Ep 283: ASEAN Launches 2030 Tourism Roadmap, 20 Years of the Singapore Air Show & Bangkok's Major MICE Win: Start the Week with The South East Asia Travel Show

About This Episode

2 Feb 2026 • 17m53s

In the fourth edition of our Start The Week show; a fast-paced ride through the hottest travel topics in South East Asia and beyond, Gary and Hannah land in Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia Myanmar, Japan and China. En route, we deconstruct the key points of ASEAN’s 2026-2030 Tourism Blueprint, look at why the IMF/World Bank annual summit is headed to Bangkok, and get ready to buy our Shanghai flight tickets with China’s visa-free travel scheme extended to UK citizens. Plus, we look at why the 20th anniversary of the Singapore Air Show will spotlight the growth and diversity of aviation across South East Asia. We check in on the coastal erosion controversy in Malaysia’s Penang Island, and look back on 5 years since the military coup in Myanmar. We finish by assessing what this weekend’s elections in Thailand and Japan might mean for the visitor economy outlook of both countries. All this in just 17 minutes.

View All Episodes

Latest Episodes Catch up with the pods you may have missed

Play
19 Mar 2026 • 22m55s

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.
Play
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.