Ep 235: South East Asia's 15 Travel & Tourism Hot Topics to Watch in 2025

About This Episode

10 Jan 2025 • 29m26s

Happy New Year to all our listeners, and welcome to the start of the 6th year of The South East Asia Travel Show.

In 2024, for the first time, our show was downloaded in more than 100 countries (actually, 113) - and as this is the time of year for forecasting, we’re aiming for 120 in 2025. To kick off the year, Gary and Hannah have put together a list of 15 hot travel and tourism topics to watch out for over the next 12 months.

No spoilers, but the journey takes us to Thailand, Malaysia (East & West), Singapore, Vietnam, The Philippines and Myanmar, plus China, India, Japan, South Korea, Australia and Nepal… and mentions for the EU and BRICS. We wrap up by each selecting our 2025 Tourism Word of the Year.

View All Episodes

Latest Episodes Catch up with the pods you may have missed

Play
9 Aug 2025 • 21m55s

Ep 264: Vietnam's Golden Year Continues, THAI Back on the Bourse, India & Philippines Agree 'Free-Visas' & Happy 60th Birthday Singapore: This Week in Review

Vietnam’s inbound tourism boom in 2025 continues. Malaysia targets tourism to reach 16% of GDP. India and the Philippines talk “free visas”. THAI Airways confirms its post-Covid comeback by returning to the stock market. Boracay “streamlines” its various entry fees” And Singapore celebrate its 60th birthday since independence. It’s been a pretty hectic news week across South East Asia. Join Gary and Hannah as they travel through ASEAN to discuss the top travel and tourism talking points of the past seven days.
Play
2 Aug 2025 • 37m31s

Ep 263: War, Tariffs, GDP Revisions & Slowing Visitor Arrivals: July 2025 in Review

July was a challenging month for travel and tourism in South East Asia. A military conflict between Thailand and Cambodia shook the region. New ‘reciprocal’ US tariff rates will challenge bottom lines and business travel budgets for the foreseeable future. Meanwhile, mixed results continue for visitor arrivals, consumer spending and travel sentiment. This month’s Top 10 Travel Talking Points round-up takes Gary and Hannah from Malaysia to Thailand, Cambodia, Singapore, Vietnam, the Philippines and, inevitably given the global geo-economic situation, Washington DC.