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

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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

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

About This Episode

Latest Episodes Catch up with the pods you may have missed

Ep 310: Vietnam's Airlines Expand at Warp Speed, Bangkok Rides the Mega-Wellness Wave & Durian Tourism Ambassadors in Malaysia: June 2026 in Review

Ep 309: Vietnam's Great Airport Race, Cambodia Hedges its China Bets & Robotic Wellness Zen in Singapore

Hannah Pearson

Gary Bowerman