Ep 60: ASEAN Tourism: Where Do We Stand Now, and How Might Countries Reopen?

Australia counts one of Asia Pacific’s most fascinating visitor economies. It combines vibrant inbound, outbound and domestic leisure and business travel segments with large international education, VFR and working holiday components. One in 7 businesses in Australia is related to tourism. So, how is Australia recovering from Covid-19, and how is it planning ahead for the rest of the decade, and beyond? This week, Gary and Hannah welcome Samantha Palmer, General Manager of Visitor Economy and Client Programs, at the Australian Trade & Investment Commission (AusTrade), to discuss the Thrive 2030 tourism strategy.

From 4.4 million to 15.4 million. Thailand is way out in front in South East Asia for year-to-date visitors in 2023 vs 2022. Two-thirds through 2023, Gary and Hannah look back to compare the progress for visitor arrivals in 7 ASEAN nations. We also discuss 8 other key talking points from August, as the summer holiday season subsides and the region prepares for the Chinese Golden Week in October. En route, we discuss new developments in ASEAN’s cross-border payments programme, and assess the outlook in Thailand as a new Prime Minister vows to prioritise tourism.