Ep 233: A New Bali Airport, Laos Backpacker Perils & Chinese Aircraft Ready for Take-off: November 2024 in Review

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28 Nov 2024 • 29m21s

“There are a lot of unknowns and hints of nervousness about 2025.” With ASEAN nations weighing up their travel outlooks for the Year of the Snake, November was an eventful month. This week, Gary and Hannah, rewind the month’s top travel takeaways featuring Laos, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia, plus investment updates from China - and we round up the region’s latest travel stats.

We tackle the fallout from the fatal backpacker poisonings in Laos, “unsatisfactory tourism performance” in Singapore and the latest on the new North Bali Airport. We delve into Chinese aircraft manufacturer COMAC’s latest plays to get ASEAN airlines to buy its planes, and an eye-catching collaboration in Hong Kong.

Plus, Etihad announces 5 new route services in South East Asia and Penang opens its airport gates to Chennai. And which destination is hoping charter flights from Poland will help meet its 2024 visitor arrivals target?

« Next Episode Ep 234: South East Asia's Top 10 Travel & Tourism Stories of 2024: An Eventful 12 Months in Review Previous Episode » Ep 232: Self-Drive Travel, Flying Taxis, Scam Fears & an Icy Winter Tourism Hotspot: October 2024 in Review

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Ep 266: More Indonesian Airports, Thai Crypto Tourists & Vietnam's Proposed Superapp: This Week in Review

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14 Aug 2025 • 33m26s

Ep 265: Rethinking Indonesia's Under-achieving Inbound Tourism Sector, with Nur Wulan T

“Indonesia has the potential to lead in eco-tourism, in cultural heritage and in Muslim-friendly tourism… but it tries to promote everything all at once, which dilutes the message.” Beautiful, vast and complex, Indonesia is the world’s largest archipelago nation, and home to the planet’s fourth-largest population. But tourism is heavily concentrated in Bali, which recorded 45% of inbound arrivals to Indonesia in 2024. Meanwhile, Indonesia lags behind Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam for visitor arrivals, attracting 13.

Ep 233: A New Bali Airport, Laos Backpacker Perils & Chinese Aircraft Ready for Take-off: November 2024 in Review

About This Episode

Latest Episodes Catch up with the pods you may have missed

Ep 266: More Indonesian Airports, Thai Crypto Tourists & Vietnam's Proposed Superapp: This Week in Review

Ep 265: Rethinking Indonesia's Under-achieving Inbound Tourism Sector, with Nur Wulan T

Hannah Pearson

Gary Bowerman