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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28 Oct 2026 • 26m15s

Ep 324: Malaysia's Air Passenger Slump, Sydney Joins the 'Two-Airports Club' & Singapore Plans Christmas with BTS

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16 Oct 2026 • 26m01s

Ep 323: Singapore's Tourism Spending Slump, Scam Centres in Luxury Hotels & Resorts & Are Australians Starting to Adopt Vietjet?

As we march through Q4, upbeat news is in short supply across the region’s travel industry. This week’s round-up of South East Asia’s top talking points takes Gary and Hannah to Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Cambodia, Australia, Kazakhstan, Czech Republic and Saudi Arabia. With markets abuzz about earnings season, Singapore reports downbeat spending and arrivals numbers, and the best-case scenario for the Philippines in 2026 is flat versus 2025. Meanwhile, regional governments issue travel safety warnings for Saudi Arabia and airlines cancel flights after the deadly attack on Riyadh airport.

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 324: Malaysia's Air Passenger Slump, Sydney Joins the 'Two-Airports Club' & Singapore Plans Christmas with BTS

Ep 323: Singapore's Tourism Spending Slump, Scam Centres in Luxury Hotels & Resorts & Are Australians Starting to Adopt Vietjet?

Hannah Pearson

Gary Bowerman