Ep 194: 2023 in Review: This Year’s Top 10 Travel & Tourism Talking Points in South East Asia

Listen to this episode

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Google

Podbean

View All Episodes

About This Episode

14 Dec 2023 • 36m26s

The first full calendar year of travel and tourism in South East Asia since the pandemic is almost complete. And what a dramatic 12 months it has been.

To take stock, Gary and Hannah have created a list of the Top 10 travel and tourism talking points in South East Asia and beyond in 2023. Our review of the year journeys from Indonesia to China, via Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines.

En route, we discuss the region’s first high-speed railway, the return of visa waivers and a ban on short-term rentals. We assess why three island destinations in the region are struggling to recover and the shifting travel payments landscape.

Plus, we tap into music tourism and a boost for hotel bookings by the Time Person of the Year, and Malaysia’s late-year statistical surprise.

« Next Episode Ep 195: The 2024 Travel & Tourism Wishlist for South East Asia Previous Episode » Ep 193: Reflections on a Hectic Year of Travel in South East Asia and Beyond, with Vincent Vichit-Vadakan

View All Episodes

Latest Episodes Catch up with the pods you may have missed

Play

28 Nov 2025 • 32m08s

Ep 275: Indonesia's Biometric Airport Corridor, Hotel Taxes in Malaysia & What Happens Next Between China & Japan?: November 2025 in Review

With one month remaining of 2025, airports are getting busy across South East Asia as the year-end travel season swings into gear. And November was another month filled with intriguing talking points to break down. We begin by discussing the long-term societal, political and travel impacts of heavy flooding in Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines. We take to the skies to address whether AirAsia might enter Vietnam via a stake share in Vietravel Airlines, and ponder the science fiction elements of new Biometric Corridors to verify traveller identities in Indonesia.

Play

27 Nov 2025 • 32m50s

Ep 274: Will Indonesia Build a High-Speed Railway to Bali, What is the 'Cosmic Turtle' & When Will Long Thanh Airport Open?: South East Asia's Top Travel Mega-Projects in 2025 in Review

Will Indonesia build a high-speed railway to Bali? Why Is 19 December a vital date in Vietnam? What is the ‘Cosmic Turtle’? When will the first passengers touch down at Long Thanh Airport? And will Thailand’s “Three Airports High-Speed Train” ever take to the tracks? This week, Gary welcomes back James Clark, Founder of the Future South East Asia newsletter, to discuss the politics, financing, construction and traveller benefits of 2025’s biggest and boldest travel and transport mega-projects across the region.

Ep 194: 2023 in Review: This Year’s Top 10 Travel & Tourism Talking Points in South East Asia

About This Episode

Latest Episodes Catch up with the pods you may have missed

Ep 275: Indonesia's Biometric Airport Corridor, Hotel Taxes in Malaysia & What Happens Next Between China & Japan?: November 2025 in Review

Ep 274: Will Indonesia Build a High-Speed Railway to Bali, What is the 'Cosmic Turtle' & When Will Long Thanh Airport Open?: South East Asia's Top Travel Mega-Projects in 2025 in Review

Hannah Pearson

Gary Bowerman