The Friday Rewind: A Bad Week For Thailand, But AirAsia Gets Bullish
Apple Podcasts
Spotify
PodbeanAbout This Episode
17 Jul 2020 • 16m05sThis is the debut edition of The Friday Rewind!
Gary and Hannah deliver an express, 15-minute recap of 5 key talking points in South East Asian travel and tourism from the past 7 days.
Today’s topics under discussion are:
-
It’s not been a great week for Thailand
-
Not a good week either for Vietnam Airlines
-
AirAsia’s Tony Fernandes comes out fighting;
-
Job losses at 2 big travel brands - Skyscanner and Resorts World Sentosa
… and, finally, some uplifting news…
- Two new UNESCO Geoparks are announced in Vietnam and Indonesia and Kampot in Cambodia reports an arrivals boost
Resources
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2020-07/15/c_139214849.htm?
https://en.unesco.org/news/geopark-2020
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/743294/slow-growing-roots-of-recovery-in-nations-hospitality-industry/
Latest Episodes Catch up with the pods you may have missed
Play
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.
Play
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.
