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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30 Oct 2025 • 26m28s

Ep 272: Scam Centre Tourism Impacts, SAF Mandates, Q4 Travel Promotions & Timor Leste Joins ASEAN: October 2025 in Review

After a quiet September, October travel activity was stimulated by various national holidays (including Golden Week in China, Chuseok in South Korea, Diwali/Deepavali in India, Malaysia & Singapore and Undas in the Philippines). These created air travel spikes that set the scene for the region’s highly anticipated end-of-year peak season, with destinations making promotional plays to attract each other’s holidaymakers. We begin by looking at the accession of Timor Leste to ASEAN and the prospects of a peace settlement between Thailand and Cambodia.

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10 Oct 2025 • 34m24s

Ep 271: Chinese Holidaymakers Jet Off, Multiple Muslim Tourism Initiatives & Fiscal Relief for Travel Workers: September + Golden Week in Review

After three weeks in Japan, Singapore and Italy, Gary and Hannah are back in KL to recap the top travel talking points from September and early October. China’s Mid-Autumn Golden Week has just wrapped up, so we assess the current state of play in a diversifying Chinese outbound market. Elsewhere, we discuss a raft of new Muslim-friendly tourism initiatives being introduced across South East Asia, note a shift towards waterborne transport innovation and crunch the numbers of a tax relief scheme for travel industry workers in Indonesia.

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 272: Scam Centre Tourism Impacts, SAF Mandates, Q4 Travel Promotions & Timor Leste Joins ASEAN: October 2025 in Review

Ep 271: Chinese Holidaymakers Jet Off, Multiple Muslim Tourism Initiatives & Fiscal Relief for Travel Workers: September + Golden Week in Review

Hannah Pearson

Gary Bowerman