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

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22 Feb 2022 • 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?

« Next Episode Ep 124: Two Years of Travel Disruption, Part 5 - Australia Reopens & Targets ASEAN, with Brent Anderson Previous Episode » Ep 122: Two Years of Travel Disruption, Part 3: A New Era Beckons in Singapore, with Karen Yue

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26 Jun 2025 • 40m18s

Ep 259: South East Asia's Top 10 Talking Points of 2025 So Far: Travel & Tourism in a New Era of Global Uncertainty

It’s been a pretty unsettling first half of 2025 on a geopolitical level, and the regional outcomes are creeping but still uncertain. Against this backdrop, South East Asian airports have remained busy - but structural and cyclical challenges for travel economies are emerging. So, what do the events of January-June tell us about the rest of 2025 and into 2026? This week, Gary and Hannah assess the 10 top takeaways in the year so far.

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20 Jun 2025 • 17m26s

Ep 258: Is an ASEAN Tourism Visa South East Asia's Most Pressing Travel Concern?

“Despite referencing the word ‘tourism’ 26 times in its new Vision 2045 plan, ASEAN remains uncomfortable discussing a regional tourism visa. This largely reflects its institutional limitations rather than a lack of ambition.” Over recent months, significant hype has surrounded the possibility of the 10 countries (soon 11) of South East Asia launching a shared visa for tourists. The context is that each country in the region wants to expand tourism to support economic development.

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

About This Episode

Latest Episodes Catch up with the pods you may have missed

Ep 259: South East Asia's Top 10 Talking Points of 2025 So Far: Travel & Tourism in a New Era of Global Uncertainty

Ep 258: Is an ASEAN Tourism Visa South East Asia's Most Pressing Travel Concern?

Hannah Pearson

Gary Bowerman