February is a short month, but The South East Asia Travel Show still produced 4 new podcasts. We kickstarted our 8-part Two Years of Travel Disruption series, which looks back on the short-, mid- and long-term impacts of the region’s 2-year-long COVID-19 travel shutdown. The first 4 episodes of the series included two interviews, with Bali-based Stuart McDonald, Founder of Travelfish, and Karen Yue, Group Editor of TTG Asia. Click the links below to listen to our February 2022 shows - listed in ranking order (for total listens during the month):
As South East Asia approaches two years since the Great Pandemic Travel Shutdown began, signs of a gradual revival are emerging across the region. But the impacts on the travel and tourism industries are severe. Over the next 8 weeks, Gary Bowerman and Hannah Pearson will produce a series of shows with the help of regional experts. Together, we will assess the changes delivered by the pandemic, expected changes up ahead – and changes that should, but probably won’t, happen at all.
We kickstarted 2022 by producing 5 new podcasts - including our annual 2-part travel wish list show for South East Asia, and a regional round-up ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday. We also interviewed Lombok-based travel filmmaker Josh Edwards. Click the links below to listen to our January 2022 shows - listed in ranking order: Ep 115: 2022: The Current State of Travel & Tourism in South East Asia Ep 116: 22 For 2022: A Wishlist for Travel & Tourism in ASEAN - Part I Ep 118: 22 for 2022: A Wishlist for Travel & Tourism in ASEAN - Part II Ep 117: Producing Travel Shows in Lombok, with Josh Edwards Ep 119: Is South East Asia Ready to Reboot Travel in the Year of the Tiger?
Thank you to everyone who contributed and listened to The South East Asia Travel Show during our second year in 2021. Despite the immense difficulties for the travel and tourism sectors, interest in South East Asia remains strong - and is getting stronger! During 2021, The South East Asia Travel Show produced 67 new episodes. These included: 35 interviews on subjects ranging from sports tourism to casino travel, tourism education to hotel marketing, and airline data analytics to restaurant management.
Global interest in South East Asian travel & tourism soared in November, as the region began to reopen its borders. During the month, travel talk turned cautiously positive after 20 months of gloom. And then - right at the end of November - Omicron arrived! November 2021 saw The South East Asia Travel Show again break our monthly download record for the 3rd successive month - with 10.25% listener growth compared to October.
Have you listened to our new weekly show, The SEA Travel News Show yet? Launched in October 2021, The SEA Travel News Show airs every Friday. Each edition is a snappy mix of news, updates and interviews to keep you up to speed with travel developments in South East Asia. Here are brief details of the first three episodes of the show: #1 - Two Months to Rescue Travel & Tourism in 2021 Features the hottest updates from Thailand, Bali, Singapore and Australia.
Interest in South East Asia travel and tourism is surging as borders start to reopen - and more listeners than ever are downloading our podcasts. In October 2021, The South East Asia Travel Show published 6 new podcasts, and we reached listeners in 55 countries worldwide. The top 10 listener markets were: Australia, US, UK, Canada, Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and India. Four European nations, Belgium, Italy, Germany and Greece, appeared between 10th-20th on the list, along with Japan, New Zealand, UAE, Hong Kong, Philippines and Cambodia.
Chinese spending power is coveted more than ever as recession, spiralling debt and high unemployment threaten to dampen a recovery in domestic and regional travel. “South East Asian countries where economic growth relies heavily on tourism, such as Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore, are suffering the most, followed by Indonesia and the Philippines… Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia are facing less of an impact.” The prospect of anyone uttering those words five months ago was virtually zero.