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

About This Episode

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”?

View All Episodes

Latest Episodes Catch up with the pods you may have missed

Play
5 Feb 2026 • 30m49s

Ep 284: Did ASEAN Surpass 2019 Arrivals in 2025?, New Airlines in Vietnam & Currency Craziness Everywhere: January 2026 in Review

January disappeared in a flash - and what a crazy month it was worldwide. Here in South East Asia, an intriguing slate of talking points emerged to set up the 2026 travel year - and Lunar New Year is just around the corner. As we do every month, Gary and Hannah recap January’s top 8 takeaways from across ASEAN and beyond with stopovers in Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Laos, Thailand… and Russia.
Play
2 Feb 2026 • 17m53s

Ep 283: ASEAN Launches 2030 Tourism Roadmap, 20 Years of the Singapore Air Show & Bangkok's Major MICE Win: Start the Week with The South East Asia Travel Show

In the fourth edition of our Start The Week show; a fast-paced ride through the hottest travel topics in South East Asia and beyond, Gary and Hannah land in Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia Myanmar, Japan and China. En route, we deconstruct the key points of ASEAN’s 2026-2030 Tourism Blueprint, look at why the IMF/World Bank annual summit is headed to Bangkok, and get ready to buy our Shanghai flight tickets with China’s visa-free travel scheme extended to UK citizens.