Ep 176: The Top 10 Travel & Tourism Talking Points in South East Asia in May 2023

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29 May 2023 • 32m03s

May has been another hectic month as the travel recovery in South East Asia gathers momentum.

It kicked off with China’s May Golden Week, which delivered a huge domestic tourism boost, while Chinese outbound holidaymakers travelled around the region in greater numbers. This could presage an uplift in Chinese outbound tourism widely anticipated in the second half of 2023.

This week, Gary and Hannah discuss the Golden Week among a list of 10 key talking points from across South East Asia and beyond. We journey from Augmented Reality experiences to Sustainable Aviation Fuel announcements and from tourism taxes to record airline profits.

En route, we also examine how Japan is promoting outbound tourism to South East Asian markets, and the long-discussed liberalisation of Vietnam’s entry visa policy. Plus, are the prospects dimming for “Cannabis Tourism” in Thailand? And which city in Malaysia is developing a waterfront project touted as “The New Milan”?

« Next Episode Ep 177: A New Era of Chinese & Global Travel Payments, with Dr Cherry Huang, Alipay+, Ant Group Previous Episode » Ep 175: Bali’s Tourism Bounce-back Builds Momentum, with the Bali Hotels Association

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27 Apr 2025 • 33m31s

Ep 251: Mixed Travel & Tourism Vibes Across South East Asia: April 2025 in Review

April began with the announcement of US “reciprocal tariffs”, which ranged from 10% to 49% on exports from South East Asian nations. This has created toxic uncertainty across all industries in the region, notably business travel. But before the tariff turmoil, Q1 had delivered mixed results for travel and tourism, with the Eid al-Fitr holiday numbers particularly weak in Malaysia and Indonesia. Was this the result of the Lunar New Year and Eid public holidays being in the same quarter, or are we at the start of a cyclical travel slowdown in ASEAN?

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24 Apr 2025 • 34m37s

Ep 250: Macau's Ongoing Quest to Diversify its Casino Tourism Economy, with Glenn McCartney, University of Macau

Casino Tourism. Concert & Event Tourism. Medical Tourism. The Night Economy. Live-streaming. Public-Private Tourism Partnerships. Many of the hot topics related to Macau’s diversification of its tourism economy and inbound market mix bear similarities to countries in South East Asia. There are two key differences, however. Macau is the world city most reliant on tourism income as a proportion of GDP due to casino tourism, and it famously outstripped Las Vegas for gaming revenue in 2006.

Ep 176: The Top 10 Travel & Tourism Talking Points in South East Asia in May 2023

About This Episode

Latest Episodes Catch up with the pods you may have missed

Ep 251: Mixed Travel & Tourism Vibes Across South East Asia: April 2025 in Review

Ep 250: Macau's Ongoing Quest to Diversify its Casino Tourism Economy, with Glenn McCartney, University of Macau

Hannah Pearson

Gary Bowerman