Hat Yai in southern Thailand hailed Asia’s most affordable travel destination

One of the globe’s most popular online travel platforms hailed Hat Yai district in the southern province of Songkhla as the most affordable travel destination in Asia.

Agoda released a ranking of cities that offer the most affordable stays in Asia, providing suggestions for users seeking budget-friendly holidays or those wishing to extend their trips within a limited budget. The ranking was based on accommodation costs per night between June 15 and July 7 of this year.

Hat Yai, a popular city in Songkhla, topped the ranking with an average accommodation cost of 1,250 baht per night. The platform highlighted that Hat Yai is ideal for visitors who want to stay close to nature, even while in the city centre, as the city features the Hat Yai City Municipal Park.

Agoda also recommended that visitors try local street food at Kimyong Market and experience the mixed culture of Hat Yai, a border city connecting Thailand with Malaysia. The city is also well-connected, with Hat Yai International Airport making travel convenient for visitors.

The complete list of affordable destinations suggested by Agoda includes:

1. Hat Yai, Thailand (1,250 baht/night)
2. Yogyakarta, Indonesia (1,340 baht/night)
3. Kuching, Malaysia (1,905 baht/night)
4. Siargao Island, the Philippines (2,009 baht/night)
5. Dalat, Vietnam (2,009 baht/night)
6. Narita, Japan (2,043 baht/night)
7. Goa, India (2,341 baht/night)
8. Taichung, Taiwan (3,407 baht/night)
9. Busan, South Korea (4,017 baht/night)

This is not the first time Hat Yai has topped the ranking, as the city was also listed as the most affordable destination in Asia last year, 2023.

In an interview with Than Settakij news agency in January, the Director of the Hat Yai Tourism Authority Office, Nongyao Jirandon, revealed that Hat Yai’s primary target market is Malaysian tourists. The province also aims to attract Singaporean and Indonesian visitors following the introduction of direct flights by Air Asia.

Visitors from Malaysia can also travel to Hat Yai by train from KL Sentral in Kuala Lumpur, which runs two to five times a day.