Ep 245: Russian Tourists, Chinese Planes & Singapore's Forensic Concert Tourism Planning: March 2025 in Review

Listen to this episode
Listen on Apple Podcasts Apple Podcasts
Listen on Spotify Spotify
Listen on Podbean Podbean
View All Episodes

About This Episode

27 Mar 2025 • 33m24s

“Should South East Asian nations be worried by moves in South Korea and Türkiye to attract more Chinese and Russian tourists?” March proved to be the most fascinating month so far in 2025 for travel and tourism talking points in South East Asia. For our regular monthly rewind, Gary and Hannah travel through Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Cambodia, Laos and The Philippines, plus China, South Korea and, rare for us, Turkiye.

En route, we discuss the possibility of Chinese COMAC planes flying in Vietnam and Laos, Thailand cutting its visa-free stay from 60 to 30 days and new flight connections to Cambodia ahead of the nation’s new airport opening in July. Plus, we look at the forensic tourism planning behind Singapore securing Lady Gaga’s Asia-exclusive concerts in May, and assess the impact of Indonesia’s currency slump on domestic, inbound and outbound travel.

And we pack in casino tourism, cruise travel and a touted new airline in ASEAN’s largest air market.

« Next Episode Ep 246: Indonesia's Inbound, Outbound & Domestic Travel Outlook, with Pauline Suharno, ASTINDO Previous Episode » Ep 244: Taking South East Asia's 'Less Bad Travel' Pulse, with Stuart McDonald, Travelfish
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?

🎙️ About The Creators 🎧

Hannah Pearson

Hannah Pearson

Asia travel analyst and speaker. Director of Pear Anderson, a research & sales travel consultancy specialising in SEA and Muslim travel. Read more »

Gary Bowerman

Gary Bowerman

Asia travel analyst and speaker. Co-founder and director of Check-in Asia, a travel content, marketing and market research agency. Read more »

We'd love to hear from our listeners, so please send us your comments, feedback and questions! And, if you’re interested in being a guest, drop us a note at hello@theseasiatravelshow.com

💻 Linkedin Twitter Instagram Facebook
📻 Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Spotify Listen on Pocketcasts Listen on Podbean RSS
Copyright © 2020 The South East Asia Travel Show | Privacy Policy