Indonesia, Philippines Power New BIMP-EAGA Tourism Era

Travelers planning a multi-country trip to Southeast Asia are set to benefit from a quiet but meaningful shift in regional tourism, as Indonesia and the Philippines move to the forefront of new connectivity plans with Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam under the Brunei Darussalam–Indonesia–Malaysia–Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area, or BIMP-EAGA.

A Subregional Bloc Steps Into the Tourism Spotlight

Created in the mid-1990s to accelerate development in some of Southeast Asia’s most remote provinces, BIMP-EAGA has long focused on trade and infrastructure. Recent strategies put tourism squarely at the center of that vision, alongside connectivity, food security and environmental sustainability, according to publicly available regional plans and reports.

The bloc covers eastern Indonesia, East Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam and Mindanao and Palawan in the southern Philippines, areas rich in marine parks, rainforest, dive sites and Indigenous cultures. Many of these destinations have remained secondary in mainstream itineraries dominated by Bangkok, Bali or Singapore, but are now being framed as a single cross-border playground for nature, culture and halal-friendly travel.

Regional tourism outlook papers for 2024 to 2026 indicate that intra-ASEAN travel, in particular, has rebounded strongly, with Indonesia and Malaysia among the top earners from tourism receipts and the Philippines working to narrow its post-pandemic gap. Within that larger story, BIMP-EAGA is increasingly cited as a testbed for new routes and collaborative marketing that knit together lesser-known cities and islands.

For travelers, that means the map of Southeast Asia is quietly being redrawn. Instead of flying in and out of a single regional hub and backtracking, visitors are gradually gaining more options to enter through one BIMP-EAGA gateway, cross borders overland or by sea, and exit from another, turning four different countries into one extended journey.

New Routes Put Secondary Cities on the Tourist Map

Air links are at the heart of the current push. BIMP-EAGA transport blueprints highlight new and revived routes such as Manado to Kota Kinabalu, building on earlier services between places like Davao, Puerto Princesa, Bandar Seri Begawan and East Malaysian cities. Recent presentations by Indonesian agencies to regional forums emphasize that better air connectivity within the eastern archipelago and with neighboring BIMP-EAGA hubs is now considered critical to meeting ambitious tourism targets for 2029.

At the same time, assessments of the Philippines’ tourism performance note that its recovery has lagged behind some neighbors partly because of limited direct links from regional and long-haul markets. Policy documents and ministerial briefings outline plans to work with airlines and airport operators to expand point-to-point services to secondary gateways, including those within the BIMP-EAGA footprint such as Davao, General Santos and Puerto Princesa.

Malaysia, which recorded some of the highest visitor numbers in Southeast Asia in 2025, has benefited from strong connections through Kuala Lumpur and its East Malaysian airports in Kota Kinabalu and Kuching. Industry coverage notes that a growing share of regional arrivals are now flowing onward to Borneo’s beaches, dive sites and national parks, supporting the case for more triangular itineraries that include Brunei’s capital Bandar Seri Begawan and nearby Indonesian or Philippine ports.

Travelers can expect route changes to appear gradually rather than as a sudden wave. Airlines in the region have been selectively restoring or experimenting with flights, often starting with low-frequency services that target diaspora traffic, business travelers and niche tourism segments such as scuba diving or Muslim-friendly holidays. For visitors willing to connect through regional hubs or pair air travel with ferries, the practical options for cross-border trips inside the BIMP-EAGA zone are steadily widening.

Indonesia and the Philippines Seek More Value, Not Just Volume

Indonesia has outlined a tourism strategy that favors higher-value, longer-staying visitors over sheer volume, while positioning ASEAN neighbors as its strongest growth engine. Presentations shared at recent ASEAN Tourism Forum meetings describe initiatives that combine digital marketing, experience curation and sustainability standards, particularly in destinations outside Bali such as Sulawesi, Maluku and Kalimantan, many of which fall within BIMP-EAGA’s boundaries.

For the southern Philippines, the focus has been on converting domestic tourism strength into more resilient international arrivals. Economic and tourism analysis from regional institutions points to the country’s high share of GDP linked to travel and tourism, yet also to slower international growth compared with peers. Connectivity projects, including those under the BIMP-EAGA framework, are being presented as a way to channel more foreign visitors into Mindanao and Palawan, where communities are eager to diversify beyond agriculture and extractive industries.

Both Indonesia and the Philippines are aligning their national branding with this subregional push. Campaigns promoting “new” islands, dive circuits and cultural corridors increasingly reference cross-border themes, from shared maritime heritage in the Sulu and Celebes seas to birdwatching routes that extend from Malaysian Borneo into Indonesian national parks. Publicly available statements from tourism officials across the bloc stress collaboration rather than competition, framing neighboring destinations as complementary rather than rival products.

For travelers, this shift could translate into more curated cross-border experiences, such as multi-island expedition cruises, community-based ecotourism trails and halal travel packages that move seamlessly across at least two or three BIMP-EAGA countries. While many of these products are still emerging, the policy groundwork now being laid is likely to shape what is available over the next three to five years.

Malaysia and Brunei Strengthen the Borneo Backbone

Malaysia’s strong tourism rebound has put a spotlight on Borneo as a core pillar of regional travel. Recent visitor data show millions of arrivals flowing through the country’s main hubs, with an increasing share heading onward to East Malaysia’s beaches, highlands and dive sites. Industry analysis describes new investments in airports, roads and hospitality infrastructure in Sabah and Sarawak, both key components of the BIMP-EAGA geography.

Brunei Darussalam, though a much smaller tourism player by volume, features prominently in subregional planning documents as a high-income niche market with ambitions in eco-tourism, Islamic tourism and nature conservation. National development plans highlight large infrastructure and diversification projects, including efforts to leverage forests, mangroves and coastal reserves as low-impact tourism assets rather than simply extraction zones.

Joint statements emerging from economic and tourism meetings over the past year reference Borneo repeatedly as a shared tourism platform linking Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia. Cross-border road corridors, new bridges and streamlined border formalities are being advanced as ways to make overland journeys more viable, including for self-drive travelers who want to traverse multiple Borneo jurisdictions in a single trip.

From a visitor’s perspective, this emerging “Borneo backbone” could soon make it easier to, for example, fly into Kota Kinabalu, spend time in Brunei’s water villages and protected forests, then continue by land or short flights into Indonesian Kalimantan. While some segments of this journey already exist, BIMP-EAGA connectivity plans aim to reduce friction points such as multiple immigration stops, limited public transport and inconsistent tourism information.

What It Means for Planning Your Next Southeast Asia Trip

For travelers eyeing Southeast Asia in the late 2020s, the practical impact of BIMP-EAGA’s tourism push will likely be felt in three main ways: more secondary gateways, smoother multi-country combinations and a wider mix of nature and culture experiences in less crowded settings. Instead of defaulting to the region’s largest cities, visitors may find competitively priced flights into places like Kota Kinabalu, Bandar Seri Begawan, Manado or Davao, with onward links that make looping through multiple countries more efficient.

Those planning trips should, however, expect uneven progress. Reports on regional connectivity frequently point to gaps in flight capacity, limited long-haul links to some BIMP-EAGA destinations and the slow pace of infrastructure upgrades in certain border areas. Ferry schedules, road conditions and cross-border bus services can remain variable, particularly outside peak holiday seasons. Careful route planning, flexible dates and attention to local transport advisories remain essential.

At the same time, data from ASEAN tourism outlook studies show that intra-regional travel continues to grow faster than many long-haul markets, suggesting that more Southeast Asians themselves will use these emerging corridors. For international visitors, traveling along routes popular with regional tourists can bring practical benefits, from more frequent flights to better-adapted services for diverse dietary, religious and language needs.

Ultimately, the rise of BIMP-EAGA as a tourism corridor gives travelers a chance to experience a different face of Southeast Asia: coral-rich seas instead of only city skylines, Indigenous communities alongside historic royal capitals, and journeys that stitch together four countries through shared coastlines rather than only through major airline hubs. For those willing to look beyond the usual stops, the foundations being laid today could make their next trip more connected, more varied and, potentially, more rewarding.