Today, we present some findings from The State of Southeast Asia: 2021, conducted by the ASEAN Studies Centre at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute (https://www.iseas.edu.sg/) in Singapore, to show how people in ASEAN view education and tourism. This research is based on an online survey of over 1,000 respondents from ten ASEAN countries.

            

                  When asked which country they would choose to study abroad if given a scholarship, the majority of respondents from ASEAN chose the United States, followed by the United Kingdom, the European Union, Australia, and Japan. Only 3.7% opted to study within ASEAN countries, which is still lower than New Zealand at 4.7%.

            

                  As for the most popular travel destinations among people in ASEAN, Japan ranks first, followed by countries in the European Union, ASEAN countries, New Zealand, and Australia. Only 2.9% chose China, 5.4% chose the United States, and 4.9% chose the United Kingdom.

            

                  Looking at the most popular ASEAN countries to visit, Thailand ranks first, followed by Singapore and Vietnam. Thailand is a favorite destination for Singaporeans (43%) and Malaysians (41.9%). The ASEAN countries that Thai people prefer to visit the most are Singapore, Vietnam, and Indonesia, respectively. The countries that ASEAN citizens show the least interest in traveling to are Cambodia (2%) and Brunei (1.3%).