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

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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?

« Next Episode Ep 214: Running Away to the Circus, and Cambodia's Tourism Recovery, with Craig Dodge, Phare Previous Episode » Ep 212: 'Everyone Wants to Go to Japan': The Best Bits From The South East Asia Travel Show in April 2024

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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.

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

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