Ep 256: A 'Resort Airline', An OTA Law Suit, Time for Timor Leste & Blackpink Back in the Area: May 2025 in Review

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6 Jun 2025 • 40m55s

May was another hectic month of BIG travel, tourism and geopolitical talking points in South East Asia. This month’s roundup takes Gary and Hannah around ASEAN, from our home city of Kuala Lumpur to Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Timor Leste and Vietnam – plus China, India (sort of), Saudi Arabia and Kazakhstan.

En route, we discuss China’s new ASEAN visa, Indonesia clings to its high-speed rail ambitions, and ASEAN accumulates an 11th member, and perhaps as a 12th in future. We feature a mini round-up of travel takeaways from the Philippines, including airport privatisation, a digital nomad visa and visa-free access for Indian travellers.

Plus, Vietnam’s “resort airline in the sky,” AirAsia takes on Saudi Arabia and Vietjet lands in Kazakhstan. And, we finish with a regional concert tourism review and preview, featuring Lady Gaga in Singapore and Blackpink preparing to kill the love in four South East Asian capitals.

« Next Episode Ep 257: Chinese Backpackers, Mountains Clad with Solar Panels, a Giant Lenin Statue & Delightful Almaty: An Epic Overland Journey from Bali to Britain, with Stuart McDonald Previous Episode » Ep 255: Vietnam is the Hottest Travel Economy in South East Asia: So What Happens Next?, with Dr Nuno Ribeiro, RMIT University HCMC

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11 Sep 2025 • 30m46s

Ep 268: Techo Airport Takes Off, Thai Baht Volatility & Turmoil in Indonesia: This Week in Review

September is historically a slow month for travel news in South East Asia. With the October Golden Week imminent, followed by the peak November-February tourism season, it’s usually a period to reflect and prepare. Not this year. Political upheaval and economic instability in ASEAN’s two largest economies, Indonesia and Thailand, are front-page news. Events in both nations have the potential to influence the end-of-year travel season, not least in Thailand where an enforced national election is likely.

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29 Aug 2025 • 35m12s

Ep 267: Pre-Golden Week Visa-Easing Tricks, Rising Costs of the Thai-Cambodia War & Senior Tour Guides vs Robots: August 2025 in Review

Vietnam and South Korea have “visa-easing tricks up their sleeves” as China’s October Golden Week nears. And, with two-thirds of 2025 completed, attentions are turning to the peak end-of-year travel season across Asia. That’s the backdrop for a frenetic month of travel activity region-wide in August. For our regular monthly round-up, Gary and Hannah travel around ASEAN with stopovers in Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines, plus China and South Korea.

Ep 256: A 'Resort Airline', An OTA Law Suit, Time for Timor Leste & Blackpink Back in the Area: May 2025 in Review

About This Episode

Latest Episodes Catch up with the pods you may have missed

Ep 268: Techo Airport Takes Off, Thai Baht Volatility & Turmoil in Indonesia: This Week in Review

Ep 267: Pre-Golden Week Visa-Easing Tricks, Rising Costs of the Thai-Cambodia War & Senior Tour Guides vs Robots: August 2025 in Review

Hannah Pearson

Gary Bowerman