The Vietnam vs Thailand Tourism Rivalry Heats Up, SAF in Retreat & Durian Tourism in Malaysia: Start the Weekend with The South East Asia Travel Show

"The world has changed around Thailand since Covid, whereas Vietnam appears more in control of its destiny." As we race toward the midpoint of 2026, it was another week with plenty of travel talking points in ASEAN and beyond. The week, Gary and Hannah visit Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia, Cambodia, Laos and China to decipher the top takeaways. We begin in the Philippines with the latest reports from the devastating earthquake in Mindanao, and send our very best wishes to people across the nation for Philippine Independence Day. Next up is IATA's State of the Global Air Transport Industry report, with some scything parting words from Director General, Willie Walsh, regarding policies around sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), which he says have put progress "under pressure." We then deconstruct the merits and debits of a detailed article comparing the tourism policy trajectories of Thailand and Vietnam - written from a Thai travel industry perspective (TLDR: Pinch. Of. Salt.) Plus. we look at how Malaysia has enticed a Chinese cruise operator to establish a regional home port on the west coast, address the reasons why Vietnamese airlines are attempting to expedite orders of Boeing planes - and we delve into our media headline of the week: "Five days, unlimited durian, zero apologies."