Ep 183: The Top 8 Travel & Tourism Talking Points in South East Asia in July 2023

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1 Aug 2023 • 32m32s

July, the seventh month of 2023, proved another busy period along South East Asia’s road to a travel and tourism recovery.

This week, Hannah and Gary chat through the Top 8 travel talking points in July. The journey unwinds from Thailand to Singapore, Bali to Kuala Lumpur, Japan to Cambodia and China to Saudi Arabia. We discuss the half-year arrivals in each country, the Top 10 airlines in the region and the three nations comprising almost two-thirds of South East Asia’s total airline capacity.

We look at the variance on the new Henley Passport Index, which revealed a large spectrum from Singapore (ranked #1 worldwide) and Myanmar (#90). Plus, what’s the travel outlook for China’s October Golden Week? Should all countries develop a ‘Saudi Arabia Strategy’ for inbound and outbound travel? And what factors are shaping Thailand’s ‘Tourism Deficit’ with Japan?

« Next Episode Ep 184: Pop Music Tourism in the Spotlight as Taylor Swift & Blackpink Fever Grips South East Asia Previous Episode » Ep 182: Reflecting on 3 Years of Tourism Recovery in Maldives, with Thoyyib Mohamed, Visit Maldives

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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.

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Ep 270: From Japan to South East Asia to South America: Confronting the Cumulative Challenges of Tourism, with Joao Romao

Economic and social processes shape tourism development, but - in turn - tourism reshapes economic spaces, and that is creating new challenges in South East Asia and beyond. This week, Gary welcomes Joao Romao, Associate Professor at Yasuda Women’s University in Japan, to discuss his new book, Economic Geography of Tourism. An economist, tourism strategy advisor and former travel documentary maker, Joao assesses contemporary tourism through a lens of shifting global economic, technological, societal, environmental and political challenges.

Ep 183: The Top 8 Travel & Tourism Talking Points in South East Asia in July 2023

About This Episode

Latest Episodes Catch up with the pods you may have missed

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

Ep 270: From Japan to South East Asia to South America: Confronting the Cumulative Challenges of Tourism, with Joao Romao

Hannah Pearson

Gary Bowerman