The South East Asia Travel Show

Quarantine be gone! One year ago this week, on 1 April, the borders reopened across much of South East Asia as countries dropped quarantine-on-arrival mandates. The past 12 months have flown by, but the long pandemic travel shutout seems a part of history – especially as all of Asia Pacific, including China, is now open. So, what have (and haven’t) we learned over the past year? For this week's show, Gary and Hannah have compiled a list of the 10 key travel and tourism takeaways since 1 April 2022. Here's the list we discuss on the podcast:
Thailand is South East Asia’s 'Tourism Central'
Competition to attract tourists is intense – and intensifying
Intra-regional flight capacities still aren’t what they were
Smaller ASEAN countries are dependent on the air capacity recovery of neighbouring countries
“High-Quality" tourism is selectively applied
“Sustainable”, “Ecotourism” and “Green” tourism discourse isn't delivering notable change
Airports haven’t invested in the right areas – and it’s showing
Domestic tourism focus has largely fallen by the wayside
The manpower crisis is still far from over
Rail travel is this decade's big trend to watch

With travel and tourism activity continuing to ramp up across South East Asia, Gary and Hannah tackle the top news stories and talking points in March. The journey takes us to Vietnam, Bali (Indonesia), Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Laos ... and Switzerland! En route, we discuss mobile rail ticketing in Laos, bad tourist behaviour shaming in Bali, free tourism experiences in Singapore and an interesting legal case in Malaysia addressing the constitutional right (or otherwise) to travel overseas. Plus, we crunch the numbers of Vietnam's latest visitor arrival forecasts and talk transport infrastructure investment in the Philippines. And, we look back at last weekend's MATTA Fair, Malaysia's largest consumer travel show, and discuss South East Asian representation at ITB Berlin.

"I see airfares going higher and higher." As we approach the end of the first quarter of 2023 – and near the one-year anniversary since most South East Asian nations restored quarantine-free travel after the pandemic – what is the outlook for the airline sector? Many airlines are making handsome profits, but what challenges reside up ahead? To delve deeper, Gary welcomes back Shukor Yusof, Founder and CEO of Malaysia & Singapore-based Endau Analytics. In a broad-ranging chat, we discuss everything from airline capacity and air ticket prices in 2023 to the challenges of geopolitics and net-zero targets. We address the return of Chinese travellers and their potential impact for airlines, destinations and the hospitality sector. Plus, how will the soaring ambitions of Air India and the newly announced Riyadh Air impact the carriers currently dominating the market in South East Asia? And finally, looking back over the past three years of the pandemic era, what have been the big lessons for airlines and airports across the region?

China began reopening to international travel on 8 January 2023, but the impact so far has been gradual. There are various reasons, including the Chinese government's decision to phase the scaling up of outbound travel capacity. From today, 15 March, outbound group package tours are permitted to 60 countries worldwide. Independent travellers are, of course, free to travel globally. Also from today, China will begin issuing tourist entry visas, and has reestablished visa-free access to Hainan Island and for cruise passengers docking in Shanghai. So what does this all mean for the travel recovery in South East Asia and across Asia Pacific? When will there be more flights to and from China? And why is this all happening now? Gary guides you through the latest developments in this Mini Update - the first of a new series of short, quick-fire podcasts addressing the contexts of a hot travel topic. The references mentioned for further information can be found on our website, www.theseasiatravelshow.com

"The fun is back in the Philippines... even more so!" It's almost a year since the Philippines reopened its borders after the pandemic. Inbound, outbound and domestic travel volumes are expanding fast. To gain a clearer picture of the travel recovery in South East Asia's second-largest nation, Gary chats with Manila-based Feliz Axalan, General Manager of Tradewings Tours & Travel. We discuss the hot destinations for Philippine outbound travellers (spoiler alert: Japan yes, South Korea no) and some intriguing booking trends, visa issues and FIT vs Group Tour shifts in recent months. Feliz reveals the hotspots for domestic travel, which the Department of Tourism expects to fully recover to the 2019 level this year. For inbound travel, we look at improvements in airport infrastructure and flight access. Feliz provides insider insights about boutique hotel, villa and Airbnb bookings, and the locations travel influencers are promoting on social media. Plus, as an archipelago nation, the Philippines has big cruise travel ambitions. How will this play out in 2023 and beyond? 

After the disruptions of 2020, 2021 and 2022, 2023 will be the most important year for travel and tourism in living memory. Two months into the year, South East Asia is confronting an anticipated travel demand rebound now that Asia Pacific is fully open. Major issues are emerging around tourism and the environment, energy, water and waste management. Meanwhile, transport infrastructure is being built out on a massive scale across the region. So this week, Gary and Hannah rewind the big questions we've been asking and trying to answer in the first two months of the year that will shape the direction of travel over the rest of 2023. In this compilation show, we track how China’s reopening will be driven by group tour, semi-organised and independent travellers. We tackle accessible tourism in Thailand, a plastic trash report in Vietnam and, of course, AI-generative content. Plus, we look ahead to the region's first high-speed railway in Indonesia, and the high cost of sports event tourism in Cambodia.

With China finally back in the game, tourism boards and the media across South East Asia are starting to compare inbound arrivals from China and India. It's still very early days, of course, but what have we learned so far? How are tourism boards dividing their marketing dollars to attract visitors from the region's two largest countries? And which country will allow Chinese tourists to pay in RMB? Also this week, Gary and Hannah discuss the new THB300 Tourism Fee in Thailand, a visa-on-arrival controversy in Malaysia, cruise ambitions in the Philippines and Vietnam's plastic trash calculations which compare the waste discarded by inbound and domestic tourists. Plus, we get rather excited about Air Japan, ANA's new low-cost carrier due to launch in 2023 which intends to "capture inbound demand from overseas by launching flights to major cities in South East Asia." We are watching the website already!

"A groundbreaking moment in the history of rail travel in South East Asia." Wherever you travel in South East Asia, it’s hard to miss the transport infrastructure being built out on a vast scale – often with financing and technology from China. This will be a feature through the 2020s and beyond - albeit with countries like Japan, South Korea and maybe India joining in. This week, Gary is joined by James Clark, Producer of the Future Southeast Asia newsletter, to discuss the region's Top 10 airport, high-speed rail and other travel and transport infrastructure projects. These range from new airport terminals in Singapore, Malaysia and Cambodia to South East Asia's first high-speed railway due to open later this year, and another scheduled for 2026. Plus we discuss a metro system in Vietnam, a railway upgrade connecting Bangkok and Thailand's southern beaches - and the potential issues for passengers ahead of the cross-border opening of the China-Laos railway.