Ep 35: Is it Vaccine or Bust for Tourism Reopening in South East Asia?

About This Episode

10 Sep 2020 • 36m00s

“This virus is just beating us all, isn’t it?” Gary and Hannah fend off feelings of despair on this week’s pod, and tackle different approaches for rebooting travel.

From Iceland to Bali, Phuket to Maldives, China to New Zealand, we assess what measures have been tried, which are being ruled out, and those that still hold out faint hopes for the near future.

En route, we seek to trademark the phrase “Vaccine Bubble,” and canvas ideas from travel industry figures in Asia and worldwide on taking those all-important next steps to revive tourism.

But with Asian leaders proceeding with extreme caution, and no-one wanting to be the first to fail, are some countries simply waiting it out in anticipation of a vaccine being available in early 2021?

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.