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 • 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?

« Next Episode Ep 182: Reflecting on 3 Years of Tourism Recovery in Maldives, with Thoyyib Mohamed, Visit Maldives Previous Episode » Ep 180: SuperApps Scale Up to Sell More South East Asian Travel, with Brett Henry, MG Group

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Seaplane regulations, a fatal speedboat accident and new cyberscam centre revelations. This week’s show takes Gary and Hannah around ASEAN and beyond, with stopovers in Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Timor Leste and the Middle East. We begin with the latest updates on flights connecting South East Asia and the Middle East as the military conflict between the US and Iran flares up once again. We look at the latest developments in IATA’s battle to promote sustainable aviation fuel while at the same time challenging government policies.

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3 Jul 2026 • 22m17s

Ep 310: Vietnam's Airlines Expand at Warp Speed, Bangkok Rides the Mega-Wellness Wave & Durian Tourism Ambassadors in Malaysia: June 2026 in Review

“They are not happy with just Vietnam, just Thailand - now they are going after Australia!” The scale of ambition and speed of commercial aggression shown by Vietnamese airlines is a stand-out feature of 2026, and there is no sign of a slowdown. On our monthly round-up of the top travel and tourism talking points in South East Asia and beyond in June, Gary and Hannah look at how airline strategies are shifting in ASEAN, Asia, Australia and the Middle East East - and the new threads tying them together.

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

About This Episode

Latest Episodes Catch up with the pods you may have missed

Ep 311: Speedboat Safety in Vietnam, Scam Centres in Cambodia & Timor Leste & Seaplanes in Thailand

Ep 310: Vietnam's Airlines Expand at Warp Speed, Bangkok Rides the Mega-Wellness Wave & Durian Tourism Ambassadors in Malaysia: June 2026 in Review

Hannah Pearson

Gary Bowerman