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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5 Jun 2026 • 19m50s

Ep 306: Will El Niño be the Next Major Travel Shock?: Start the Weekend with The South East Asia Travel Show

As we accelerate towards the mid-point of 2026, the warning signs continuing showing up. On our Start the Weekend show, Gary and Hannah discuss new data analysis about the impacts of airline cuts in South East Asia - and what this might mean through October and beyond. And, then… El Niño is coming! The UN Meteorological Office has issued new details about the warming sea temperatures and shifting air currents we can expect from June onwards.

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29 May 2026 • 30m21s

Ep 305: Flight Cuts & Currency Drops, More Indian Tourists Head to Vietnam & Is an ASEAN Jet Fuel Stockpile Realistic?: May 2026 in Review

So, the fifth month of 2026 is complete - and it was another one dominated by the impacts of the US/Israel war in Iran/Lebanon. This week, Gary and Hannah recap May’s top 8 travel takeaways from across ASEAN and beyond with stopovers in Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines and Cambodia, plus China, India and the UK. En route, we discuss flight route cuts across South East Asia, China, Japan and South Korea, and look at whether plans for an ASEAN reserve stockpile of crude oil would ease future jet fuel shocks.

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 306: Will El Niño be the Next Major Travel Shock?: Start the Weekend with The South East Asia Travel Show

Ep 305: Flight Cuts & Currency Drops, More Indian Tourists Head to Vietnam & Is an ASEAN Jet Fuel Stockpile Realistic?: May 2026 in Review

Hannah Pearson

Gary Bowerman