Ep 145: Checking Malaysia’s Travel Recovery Pulse, with Tunku Dato Seri Iskandar Tunku Abdullah

“Both Malaysia and ASEAN have been generally dependent on the Chinese outbound market, so we need a conscious and strategic shift to other markets.” This week, Gary and Hannah bring it home to Malaysia to discuss the emergent travel recovery with special guest Tunku Dato Seri Iskandar Tunku Abdullah, Group Executive Chairman of Melewar Group.

An experienced tourism industry leader in Malaysia, Tunku is a life member of ASEANTA and a Former President of PATA. We take a detailed look at the landscape for inbound, outbound and domestic travel, and the outlook for corporate travel and MICE.

We assess the impacts of human resource challenges, a low supply of airline seats and high-priced air tickets on the early-stage recovery. With the Chinese market still absent, which source markets should Malaysia focus on to attract more visitors?

Plus, how are customer booking trends changing, and what are the key challenges for Malaysia – and ASEAN – in the second half of 2022, and into 2023.