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?

« Next Episode Ep 267: Pre-Golden Week Visa-Easing Tricks, Rising Costs of the Thai-Cambodia War & Senior Tour Guides vs Robots: August 2025 in Review Previous Episode » Ep 265: Rethinking Indonesia's Under-achieving Inbound Tourism Sector, with Nur Wulan T

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Ep 291: As the Energy Crisis Impacts Spread Across Asian Travel, Can K-pop Save the World?

As the energy crisis impacts start to diversify across Asia, Gary and Hannah ask a simple question: Can K-pop save the world? This week’s journey takes us from Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia and Laos to Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines, plus Maldives and Sri Lanka. En route we assess some of the radiating outcomes of war in the Middle East that go far beyond airlines and air connectivity. And we turn to South Korea for hope and inspiration.

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Ep 290: The Economic Impacts of War in the Middle East for Travel & Tourism Across South East Asia

“It’s a cliche to say that everything is in flux, and that there is a great deal of uncertainty across travel economies. But it’s true.” The US and Israel’s ongoing aerial bombardment of Iran and Lebanon - and the worsening unintended consequences of retaliatory strikes on energy assets and other installations across the Middle East - are raising crisis fears across Asian economies. Travel and tourism are once again in the cross-hairs, and it’s starting to feel like Covid 2.

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

About This Episode

Latest Episodes Catch up with the pods you may have missed

Ep 291: As the Energy Crisis Impacts Spread Across Asian Travel, Can K-pop Save the World?

Ep 290: The Economic Impacts of War in the Middle East for Travel & Tourism Across South East Asia

Hannah Pearson

Gary Bowerman