The Friday Rewind 3: COVID-19 Causes ASEAN Spats, While Malaysia & Myanmar Seek Travel Cut-Through

About This Episode

14 Aug 2020 • 15m28s

In episode 3 of The Friday Rewind, Gary and Hannah take a 15-minute zoom through 5 major talking points in South East Asian travel from the past 7 days.

Today’s discussion points are:

  1. ‘The Land of COVID’ - Media, ministers and government spokespeople are lashing out at each other in South East Asia
  2. Zero Tourism Until 2021 in Thailand - Webinar comments by the Deputy Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand go viral around the world
  3. Green Zones to Nowhere for Malaysia - Tourism Minister says that travel bubbles are impossible to negotiate if countries refuse to open their borders
  4. Myanmar & Sri Lanka Prepare for Take Off - Discussions are underway to launch direct flights between Colombo and Yangon, that could also extend to India and Nepal
  5. Eco-Tourism Inspiration in Laos - Conservation efforts in the nation’s largest protected park offer new hope for sustainability in tourism

Resources

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2020/08/12/2034793/palace-claims-thai-papers-land-covid-jab-linked-competition-tourism

http://theindependent.sg/indonesia-minister-takes-a-swipe-at-other-countries-covid-19-response-including-the-us-and-singapore/

https://www.ttgasia.com/2020/08/07/tat-deputy-governor-dashes-hopes-of-2020-reopening-for-thailands-international-borders/

https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2020/08/11/minister-not-enough-to-just-identify-covid-19-free-nations-if-they-have-yet/1892843

https://www.lankabusinessonline.com/sri-lanka-myanmar-to-conduct-feasibility-study-to-establish-direct-air-connectivity/

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/2020/08/11/laos-ecotourism-motivates-villagers-to-conserve-wildlife

https://www.traveller.com.au/overtourism-and-covid19-lack-of-tourists-actually-harming-environment-in-many-cases-h1pvkb

View All Episodes

Latest Episodes Catch up with the pods you may have missed

Play
23 Sep 2024 • 32m28s

Ep 228: Tackling Economic Leakage & Sustainability Grandstanding in Tourism, with Ewan Cluckie, Tripseed

“How do you know your tourism activity’s overall impact is beneficial to a community if you aren’t measuring it?” This week, Gary and Hannah discuss economic leakages and quantifying the impacts on local communities of tour operations with Ewan Cluckie, Founder of Thailand-based Tripseed. Socio-economic sustainability in tourism is an under-scrutinised topic, but Tripseed is confronting it head-on. The company recently published phase 1 of its deeply researched Economic Distribution Disclosure Initiative, a set of tools and metrics designed to “drive transparency and positive impact within the local economy”.
Play
10 Sep 2024 • 26m16s

Ep 227: Stargazing Tourism, a 'Cultural Industrial Hub' & New UNESCO Heritage Sites: August 2024 in Review

“The pieces of South East Asia’s post-pandemic tourism jigsaw are still being put into place”. Regional travel and tourism trends continue to be impacted by the Covid era, both from a supply and demand perspective. So, as we march full steam into the final third of 2024, what were the Top 8 talking points in August 2024? On our monthly roundup, we discuss the fallout from Malaysia Airlines’ decision to cut almost one-fifth of its capacity, assess the airline volumes into the region from China and dive into the factors behind the latest round of quarterly airline earnings.