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

Listen to this episode

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Google

Podbean

View All Episodes

About This Episode

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

View All Episodes

Latest Episodes Catch up with the pods you may have missed

Play

16 Oct 2026 • 26m01s

Ep 323: Singapore's Tourism Spending Slump, Scam Centres in Luxury Hotels & Resorts & Are Australians Starting to Adopt Vietjet?

As we march through Q4, upbeat news is in short supply across the region’s travel industry. This week’s round-up of South East Asia’s top talking points takes Gary and Hannah to Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Cambodia, Australia, Kazakhstan, Czech Republic and Saudi Arabia. With markets abuzz about earnings season, Singapore reports downbeat spending and arrivals numbers, and the best-case scenario for the Philippines in 2026 is flat versus 2025. Meanwhile, regional governments issue travel safety warnings for Saudi Arabia and airlines cancel flights after the deadly attack on Riyadh airport.

Play

9 Oct 2026 • 23m31s

Ep 322: Phu Quoc Fuels Vietnam's Tourism Rocket Ship, Thailand Moves Closer to Taxing Tourists & Russia's Rising Influence on South East Asian Tourism Planning

“Vietnam is riding a tourism rocket ship, and is on a totally different trajectory to the rest of South East Asia.” As we accelerate through October, this was another week packed with hot travel and tourism topics to discuss. To kickstart the weekend, Gary and Hannah journey across ASEAN and beyond with stopovers in Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Laos, Russia and India. We assess Phu Quoc’s dramatic tourism surge to already surpass its 2026 visitor target.

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 323: Singapore's Tourism Spending Slump, Scam Centres in Luxury Hotels & Resorts & Are Australians Starting to Adopt Vietjet?

Ep 322: Phu Quoc Fuels Vietnam's Tourism Rocket Ship, Thailand Moves Closer to Taxing Tourists & Russia's Rising Influence on South East Asian Tourism Planning

Hannah Pearson

Gary Bowerman