Ep 292: Eid Travel Trends, Thailand Merges Tourism & Culture & Vientiane's Electric Pole Superstar: Start the Week with The South East Asia Travel Show

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23 Mar 2026 • 19m02s

Our fast-paced Monday morning Start The Week show is back. This week, Gary and Hannah stop over in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines in search of the answers to South East Asia’s big travel questions. We look at the Eid holiday trends across the region and even into China, and assess an intriguing new flight service connecting Vietnam, Kazakhstan and Czech Republic. Plus, we deconstruct the reasons why Thailand’s government wants to merge the Ministries of Tourism and Culture, and summarise the findings of a new report about the challenges of tourism infrastructure development in the Philippines. Plus, why hasn’t the Philippines’ President named a successor to the departed Secretary of Tourism? And why has an electricity pole in the Laotian capital Vientiane become a viral hit on social media?

« Next Episode Ep 293: A New Survey Report on the Impacts of War in the Middle East on Travel Businesses in South East Asia Previous Episode » Ep 291: As the Energy Crisis Impacts Spread Across Asian Travel, Can K-pop Save the World?

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Ep 292: Eid Travel Trends, Thailand Merges Tourism & Culture & Vientiane's Electric Pole Superstar: Start the Week with The South East Asia Travel Show

About This Episode

Latest Episodes Catch up with the pods you may have missed

Ep 302: Thailand's Newest Tourism Tax, 2 ASEAN Airlines in Global Flight Cuts Top 10 & Baby Shark in Singapore: Start the Week with The South East Asia Travel Show

Ep 300: Thailand & Cambodia Pursue Peace, Myanmar Nears ASEAN Return & Embodied AI Tourism in Malaysia: Start the Week in The South East Asia - Part 1

Hannah Pearson

Gary Bowerman