Ep 165: The China v India Inbound Battle Heats Up in South East Asia

About This Episode

23 Feb 2023 • 31m11s

With China finally back in the game, tourism boards and the media across South East Asia are starting to compare inbound arrivals from China and India. It’s still very early days, of course, but what have we learned so far?

How are tourism boards dividing their marketing dollars to attract visitors from the region’s two largest countries? And which country will allow Chinese tourists to pay in RMB?

Also this week, Gary and Hannah discuss the new THB300 Tourism Fee in Thailand, a visa-on-arrival controversy in Malaysia, cruise ambitions in the Philippines and Vietnam’s plastic trash calculations which compare the waste discarded by inbound and domestic tourists.

Plus, we get rather excited about Air Japan, ANA’s new low-cost carrier due launch in 2023 which intends to “capture inbound demand from overseas by launching flights to major cities in South East Asia.” We are watching the website already!

View All Episodes

Latest Episodes Catch up with the pods you may have missed

Play
30 Nov 2023 • 35m42s

Ep 193: Reflections on a Hectic Year of Travel in South East Asia and Beyond, with Vincent Vichit-Vadakan

Just back from Jakarta and Hanoi, respectively, Gary and Hannah can confirm that South East Asian airports are getting busier as the end-of-year travel season nears. So, it’s the perfect time to revisit some key tourism themes in 2023 with Bangkok-based travel journalist Vincent Vichit-Vadakan. Vincent was last on the show in April 2022, when the regional outlook was very different. This year, he has travelled on assignment to over 25 destinations including Singapore and Vietnam on various occasions, plus China, Nepal and Maldives.
Play
9 Nov 2023 • 26m36s

Ep 192: The Top 8 Under-the-Radar Travel & Tourism Talking Points in South East Asia

Could Brunei become a regional aviation hub connecting China and South East Asia? And how might AI, humanoid simulants and an apocalyptic sci-fi landscape boost movie tourism in Thailand? This week, Gary and Hannah have created a list of 8 travel developments that may not make major headlines, but are still highly interesting. These tourism talking points that snuck under the radar take us from Singapore to Brunei, Indonesia to China and Thailand to Japan.