Ep 189: The Top 8 Travel & Tourism Talking Points in South East Asia in September 2023

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3 Oct 2023 • 32m12s

3, 23, 150,000, 17.9 million, 34 million & 80%. Numbers and statistics carry extra weight in South East Asia as we enter the fourth quarter, which is peak travel season in many countries and arrivals counting gets highly competitive.

So what do those numbers relate to? This week, Gary and Hannah analyse the 8 top talking points from September - and the meaning of each figure is revealed during the show.

The monthly round up takes us from Singapore to the Philippines via Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand and Indonesia. En route, we discuss proposed new airports, an upbeat destination marketing video, the timeline for a new tourism tax and a flag carrier’s catering woes.

Plus, we discuss movies in China that have caused fears about scams and fraud in South East Asia and new inscriptions on the UNESCO World Heritage list.

« Next Episode Ep 190: AI, OTAs, Payments & Ancillary Revenues for Independent Hotels, with Vikram Malhi, Zuzu Hospitality Previous Episode » Ep 188: Reflections on the Hotel Sector Recovery in South East Asia in 2023, with Jesper Palmqvist, STR

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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 189: The Top 8 Travel & Tourism Talking Points in South East Asia in September 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