Ep 52: Reconnecting the US & Asia Through Travel, with Sandra Thomas-Comenole

Listen to this episode

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Pocketcasts

Google

Podbean

View All Episodes

About This Episode

22 Jan 2021 • 31m00s

This week, Gary and Hannah chat with Denver-based travel marketer, behavioural economist and podcaster Sandra Thomas-Comenole.

During a varied career, Sandra has worked with several international travel brands, including InsideJapan Tours, Croatian Tourism and the US National Parks Service. In a fascinating interview, she discusses how behavioural economics can help guide travel marketers through an uncertain 2021, the pitfalls of traveller sentiment surveys and the impending leadership challenges should tourism rebound at a rapid rate.

We also discuss the current state of destination marketing in the US, and some of the opportunities for engaging more closely with Asian markets and travellers to accelerate the economic recovery.

After being overlooked as a priority economic sector by several US administrations, does the Biden-Harris ticket offer new hope for travel and tourism funding, strategy development and implementation for tourism in the US?

« Next Episode Ep 53: Planning a Tourism Turnaround in Malaysia Previous Episode » Ep 51: What is ASEAN & Why is it Important for Travel & Tourism?

View All Episodes

Latest Episodes Catch up with the pods you may have missed

Play

1 Oct 2026 • 30m38s

Ep 321: Tracking the Take-off of AI, Intelligent & Automated Technologies at South East Asian Airports

Digital Twins. Automated Ground Operations. Predictive Sustainability. Humanoid Robots. E-Gates. Urban Air Transport. Inter-modality. South East Asia’s air landscape is changing before our eyes, as air travel volumes increase and passenger expectations are constantly upgrading. These factors broaden the range of operational challenges for major hub airports, fast-growing airports in tier-two and tier-three cities and the new mega-airports opening from Singapore to the Philippines and Australia to Vietnam. Can AI and intelligent technologies improve the management of busier skies and more crowded departures and arrivals lounges without the need to build bigger terminals?

Play

29 Sep 2026 • 30m01s

Ep 320: Vietnam Leads on ASEAN Air Passenger Integration, Severe Weather Events Pummel Asia & Low-Key Chinese Golden Week Outlook

“If you go back three of four years, you’d have expected Singapore to take the lead on such a regionally important project - but now it’s Vietnam.” That seems significant. With three quarters of 2026 completed, pan-Asian air travel networks look rather different from the start of the year. The 9th month of the year, September, featured a raft of intriguing developments across South East Asia, plus China, Australia and Canada.

Ep 52: Reconnecting the US & Asia Through Travel, with Sandra Thomas-Comenole

About This Episode

Latest Episodes Catch up with the pods you may have missed

Ep 321: Tracking the Take-off of AI, Intelligent & Automated Technologies at South East Asian Airports

Ep 320: Vietnam Leads on ASEAN Air Passenger Integration, Severe Weather Events Pummel Asia & Low-Key Chinese Golden Week Outlook

Hannah Pearson

Gary Bowerman