Ep 123: Two Years of Travel Disruption, Part 4 - Pandemic Travel Experiments That Failed

About This Episode

22 Feb 2022 β€’ 30m54s

Who remembers the “one billion visitors by 2024” prediction? How about GeNose testing, the Special Tourist Visa and the Hong Kong-Singapore Air Travel Bubble?

It’s been a long two years of the pandemic, and various attempts have been made to revive travel in South East Asia. In Part 4 of the Two Years of Travel Disruption series, Gary & Hannah rewind through 2020 and 2021 to pick out the travel proposals, initiatives and experiments that didn’t get off the ground - or, if they did, faded from view.

En route, we recall Singapore’s “contract signing speed dating” project, a spurned sandbox in Cambodia and the absence of promised airline support in Thailand.

Plus, what happened to the Malaysia-Indonesia VTL, why did Indonesia backtrack on banning backpackers, and will there ever be an ASEAN Travel Corridor - or at least mutual recognition of vaccine certificates between the 10 member countries?

View All Episodes

Latest Episodes Catch up with the pods you may have missed

Play
14 Jan 2026 β€’ 9m50s

Ep 280: 25 for 2025: The South East Asia Travel Show's Year in Review

In 2025, The South East Asia Travel Show was downloaded in more countries than ever before. Listeners logged in across the globe, from Albania to Liberia and Micronesia to Venezuela. But which were our Top 20 listener markets in 2025? During the year, we produced 43 editions of the show, but which were the 5 most-downloaded shows? And which country is the subject of 2 of our Top 5 shows, and what does that tell us about the direction of travel through 2025 and into 2026?
Play
12 Jan 2026 β€’ 12m06s

Ep 279: Disneyland Thailand, Chinese Cruising in ASEAN & Vietnam Doubles Arrivals in 9 Years: Start the Week With The South East Asia Travel Show

Welcome to the debut edition of our new Start The Week show - a succinct 15-minute summary of the hottest 5 travel topics in South East Asia and beyond. Our first mini show takes Gary and Hannah from Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand to China and Saudi Arabia. En route, we discuss a potential Disney theme park in eastern Thailand, Chinese cruise tourism, e-gate tech challenges between Singapore and Malaysia, cross-border EV charging packages, and the logistics of developing a Hajj village for almost a quarter of a million Indonesian pilgrims.