Technology 5 min read By Callum Montgomery
AI can spread tourists beyond hotspots, Klook cofounder tells Macau forum
Ethan Lin argues overtourism is a concentration problem rather than a volume problem, as new survey data shows 57% of young Asian travellers use AI to find lesser-known destinations.
Overtourism in Asia is better understood as a distribution failure than an overcrowding crisis, according to Ethan Lin, co-founder of the travel platform Klook, who told a business forum in Macau that artificial intelligence can help channel visitors towards lesser-known destinations.
Speaking at the Fortune Leaders Forum on 8 September, Lin rejected the framing of overtourism as a simple numbers problem. «Overtourism is a concentration problem, not a volume problem,» he said, arguing that too many travellers converge on a small number of locations within a country while the wider destination remains unexplored.
That concentration has tested residents in hotspots such as Kyoto and Bali, where local patience has worn thin and governments have responded with tourist taxes and reduced visa stays. Lin's answer is not to cap arrivals but to diversify where they go, and he pointed to AI as the tool most likely to achieve it.
Klook's Travel Pulse survey of Generation Z and millennial travellers across Asia found that 57% had used AI to discover new destinations or experiences. «Technology and AI help to diversify traffic into different and lesser-known destinations,» Lin said.
The claim was reinforced on a separate travel panel by David Mann, Mastercard's chief economist for Asia-Pacific, who said company data shows subscribers to AI services are more likely to visit places off the beaten path. «People are looking to discover more places, more hidden gems, and plenty of places they've never tried before,» Mann said. AI «can really help them to find that even more effectively.»
Operators are already experimenting with the same logic through different channels. Myoko Suginohara Ski Resort in Japan worked with American snowboarder Travis Rice to raise the profile of its backcountry terrain. Ken Chan, founder of Singapore-based Patience Capital Group, which owns the resort, said Rice brought a film crew for two seasons to shoot top boarders descending the mountains. «This makes viewers want to have that experience, and encourages them to come over to Myoko,» Chan said.
The push towards dispersal sits alongside a broader shift in what motivates travel. Jane Sun, chief executive of, described demand as driven by the «three Ps»: premium, purposeful and pro-leisure travel. She said the most expensive package the platform has ever offered, a tour priced at $200,000 per person, sold out in 17 seconds.
Events are a powerful draw for younger travellers. Sun cited concerts by G-Dragon, Blackpink and Jay Chou, alongside NBA games and Formula 1 races, as bookings that «sold out almost instantly» on the platform.
In Macau, integrated resorts are building their own attractions to reduce reliance on gaming, dining and shopping. SJM Resorts hosts the Macao Open golf tournament, while Melco-owned City of Dreams stages «House of Dancing Water», an aquatic spectacle featuring aerial acrobatics. Gerard Walker, SJM's chief hospitality officer, said visitors «come for the golf, but they'll stay for the dining, the hotel, and the holistic experience we offer here in Macau».
Flexible working is reshaping the calendar as well. Sun noted that growing numbers of employees work Monday to Thursday and fly their families out on Friday for a long weekend. Lin observed that behaviour changes on holiday: «When we're in our own home city, we tend to be more lazy on weekends, deciding to just stay in or head out for a quick dinner. But when they travel, they have to spend more.»
For destinations weighing visitor caps against economic benefit, the forum's message was that the problem may be solvable through better information rather than restriction. If AI can reliably surface the hidden gems that travellers say they want, the pressure on Kyoto and Bali may ease without closing the door on the visitors their economies depend on.
