Experiential Travel: Sports and Art in Asia-Pacific
How experiential travel changes you
If you’ve ever crossed the globe to follow a sports team or be part of a bucket-list event, you’ll know those experiences don’t simply create lasting travel memories; they have the power to challenge your perspective and inspire new ideas.
Recent Priority Pass research points to the rise of experiential travel, with travellers increasingly planning trips around the sporting, cultural and lifestyle experiences they care about.
“Travel is no longer just about checking destinations off a list; there’s a growing shift towards experience-led itineraries,” says Christopher Evans, CEO of Collinson International.
We’ve curated a selection of experiences across Asia-Pacific as part of our new, always-on Sports, Arts and Fashion event series.
Be inspired by something bigger
The Sydney Marathon on 30 August is a true test of physical and mental endurance in one of the world’s most spectacular urban settings, but the experience begins well before race day.
If you’re participating in this year’s marathon, you’ll know the journey starts months before you arrive with long, early-morning training runs and the commitment to doing something challenging. By race day, the course becomes the reward: the Harbour Bridge at dawn, the city unfolding beneath your feet and 42 kilometres of spectacular scenery.
And if you’re cheering from the sidelines, you too will feel inspired by being part of something much bigger than a race: a celebration of the human spirit.
Discover new ways of seeing the world
Seoul doesn’t need an art fair to feel culturally electric, but Frieze Seoul raises the voltage considerably.
At Frieze Seoul, from 2 to 5 September, you’ll step into one of the most creatively dynamic places on earth, where contemporary art, design, fashion and culture continually evolve. Design studios share walls with centuries-old teahouses, gallery openings blur into late-night street-food missions, and conversations between artists, collectors and curators feel ahead of the curve.
If you’re planning travel around cultural experiences, the reward of a trip built around Frieze Seoul isn’t just the art you’ll experience – it’s returning home with the sense that the world is wider and more wonderfully strange than you’d previously imagined.
Inside Matina Lounge at Seoul Incheon Airport, contemporary interiors and warm timber finishes reflect the city’s distinctive blend of innovation and tradition. It’s the kind of space that invites you to sit with a new idea a little longer before the journey continues.
Be moved by being in the moment
As motorsport’s original night race, the Singapore Grand Prix – happening this year on 11 October – is unlike anything else on the Formula 1 calendar.
The race itself is spectacular: a night circuit that winds through the Marina Bay waterfront, city lights reflected on the track, and corners that allow almost no margin for error.
But the atmosphere extends way beyond the circuit. Restaurants buzz with energy, rooftop bars come alive, and the sense of collective excitement and anticipation is more palpable than on any ordinary weekend.
This is what makes the experience so memorable – the feeling of being part of something larger than yourself, and, for a few days, replacing your usual routine with pure exhilaration. It’s a reminder of how rewarding it can be to fully immerse yourself in the moment.
The Sydney Marathon, Frieze Seoul and Singapore Grand Prix may offer very different experiences, but they have one thing in common: the potential for travel to transform you by taking you beyond what’s familiar. Wherever your next journey takes you, Priority Pass helps make every step of the experience as rewarding as the destination itself.