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

Why is Thailand considering a second tourism tax? Could the Philippines rescind its decision to scrap an outbound air travel fee? Which ASEAN airlines are cutting the most flights from May-July? And is India’s outbound growth story hitting an energy-crunch roadblock? Those are four of the key questions Gary and Hannah ask and answer on our Start the Week show. To kickstart the May holiday week, we head to Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and Myanmar via India and South Korea to tackle the 6 top regional talking points. En route, we also discuss the implications of Thai Air Asia’s domestic flight cuts - and the downgrading of its two-hub model in Bangkok. Changi T3 undergoes a major makeover as a tech-enhanced testbed for T5, and Grab begins cross-border ride-hailing services. Plus, Malaysia makes a play for healthcare tourists from Myanmar, and - much to Hannah’s delight - Baby Shark arrives in Singapore for new IP Tourism collabs.