Ep 6: Travel Buzzword Bingo

“There’s a significant amount of downplaying the risk level to the public, but those striking disembarkation scenes with hazmat suits and water showers on the MV Hondius cruise ship tell us how seriously the WHO is taking this outbreak.” Zoonotic viruses are back in the headlines six-and-a-half-years after Covid was identified in China. So too are terms like “Contact Tracing,” “Mask Wearing” and “Breaking the Chains of Transmission”. Gary and Hannah kickstart the week by taking a closer look at the unresolved questions and issues around the Hantavirus outbreak.

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.