Ep 164: South East Asia’s Top 10 New Airport, High-Speed Rail & Transport Projects, with James Clark, Future South East Asia

About This Episode

15 Feb 2023 • 32.00s

“A groundbreaking moment in the history of rail travel in South East Asia.” Wherever you travel in South East Asia, it’s hard to miss the transport infrastructure being built out on a vast scale – often with financing and technology from China. This will be a feature through the 2020s and beyond - albeit with countries like Japan, South Korea and maybe India joining in.

This week, Gary is joined by James Clark, Producer of the Future Southeast Asia newsletter, to discuss the region’s Top 10 airport, high-speed rail and other travel and transport infrastructure projects. These range from new airport terminals in Singapore, Malaysia and Cambodia to South East Asia’s first high-speed railway due to open later this year, and another scheduled for 2026.

Plus we discuss a metro system in Vietnam, a railway upgrade connecting Bangkok and Thailand’s southern beaches - and the potential issues for passengers ahead of the cross-border opening of the China-Laos railway.

View All Episodes

Latest Episodes Catch up with the pods you may have missed

Play
11 Sep 2026 • 32m04s

Ep 317: Vietnam's Golden Tourism Year Continues, Thailand Revises its Visa Rules for Travellers & AirAsia Tests New Routes into Europe

So, we’re just three weeks away from that all important fourth quarter of the year - and it’s a hectic time across the travel landscape, with plenty of talking points to deconstruct. This week, Gary and Hannah discuss the air travel impacts of a major volcanic eruption (with a familiar name) in Indonesia and a State of Emergency in Malaysia caused by wild fire “haze”. Plus, we look at how Russian, Chinese and South Korean tourists are fuelling Vietnam’s dynamic inbound surge, while Cambodia counts the cost of a dismal year for international arrivals.
Play
21 Aug 2026 • 35m46s

Ep 316: Thailand's Tourism Tax is Back, Vietnam Targets 50 Million Visitors & Russia Entices South East Asian Tourists

“Tourists are now viewed as a source of taxation revenue. It’s increasingly hard to raise taxes on your own citizens, but if you have 30+ million tourists each year, that’s a lot of potential tax you can raise.” This week, Gary and Hannah discuss the multiple challenges Thailand faces in increasing its proposed tourism tax, from THB300 to THB450 - and collecting it. Meanwhile, Vietnam’s stellar tourism run continues with a raft of upcoming initiatives and an eye-watering new inbound tourism target.