Ep 75: Will Phuket Reopen on 1 July?, with David Luekens

Listen to this episode

Spotify

Google

Podbean

View All Episodes

About This Episode

11 Jun 2021 • 37m00s

Thailand, and specifically Phuket, is central to tourism discussions in South East Asia right now. To check the inbound reopening pulse, Gary and Hannah chat with David Luekens, Bangkok-based travel journalist and creator of the Thai Island Times newsletter.

The discussion looks back on the various proposals by the Tourism Authority of Thailand and the Thai government to reboot tourism over the past year, and the reasons for the failure of the Special Tourist Visa.

David also discusses the stop-start nature of domestic travel over recent months, and the impact of the recent COVID-19 outbreaks. With Thailand expected to confirm the Phuket Sandbox reopening programme soon, we assess the challenges and opportunities both for Phuket, and Thai tourism more broadly.

We also look at the strategies of destinations such as Koh Samui and Chiang Mai, and David updates us on the progress of Thailand’s vaccine rollout out a it starts to gain momentum.

Show notes

Thai Island Times here.

Find David on Twitter here.

« Next Episode Ep 76: Travel Reopening: Is it Only About Inbound Tourists? Previous Episode » Ep 74: The Past, Present & Future of Golf & Casino Tourism in ASEAN, with Bill Healey

View All Episodes

Latest Episodes Catch up with the pods you may have missed

Play

11 Sep 2025 • 30m46s

Ep 268: Techo Airport Takes Off, Thai Baht Volatility & Turmoil in Indonesia: This Week in Review

September is historically a slow month for travel news in South East Asia. With the October Golden Week imminent, followed by the peak November-February tourism season, it’s usually a period to reflect and prepare. Not this year. Political upheaval and economic instability in ASEAN’s two largest economies, Indonesia and Thailand, are front-page news. Events in both nations have the potential to influence the end-of-year travel season, not least in Thailand where an enforced national election is likely.

Play

29 Aug 2025 • 35m12s

Ep 267: Pre-Golden Week Visa-Easing Tricks, Rising Costs of the Thai-Cambodia War & Senior Tour Guides vs Robots: August 2025 in Review

Vietnam and South Korea have “visa-easing tricks up their sleeves” as China’s October Golden Week nears. And, with two-thirds of 2025 completed, attentions are turning to the peak end-of-year travel season across Asia. That’s the backdrop for a frenetic month of travel activity region-wide in August. For our regular monthly round-up, Gary and Hannah travel around ASEAN with stopovers in Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines, plus China and South Korea.