Ep 68: The Current State of Travel in South East Asia and Beyond

About This Episode

28 Apr 2021 • 35m00s

With the COVID-19 pandemic now in its 14 month, what have we learned and how will those lessons be – or not be – applied in future? This week, Gary and Hannah take on some of the ‘big picture’ talking points in travel and tourism in ASEAN.

The show asks, and tries to answer, 7 critical questions:

  1. What do travel and tourism mean today, and do we have a different outlook than before the pandemic?
  2. What have been the biggest changes for the travel industry - which will be temporary, and will any be permanent?
  3. What has been the most overlooked development so far?
  4. What have we learned in the first 4 months of 2021, and is the current outlook different than expected at the end of 2020?
  5. Are travel bubbles relevant any more now that we have vaccines?
  6. Realistically, what are the expectations for travel and tourism in South East Asia in 2021 - and will there be a noticeable ‘turning point’?
  7. Looking further ahead, what are the reasons to be optimistic, and what are the pessimistic factors?
View All Episodes

Latest Episodes Catch up with the pods you may have missed

Play
8 Dec 2025 • 34m57s

Ep 277: The Geopolitics of Travel & Tourism in ASEAN, Asia Pacific & Beyond in the Era of AI

“I was at a tourism conference in Hangzhou in 2018, where Chinese companies showed how they were using AI to personalise travel for users. That’s nearly eight years ago.” In 2025, AI became a strategic commercial tool in all sectors, including travel and tourism. But it isn’t widely understood just how effectively embedded AI already is in China’s tourism sector, and how far ahead its leading players are to much of the world.
Play
5 Dec 2025 • 39m50s

Ep 276: Visa-easing Tricks, Tariff Turmoil, Vietnam's Breakout Year & What Happened to the ASEAN Tourism Visa?: 2025 in Review

So, another year is almost over - but what did we learn in 2025, South East Asia’s third full year of travel since the Covid pandemic? This week, Gary and Hannah delve through the archives to take stock of an eventful 12 months for travel and tourism in South East Asia and the broader Asia Pacific region. We journey from the regional turmoil of Trump’s tariffs to the tourism impacts of scam centres, and from Singapore setting the standard on SAF to Timor Leste becoming ASEAN’s 11th member.