The Travel Industry Podcast for ASEAN and Asia Pacific...

So, we’ve passed a significant threshold. The first half of 2024 is completed – and an unseemly scramble will now occur to try and match – or get very close to – 2019 travel metrics across the region. In this context of competition, it’s time to round up the top 8 travel talking points from June – and what an action-packed month it proved to be. This week, Gary and Hannah travel around ASEAN, with stopovers in Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Laos and Myanmar, plus China and – better believe it – Kenya.

The ‘Dubai of ASEAN’. China’s Mega-Percentages. The ‘Next Taylor Swift’ Event. Tourism in an Ageing Region. At the end of the first half of 2024, Gary and Hannah look back at the 10 most consequential travel takeaways in South East Asia and beyond. En route, we discuss political leadership change in three key markets, a proliferation of proposed tourism fees and the expansion of ‘digital identity’ in airports. Plus, we dive into Singapore’s Vision 2040 and Vietnam’s visitor forecasts through 2045.

This week, Thailand confirmed it IS targeting 40 million arrivals in 2024. Achieving this goal would set an annual record for Thailand and - crucially - surpass the 39.9 million visitors in 2019. It would be a stellar achievement. So, it’s the perfect time to assess the year so far in Thai tourism - and look ahead - with Bangkok-based travel journalist Vincent Vichit-Vadakan. We discuss Thailand’s visa liberalisation measures in recent months, and its highly anticipated Soft Power Conference later in June - which will present a diverse vision of Thailand’s future, including tourism, culture, arts, cuisine, music, fashion and festivals among its 11 soft power pillars.

“The narrative is changing. We’re not talking about the pace of hotel rate growth anymore.” Stability and volatility may sound contradictory, but both terms help to explain hotel performance in South East Asian markets and China so far in 2024. To delve deeper into the evolving travel, tourism and geo-economic factors influencing the hotel industry, Gary and Hannah welcome Jesper Palmqvist, Senior Director, Asia Pacific, at STR CoStar, back to the show.