve taken is only natural, especially as we are mere weeks from the close of 2019 and the  dawn of a new decade. How did we get here? And from a traveler’s perspective, how do places end up the way they are now?

In Indonesia, intrepid surfers have often been the first to bring tourism to the shores of remote islands and even not-so-remote locales. Bali’s Bukit Peninsula was a hot spot for wave-riders long before hotels and day clubs staked their claim to the cliff tops of Uluwatu. For our cover story, Claire Knox charts the evolution of the Uluwatu surf scene and meets some of its prominent figures.

For the past ive years or so, I’ve kept hearing the same doomand-gloom message: that print media is on its way out. Scarcely a month passes by without another magazine being consolidated or ceasing publication altogether. But this, our 18th-anniversary issue, is a reminder that there is still room for print-based companies that are willing to adapt, ind new markets, and carve out a speciic niche in our increasingly wired world.
As in years past, DestinAsian’s anniversary coincides with our annual Luxe List, which covers the most notable new hotels and resorts in the Asia-Paciic region. They’re an astonishingly diverse bunch: jungly hideaways in Cambodia and Myanmar highlight exactly why our natural world is worth protecting, contemporary high-rise digs in Beijing and Kuala Lumpur come inspired by the local history, and then there are striking architectural interventions like The Lindis, a New Zealand lodge that graces our cover.

For the past ive years or so, I’ve kept hearing the same doomand-gloom message: that print media is on its way out. Scarcely a month passes by without another magazine being consolidated or ceasing publication altogether. But this, our 18th-anniversary issue, is a reminder that there is still room for print-based companies that are willing to adapt, ind new markets, and carve out a speciic niche in our increasingly wired world.
As in years past, DestinAsian’s anniversary coincides with our annual Luxe List, which covers the most notable new hotels and resorts in the Asia-Paciic region. They’re an astonishingly diverse bunch: jungly hideaways in Cambodia and Myanmar highlight exactly why our natural world is worth protecting, contemporary high-rise digs in Beijing and Kuala Lumpur come inspired by the local history, and then there are striking architectural interventions like The Lindis, a New Zealand lodge that graces our cover.

As much as I love a five-star stay in the Maldives—complete with butlers, chic overwater villas with glass inserts in the floor, indulgent spas, and infinity-edge pools one of our broader goals here at DestinAsian is to let readers see even the most familiar places in a whole new light. So it’s heartening to read this issue’s cover story by husband-and-wife team Daniel Bosley and Aishath Naj, about their ongoing project to document the Maldives that few tourists know. Dreamy photos aside, it offers a real insiders’ perspective and shows us new possibilities for exploring this Indian Ocean paradise. In a similar vein, Jonathan Hopfner reports on a trend in Seoul that has taken hold within the last decade or so: a renewed appreciation of traditional Korean houses known as hanok. He doesn’t just prowl the much-photographed streets of Bukchon Hanok Village where tourists prance around in full traditional costume, but speaks to designers and entrepreneurs who have adapted once-neglected architecture form to become boutique hotels and cafés and cultural spaces.

Perhaps you have seen pictures of Colombo’s Jami Ul-Alfar Mosque somewhere on Instagram: its candy-colored facade painted in a dazzling array of red and white stripes, as though dreamed up in an episode of unrestrained, childlike joy. The much-loved landmark would have graced one of our feature stories this issue—a beautifully shot and heartfelt tribute to the multi-ethnic, multi-religious nature of Sri Lanka’s commercial capital and its idyllic surroundings. 

But then tragedy struck on Easter Sunday, and, after much deliberation, we decided not to run the story. Doing so would have been grossly inappropriate given the new circumstances. Compounding my own shock and disbelief was the unmistakable feeling that we’ve all been here before. In recent years, we’ve witnessed the same horrors unfold in Paris, Mumbai, London, and Bali. The fact is it could happen anywhere, even on a gorgeous tropical island in the Indian Ocean.

It is somewhat surreal to be in London as last-minute negotiations over Brexit take place between Prime Minister Theresa May and her European counterparts in Brussels. Life goes on as normal and yet few can deny the underlying sense of uncertainty or the  quiet alarm many people have at the prospect that their country just might crash out of the EU with no deal in place. I bring this up because our cover story this issue by Jason Overdorf, on the growing movement to conserve Kolkata’s colonial-era architecture, reminds me just how powerful the U.K. was at the peak of its imperial might, and how different its global standing is now.

As someone who has a keen interest in Hollywood A-listers and the emerging talent of younger actors, I’m always looking forward to watching the Oscars. But there’s another event in February that I love: the annual luncheon at which we hand out our Readers’  Choice Awards. A fair number of hotels, airlines, and candidates in other categories have been longstanding winners; it reflects their consistently high standards and perhaps the loyalty of our readers to those brands and properties. Of course, there are some new contenders too that have turned into overnight favorites.

Paying it Forward For many of us, the cusp of a new year isn’t just a time to gather with family and friends, but also a time of reflection. And so it seems entirely appropriate that we should think about how the travel industry can have a positive effect when things are done right. Not by deliberate design, the idea of traveling responsibly has emerged as an underlying theme across our feature stories this issue. Responsible tourism can take a whole host of forms, whether it is choosing to steer clear of unethical attractions or spending our tourist dollars in places where they are sorely needed. One example of the latter is Zimbabwe, whose people are keen to revive the ailing tourism industry since the removal of strongman president Robert Mugabe from power. Husband-and-wife team Aaron Gulley and Jen Judge take in the country’s astonishing natural wonders while getting a sense of the Zimbabweans’ optimism after years of repression and economic ruin.

Growing up in Indonesia, turning 17 was a significant milestone for me. It traditionally marks one’s passage into adulthood—and is the age when you can (finally) apply for a driver’s license, vote in elections, and legally drink and go to the club. So much has changed in the 17 years since the pages of our very first issue rolled off the printing presses back in 2001. We’ve seen the emergence of disruptors like Airbnb in the travel industry, incredible leaps in the realm of commercial aviation, and a new breed of must-visit destinations. Take Komodo National Park and the neighboring island of Flores in eastern Indonesia; I was there recently to attend the opening of the area’s first five-star resort. Ten, maybe even five years ago, I would have considered it the preserve of intrepid divers and wildlife enthusiasts.

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Established in 2001, DestinAsian is a leading luxury travel and lifestyle magazine in the Asia-Pacific region.  Our aim for each issue is to present an engaging editorial mix and stunning travel photography in a fresh, new light.  In addition to award-winning feature stories, we offer a regular line-up of sections that keep tabs on the latest developments and most tantalizing holiday ideas around Asia and the world.  DestinAsian is the ultimate resource for discerning individuals who share our passion for travel, and travelling in style.

Winner of The 2014 SOPA Award for Editorial Excellence in Lifestyle Coverage

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