Ep 213: Visa Waivers, Extreme Weather, AI Tools & ‘All-Gender Weddings’: Revisiting the 2024 Travel Wishlist

About This Episode

10 May 2024 • 26m12s

As we speed towards the mid-point of 2024, it’s time to revisit our annual top 10 list of travel wishes and expectations, which we created in January. How have our predictions measured up so far this year?

En route, we assess whether travel visa waivers have become a competitive battleground in South East Asia, and look at evolving patterns in the Public Holiday vs Weekend vs Weekday travel economies.

Plus, are we seeing any progress to bridge the Say-Do gap in sustainable travel activity, and is there any evidence to support the AI hype in travel supply and demand? And we track the timeline of Thailand’s institutional journey to become the region’s first nation to legalise same-sex weddings. When could this become enshrined in law, and how might it influence new travel trends?

View All Episodes

Latest Episodes Catch up with the pods you may have missed

Play
16 Feb 2026 • 16m13s

Ep 286: Lunar New Year Segues into Ramadan, Thailand's Koh Samui Bridge & ASEAN Airlines Take Off for Europe: Start the Week with The South East Asia Travel Show

Where will Chinese tourists head for the longest Spring Festival holiday in history? How will regional travel hold up for the Lunar New Year break? And will the close proximity of the LNY and the Eid holiday seasons influence travel patterns in parts of South East Asia? On our fast-paced Start The Week show, Gary and Hannah stop over in,Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, China, Bahrain, London & Amsterdam in search of the answers to travel’s big questions.
Play
9 Feb 2026 • 16m46s

Ep 285: Vietnam's New January Inbound Record, AirFish in Singapore & What Will Elections in Thailand & Japan Mean for Tourism?: Start the Week with The South East Asia Travel Show

It’s a BIG week for tourism policy across Asia. On our fast-paced Start The Week show, Gary and Hannah stop over in Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines and Japan. Elections in Thailand and Japan returned the two interim Prime Ministers with clear mandates. What will this mean for Thailand’s attempts to stem its inbound decline? And will fiscal expansionism further weaken the Japanese Yen? And what about repairing relations between China & Japan and Cambodia & Thailand?