The South East Asia Travel Show

"Travel news stories should get more interesting now there's two-way travel again between South East Asia and North East Asia." With Japan and Taiwan now open for travel, the competitive landscape in Asia Pacific has just become very competitive. This week, Gary and Hannah discuss the Top 8 travel talking points across South East Asia. En route, we check out Singapore Changi as it resumes operations at all four terminals, discuss the visitor arrivals target progress in Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia, and Indonesia's eye-watering projection for domestic trips in 2022. Taiwan reopened this week, and it has identified South East Asian nations as priority visitor markets. We've got the latest. Looking one-month ahead, we check on progress for the G20 Summit in Bali and the APEC Leader's Meeting in Thailand. Plus, we preview next week’s big travel industry events in Singapore - TravMedia's International Media Marketplace Asia and ITB Asia - at which we'll be speaking and attending. 

What's it like to ride the China-Laos train? Will Vietnam's North-South Railway get built? When will the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed rail line open? And is a pan-ASEAN rail network a realistic possibility? This week, Gary assesses the outlook for rail infrastructure development across the region with James Clark, Editor-in-Chief at Future South East Asia and author of the Nomadic Notes newsletter. We look at some of the big railway projects being planned, compare the rail network models in China and South East Asia and ponder what could be the impacts for domestic aviation. James also discusses his recent travels in Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam - and provides some interesting observations about air and rail travel in this unfolding new era. Join us for a fascinating 30-minute trip with an inveterate digital nomad through South East Asia, taking in Hanoi, Vientiane, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Kampot en route.

A big buzz in South East Asia as Japan prepares to reopen, and Hong Kong and Taiwan ease entry restrictions. Hannah is back from Japan, where she observed the response to its decision to unlock the airport gates from 11 October while attending Tourism Expo Japan in Tokyo. This week, Gary and Hannah discuss the potential inbound and outbound boost for South East Asia as North East Asia gradually returns to the travel fold. We've also got the latest travel news from South Korea, China and Macau. We finish the show amid the tranquil Himalayan beauty of Bhutan, and discuss the broader implications of its new USD200 per night Sustainable Development Fee. Will destinations in South East Asia introduce similar tourism pricing policies in future?

"From 6.2 million visitors in 2011, Japan welcomed 32 million arrivals in 2019." The reopening of Japan has been eagerly anticipated across Asia Pacific. Japan is both a highly desirable "four seasons" destination and a vital market for travel and tourism region-wide. This week, Gary and Hannah discuss the outlook as Japan accelerates its reopening with Kyoji Kuramochi, Executive Director, Global Strategy Headquarters of the Japan National Tourism Organisation (JNTO). In a fascinating interview, Kuramochi-san discusses the dramatic growth of tourism from 2010-2019, the JNTO's new global marketing strategy, its priority visitor markets and a vision for developing tourism by 2030. He addresses an array of key themes, including air connectivity, airport expansion and visa policies. Segments explored include domestic travel, culinary tourism and Muslim-friendly tourism. Plus, we analyse sustainable development goals, and the development of rural tourism throughout Japan. Kuramochi-san also delivers data-driven insights about key Asian inbound markets, including China and South East Asia, and looks ahead to the 2023 Adventure Travel World Summit in Hokkaido.

When will Chinese travellers return to Asia Pacific - and what has changed in China in the interim? These are questions that all tourism operators are asking themselves. On this week's show, we fill in some of the gaps. Gary recently produced the China Travel Market Report 2021-2025 for Phocuswright, and is working on a couple of other China travel economy projects. So, Hannah grills him on the impact of the pandemic across the Chinese travel industry - and what happens next as the world awaits the return of Chinese tourists. En route, we assess the current landscape for domestic, inbound and outbound travel. We discuss the impact of Covid-Zero on China's airlines, OTAs and hotels. Plus, what are some of China's intriguing domestic travel and consumer trends that have emerged? What is 'branded glamping'? Why have OTAs and hotels invested heavily in intelligent and interactive technologies? And which demographics could drive the growth of Chinese tourism in future? 

Two-thirds of the way through 2022, travel and tourism in South East Asia are gaining momentum. Visitor arrivals increased across the region in August, while stirrings of travel activity in China and Japan are sparking optimism. This week, Gary and Hannah assess the 10 key travel talking points of the past month throughout Asia Pacific. The journey takes us to Singapore, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam, plus China, Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong. En route, we discuss airline fleet expansions, robust domestic travel, entry visa extensions, jet fuel prices and the shifting redefinition of what it means to be "fully vaccinated". Plus, we've got the latest news as the China-ASEAN high-speed railway map takes shape, and the recently announced details of T5 at Changi Airport, which will significantly expand air capacity in Singapore.

The South East Asia Travel Show is regularly downloaded in more than 70 countries. Find out more about our weekly podcast, which discusses the latest travel and tourism developments in South East Asia, Asia Pacific and beyond.

"We wanted to create a status quo assessment of tourism and climate change in Asia, where research has been limited." This week's show tackles a white-hot issue for the travel industry: how to address carbon emissions and global heating. The impacts of climate change are all around us in South East Asia, with a recent report citing Thailand, Myanmar, the Philippines and Vietnam as particularly vulnerable to climate risks. This week, Gary chats with Alexander Trupp, Associate Dean of Research & Postgraduate Studies at the School of Hospitality & Service Management, Sunway University in Malaysia. Alex is co-author of a new paper, called Tourism Under Climate Crisis in Asia: Impacts and Implications, published in the Journal of Sustainable Tourism. Alex sets out the facts and stats that show how urgent is the climate crisis across Asia, and discusses specific vulnerabilities for travel and tourism in each sub-region. He also addresses the collective efforts required to bring change, and initiatives being put in place by the tourism industry to transition toward more sustainable travel.