Ep 197: South East Asia's Top 8 Travel & Tourism Talking Points in January

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2 Feb 2024 • 33m19s

The 2023 visitor arrivals and airport passenger statistics are published, and the gloves are off. As the region prepares for a vibrant Lunar New Year travel season, 2024 is set to be the most shape-shifting year for travel since 2019. So, how has South East Asia started the year in travel and tourism terms? Gary and Hannah discuss January’s Top 8 talking points, which include bilateral visa-free travel agreements with China, proposals for a “seamless ASEAN” and a “single ASEAN airline”, plus a national MICE Sustainability certification. We also discuss the variable forecasts for visitor arrivals in 2024 and shifting post-Covid patterns of competition among Asia Pacific’s four largest airports.

Plus, we assess the origin and curtailment of a significant tax hike that caused uproar across Indonesia’s tourism industry.

« Next Episode Ep 198: Will Taylornomics Encourage OTAs & SuperApps to Sell Concert Tickets in Asia? Previous Episode » Ep 196: The Outlook for Travel & Tourism in Vietnam, with Mike Tatarski, Vietnam Weekly

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

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Ep 197: South East Asia's Top 8 Travel & Tourism Talking Points in January

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