The South East Asia Travel Show

After three weeks in Japan, Singapore and Italy, Gary and Hannah are back in KL to recap the top travel talking points from September and early October. China's Mid-Autumn Golden Week has just wrapped up, so we assess the current state of play in a diversifying Chinese outbound market. Elsewhere, we discuss a raft of new Muslim-friendly tourism initiatives being introduced across South East Asia, note a shift towards waterborne transport innovation and crunch the numbers of a tax relief scheme for travel industry workers in Indonesia. Plus, Thailand's THB300 Tourism Tax is being resuscitated (again), and the nation's tourism authority is turning to the diplomatic community as travel influencers. Plus, we delve deeper into AirAsia's potential purchase of COMAC planes, and take a quick layover in Brunei to reflect on the region's smallest visitor economy.

Economic and social processes shape tourism development, but - in turn - tourism reshapes economic spaces, and that is creating new challenges in South East Asia and beyond. This week, Gary welcomes Joao Romao, Associate Professor at Yasuda Women’s University in Japan, to discuss his new book, Economic Geography of Tourism. An economist, tourism strategy advisor and former travel documentary maker, Joao assesses contemporary tourism through a lens of shifting global economic, technological, societal, environmental and political challenges. He advocates for tourism strategies that are economically viable and effectively sustainable, inclusive and resilient - but questions whether these can be achieved in modern political economies. Starting in his home country of Japan, we travel through South East Asia to South America and Europe to discuss the accumulating societal issues confronting tourism planners. We assess the implications of technological advancements on urban and secondary destinations, and the concentration of priceless travel data among a small coterie of tech firms. We finish by looking at how long-term partnerships with creative industries and the wellness sector might forge a more manageable balance of travel flows between cities and decentralised destinations.

As we speed towards the 4th quarter of 2025, some economic metrics in South East Asia are trending towards nervousness. Air travel capacity is a primary case study, where the year-on-year data is mostly positive (look away now, Indonesia), but the ASEAN and APAC regions (overall) are still playing catching from 2019... all those pre-Covid years ago. Plus, on our weekly travel news roundup, Gary and Hannah journey across ASEAN to discuss the top talking points in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, the Philippines and Timor Leste. En route, we discuss the devastating flooding fallout in Bali, 'brownouts' in Boracay, Koh Samui's controversial mega-bridge and the downbeat news that the Thai-Cambodia border "will not be reopened soon." To salve the sense of gloom, we finish by keeping our fingers crossed that Timor Leste will be admitted as the 11th member of ASEAN - although no-one seems quite sure.

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. Meantime, Gary and Hannah assess Malaysia's latest positioning statement for its biggest ever 12-month national tourism campaign in 2026. Phnom Penh inaugurates Cambodia's much hyped new Techo Airport. And Vietnam's buoyant tourism economy enjoys a further boost during National Day. Plus, why are consumer trade shows an even bigger deal than normal in 2025 in Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam and the Philippines? All this and more in our weekly travel and tourism news roundup. 
 
 

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. Along the way, we discuss Vietnam's new 2025 arrivals target, plus Airbnb's big numbers to argue its economic value across APAC markets. Kuala Lumpur talks airport terminal inter-linkage and Thai Vietjet announces ambitious expansion plans, while the financial costs of the Thailand-Cambodia weigh heavily in both countries. Finally, could senior tour guides in the Philippines herald a new era of engaging mature tourism professionals to service travellers from ageing source markets?
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Indonesia plans to expand its total of international airports by Presidential decree. Thailand fires the regional starting gun for crypto payments in tourism (when will other countries join the race?). Vietnam launches its own 'Superapp' to be rolled out over the next two years. It's been a week of mega-announcements in South East Asia as concerns grow about slowing travel and tourism momentum and looming geo-economic disruptions. Join Gary and Hannah as they travel through ASEAN to discuss the top travel talking points of the past seven days. En route, we look at why Bali's governor says the island doesn't need a casino, and why the Philippines' Minister of Tourism has “nothing but a plastic bullet” to battle other countries for tourists. And finally, why is the free flights giveaway in Thailand proving less popular than hoped for?

“Indonesia has the potential to lead in eco-tourism, in cultural heritage and in Muslim-friendly tourism... but it tries to promote everything all at once, which dilutes the message.” Beautiful, vast and complex, Indonesia is the world’s largest archipelago nation, and home to the planet’s fourth-largest population. But tourism is heavily concentrated in Bali, which recorded 45% of inbound arrivals to Indonesia in 2024. Meanwhile, Indonesia lags behind Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam for visitor arrivals, attracting 13.1 million visitors in 2024, while generating more than 1 billion domestic trips. So why does it underperform for inbound tourism? This week, Gary is joined by Bali-based travel executive Nur Wulan T, who has worked for leading travel-tech players and airlines, including Garuda, Traveloka, Tiket.com and STAAH, and is a speaker on tourism and hospitality topics. We discuss the diverse impacts of Indonesia’s infrastructure deficit and high domestic airfares. Plus, we asses the mixed progress of the 5 Super Priority Destinations - Lake Toba, Borobudur, Labuan Bajo, Mandalika and Likupang - and Bali's long-touted second airport. Wulan also explains the untapped potential of Sumba and Papua, the lessons to be learned from other Asian countries that are pushing creative boundaries in Muslim tourism, and areas for improvement in destination marketing.

Vietnam's inbound tourism boom in 2025 continues. Malaysia targets tourism to reach 16% of GDP. India and the Philippines talk "free visas". THAI Airways confirms its post-Covid comeback by returning to the stock market. Boracay "streamlines" its various entry fees" And Singapore celebrate its 60th birthday since independence. It’s been a pretty hectic news week across South East Asia. Join Gary and Hannah as they travel through ASEAN to discuss the top travel and tourism talking points of the past seven days.