Ep 271: Chinese Holidaymakers Jet Off, Multiple Muslim Tourism Initiatives & Fiscal Relief for Travel Workers: September + Golden Week in Review

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10 Oct 2025 • 34m24s

After three weeks in Japan, Singapore and Italy, Gary and Hannah are back in KL to recap the top travel talking points from September and early October. China’s Mid-Autumn Golden Week has just wrapped up, so we assess the current state of play in a diversifying Chinese outbound market.

Elsewhere, we discuss a raft of new Muslim-friendly tourism initiatives being introduced across South East Asia, note a shift towards waterborne transport innovation and crunch the numbers of a tax relief scheme for travel industry workers in Indonesia.

Plus, Thailand’s THB300 Tourism Tax is being resuscitated (again), and the nation’s tourism authority is turning to the diplomatic community as travel influencers. Plus, we delve deeper into AirAsia’s potential purchase of COMAC planes, and take a quick layover in Brunei to reflect on the region’s smallest visitor economy.

« Next Episode Ep 272: Scam Centre Tourism Impacts, SAF Mandates, Q4 Travel Promotions & Timor Leste Joins ASEAN: October 2025 in Review Previous Episode » Ep 270: From Japan to South East Asia to South America: Confronting the Cumulative Challenges of Tourism, with Joao Romao

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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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13 Mar 2026 • 33m52s

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 271: Chinese Holidaymakers Jet Off, Multiple Muslim Tourism Initiatives & Fiscal Relief for Travel Workers: September + Golden 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