Ep 266: More Indonesian Airports, Thai Crypto Tourists & Vietnam's Proposed Superapp: This Week in Review

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22 Aug 2025 • 26m46s

Indonesia plans to expand its total of international airports by Presidential decree. Thailand fires the regional starting gun for crypto payments in tourism (when will other countries join the race?). Vietnam launches its own ‘Superapp’ to be rolled out over the next two years. It’s been a week of mega-announcements in South East Asia as concerns grow about slowing travel and tourism momentum and looming geo-economic disruptions.

Join Gary and Hannah as they travel through ASEAN to discuss the top travel talking points of the past seven days. En route, we look at why Bali’s governor says the island doesn’t need a casino, and why the Philippines’ Minister of Tourism has “nothing but a plastic bullet” to battle other countries for tourists.

And finally, why is the free flights giveaway in Thailand proving less popular than hoped for?

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22 Aug 2025 • 26m46s

Ep 266: More Indonesian Airports, Thai Crypto Tourists & Vietnam's Proposed Superapp: This Week in Review

Indonesia plans to expand its total of international airports by Presidential decree. Thailand fires the regional starting gun for crypto payments in tourism (when will other countries join the race?). Vietnam launches its own ‘Superapp’ to be rolled out over the next two years. It’s been a week of mega-announcements in South East Asia as concerns grow about slowing travel and tourism momentum and looming geo-economic disruptions. Join Gary and Hannah as they travel through ASEAN to discuss the top travel talking points of the past seven days.
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14 Aug 2025 • 33m26s

Ep 265: Rethinking Indonesia's Under-achieving Inbound Tourism Sector, with Nur Wulan T

“Indonesia has the potential to lead in eco-tourism, in cultural heritage and in Muslim-friendly tourism… but it tries to promote everything all at once, which dilutes the message.” Beautiful, vast and complex, Indonesia is the world’s largest archipelago nation, and home to the planet’s fourth-largest population. But tourism is heavily concentrated in Bali, which recorded 45% of inbound arrivals to Indonesia in 2024. Meanwhile, Indonesia lags behind Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam for visitor arrivals, attracting 13.