Ep 193: Reflections on a Hectic Year of Travel in South East Asia and Beyond, with Vincent Vichit-Vadakan

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30 Nov 2023 • 35m42s

Just back from Jakarta and Hanoi, respectively, Gary and Hannah can confirm that South East Asian airports are getting busier as the end-of-year travel season nears.

So, it’s the perfect time to revisit some key tourism themes in 2023 with Bangkok-based travel journalist Vincent Vichit-Vadakan. Vincent was last on the show in April 2022, when the regional outlook was very different.

This year, he has travelled on assignment to over 25 destinations including Singapore and Vietnam on various occasions, plus China, Nepal and Maldives. We discuss the current tourism landscape in Thailand, and the explosive international growth of a Bangkok-based hotel brand. We tackle infrastructure challenges for tourism in Vietnam, talk sustainable hotel development in Singapore, discover outdoor experiences along the Tea Horse Trail in China’s Yunnan Province and explore Kyoto as tourism returns to Japan.

Plus, which airports in South East Asia are operating more effectively than others? And why is Soft Power set to be a tourism battleground in 2024?

« Next Episode Ep 194: 2023 in Review: This Year’s Top 10 Travel & Tourism Talking Points in South East Asia Previous Episode » Ep 192: The Top 8 Under-the-Radar Travel & Tourism Talking Points in South East Asia

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Ep 193: Reflections on a Hectic Year of Travel in South East Asia and Beyond, with Vincent Vichit-Vadakan

About This Episode

Latest Episodes Catch up with the pods you may have missed

Ep 268: Techo Airport Takes Off, Thai Baht Volatility & Turmoil in Indonesia: This Week in Review

Ep 267: Pre-Golden Week Visa-Easing Tricks, Rising Costs of the Thai-Cambodia War & Senior Tour Guides vs Robots: August 2025 in Review

Hannah Pearson

Gary Bowerman