The Friday Rewind 2: Summer Turns Sour in Vietnam, While Thai Tourism Plays in the Premier League

About This Episode

31 Jul 2020 • 15m11s

In episode 2 of The Friday Rewind, Gary and Hannah deliver an express, 15-minute recap of 5 red-hot talking points in South East Asian travel from the past 7 days.

Today’s discussion points are:

1) Lockdown Meltdown in Vietnam

Fears grow nationwide after domestic tourists test positive in Danang, and then head home.

2) Malaysia Airlines gets USD300 million… Then Doesn’t!

Airline CEO forcefully denies a reported new government bailout for the troubled flag carrier.

3) Cambodia Forbids Flights from Malaysia & Indonesia

Diplomatic ructions as returnee flights to Cambodia via the two countries bring home COVID-positive passengers.

4) Taiwan Stands Tough on Tourism

As Taiwan confronts domestic overtourism in its outlying islands, could it write off 2020 for inbound and outbound travel?

5) Thai Tourism Plays in the Premier League

The Tourism Authority of Thailand teams up with King Power and Leicester City to promote the Land of Smiles to football fans.

Resources

https://vietnamnews.vn/life-style/770149/hard-days-ahead-for-da-nang-tourism.html

https://www.thejakartapost.com/seasia/2020/07/27/vietnam-to-evacuate-80000-people-from-danang-after-virus-outbreak.html

https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3094940/coronavirus-latest-vietnam-suspends-flights-and-da-nang?

https://e.vnexpress.net/news/life/trend/vietnamese-brace-for-second-covid-19-wave-4137429.html

https://www.nst.com.my/business/2020/07/612272/malaysia-airlines-chief-labels-report-us300mil-grant-crap

https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/newsbreak-mas-said-get-lift-us300m-funding

https://english.cambodiadaily.com/business/cambodia-to-ban-flights-from-malaysia-and-indonesia-167186/

https://focustaiwan.tw/politics/202007230014

https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/2020/07/25/2003740506

https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2020/07/25/2003740526

https://www.lcfc.com/news/1736789/thailand-smiles-with-you-leicester-city–king-power-team-up-to-support-thai-tourism

http://www.insideworldfootball.com/2020/07/27/leicester-builds-thai-commitments-one-year-tourist-board-deal/

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