F1 is Back in Sepang. So is the Travel Rush
There is something about a big event that makes us suddenly very interested in going somewhere.
You might not have had Sepang on your weekend radar, but mention that Formula 1 is returning and, apparently, quite a few people have changed their minds. Within days of the announcement, international flight bookings to Kuala Lumpur more than doubled year-on-year, while hotel bookings in Sepang soared by more than 1,600%, according to Trip.com.
Sepang also landed among Trip.com’s five most-searched hotel destinations globally. Most hotels are now sold out or running low on rooms, with some rates climbing along with demand. If you were thinking of booking later, well, that ship may have sailed.
It is a useful reminder of how much major events can influence the way we travel. A concert, a race or a sporting event can turn a destination we might have overlooked into somewhere we suddenly want to be.
Malaysia has more of these moments coming. Alongside 2026 Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, major events including BTS concert, AirAsia HYROX Kuala Lumpur and Le Tour de Langkawi are expected to draw travellers from near and far. For a country already blessed with plenty of reasons to visit, a lively events calendar adds another rather compelling one.
And Malaysians are hardly sitting at home waiting for visitors.
Trip.com recorded Malaysia as having the highest year-on-year growth in flight and hotel spending across Southeast Asia in the first half of 2026, with both categories registering triple-digit growth. Outbound travel is also outpacing domestic travel, with Malaysians booking more than a month ahead on average, nearly a week earlier than they did last year.
China, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and Japan remain the most popular outbound destinations, while those planning more than 90 days ahead are favouring Guangzhou, Tokyo, Shanghai, Osaka and Seoul.
In other words, Malaysians are travelling, and increasingly, we are planning ahead.
For the practical among us, Trip.com’s Trip.Planner can help put those plans together. Available in English and Chinese, it offers recommendations based on what travellers are looking for, with food and dining unsurprisingly topping the list of planning requests.
Ultimately, the surge around F1 points to something bigger. Give people a good enough reason to go somewhere, and they will. Perhaps the future of travel is not just about where we want to visit, but what we want to experience when we get there.
About The Author
Officially a Deputy Editor with over 10 years in travel media. Unofficially? A professional suitcase overpacker with a knack for turning chance encounters and itineraries into vivid, story-driven features. When not fine-tuning articles, she's likely front row at a concert, taste-testing something spicy, or deep in a conversation that veered wonderfully off-topic.
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