Ep 181: The Top 10 Travel & Tourism Talking Points in South East Asia in the First Half of 2023

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5 Jul 2023 β€’ 37m57s

Thailand. China, India & Russia. Visa Backlogs. Indonesia’s Air Sector. A Short-Term Rental Ban. Taylor Swift & Coldplay. High-Speed Rail. Love the Philippines.

What connects the dots? All feature in our round-up of South East Asia’s Top 10 talking points from the first half of 2023. As the region moves on from its first full half year of travel since 2019, Gary and Hannah discuss the key issues and vital takeaways.

Plus, we forecast some of the hot issues to watch in the second half of the year. Will we see a slowdown in intra-regional pent up travel demand? Will Chinese tourists stream into South East Asia in larger numbers? Can regional airports cope if they do? Will long-haul air fares stay as high as they are right now? How will depreciating currencies impact inbound and outbound travel?

And should we finally cast off the shadow of the “return to 2029 levels” recovery benchmark?

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