Ep 237: South East Asia's Top 8 Pre-Lunar New Year Travel & Tourism Talking Points: January 2025 in Review

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24 Jan 2025 • 34m07s

The Lunar New Year travel period has begun! Chinese tourists are staggering their trips to South East Asia to avoid the Golden Week travel rush…

So, following this trend, we’ve expedited our monthly round-up. This week, Gary and Hannah assess the Top 8 talking points from a very hectic January 2025 – perhaps even more frenetic than usual given the fairly early occurrence of the LNY. This month’s top takeaways take us to Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Laos, Myanmar… and more.

Along the way, we discuss the Thai Prime Minister’s AI video to assure Chinese tourists about safety, Bali buries its hotel development moratorium, the Visit 2026 campaign experiences hiccups in Malaysia, and there’s an unexpected move in Laos as it revokes visa waivers. Plus, we touch on an intriguing budget win by the Secretary of Tourism in the Philippines, and we celebrate the first same-sex marriage ceremonies in Thailand.

« Next Episode Ep 238: Using the 5Fs, White Lotus, Lalisa & Soft Power to Reposition Thai Tourism, with Chattan Kunjara, Tourism Authority of Thailand Previous Episode » Ep 236: South East Asia's Top 8 Travel Mega-Projects in 2025, with James Clark, Future South East Asia

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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.

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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.

Ep 237: South East Asia's Top 8 Pre-Lunar New Year Travel & Tourism Talking Points: January 2025 in Review

About This Episode

Latest Episodes Catch up with the pods you may have missed

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

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

Hannah Pearson

Gary Bowerman