Ep 162: The Top 10 Travel & Tourism Talking Points in South East Asia in January 2023

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2 Feb 2023 • 30m06s

2023 is a vital year for travel and tourism in South East Asia and Asia Pacific. January was a fascinating kick-start month for the region’s visitor economies. China reopened its airport gates, albeit gradually, the Lunar New Year launched the domestic and outbound travel calendar and tourism boards set out their (initial) 2023 visitor forecasts.

On today’s show, Gary and Hannah review January’s Top 10 travel talking points and discuss what they could mean for the 12 months ahead. The journey takes us to 9 countries around the region.

En route, we assess the return of Chinese tour groups to 7 ASEAN countries, discuss airport capacity in Vietnam and Thailand and address an administrative bottleneck for the Laos-China train.

Plus we talk sales tax refunds in Philippines, tourism villages in Indonesia, sky-high hotel rates in Singapore and two Malaysian Prime Ministers challenged in the courts over an aborted high-speed rail project. Phew!

« Next Episode Ep 163: Sustainable Travel Tracking in Vietnam & AI in Tourism, with Stuart McDonald, Travelfish Previous Episode » Ep 161: Ethics, Sustainability & Accessibility in Tour Operations, with Ewan Cluckie, Tripseed

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The first week of November is normally a calm period ahead of the end-of-year peak season mayhem, but the hot travel talking points continue to proliferate. While Hannah is at WTM in London, Gary recaps the latest developments across South East Asia and beyond. First up, the data breach at Amadeus and the statements released by Asian airlines, including Malaysian Airlines and Qantas, about what this means for passengers and their personal data.

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Ep 162: The Top 10 Travel & Tourism Talking Points in South East Asia in January 2023

About This Episode

Latest Episodes Catch up with the pods you may have missed

Ep 325: Jet Fuel Costs Dominate Q3 Airline Earnings, Grab & ASEAN's Accelerating Agentic Travel Revolution & AirAsia's 2027 Bahrain Reset

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

Hannah Pearson

Gary Bowerman