The South East Asia Travel Show

"It just doesn't feel like a living Vietnamese town." Environmental impact, carbon emissions and artificial intelligence (AI) are three of the hottest topics in tourism. This week, Gary & Hannah welcome back Bali-based Stuart McDonald, Founder of Travelfish, to take on these vital talking points. Stuart recently travelled through Vietnam, where he tracked his carbon footprint using the Capture and Path Net Zero apps. He discusses his findings and observations while travelling from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi by train. Stuart also discusses the contrasting challenges (and current outcomes) for tourism in Hoi An and Hue. Taking a tangential turn, we chat about AI chatbots in tourism, and the building of AI-generated content into travel products and information services. Rounding out the discussion, we address a phantom train in Cambodia (which tops the search rankings) and diving in Raja Ampat in Indonesia. And listen out for the rooster!

2023 is a vital year for travel and tourism in South East Asia and Asia Pacific. January was a fascinating kick-start month for the region's visitor economies. China reopened its airport gates, albeit gradually, the Lunar New Year launched the domestic and outbound travel calendar and tourism boards set out their (initial) 2023 visitor forecasts. On today's show, Gary and Hannah review January's Top 10 travel talking points and discuss what they could mean for the 12 months ahead. The journey takes us to 9 countries around the region. En route, we assess the return of Chinese tour groups to 7 ASEAN countries, discuss airport capacity in Vietnam and Thailand and address an administrative bottleneck for the Laos-China train. Plus we talk sales tax refunds in Philippines, tourism villages in Indonesia, sky-high hotel rates in Singapore and two Malaysian Prime Ministers challenged in the courts over an aborted high-speed rail project. Phew!

What role should tour operators play in ethical tourism development? Is it worthwhile considering how to make tours more accessible? And what key challenge will tour operators face in 2023? This week, Hannah chats to Ewan Cluckie, founder of Tripseed, a Thailand-based tour operator. In a fascinating conversation, we talk about the transition that digital travel trade marketing has undergone during the pandemic and the silver lining that Covid-19 has presented to smaller tour operators. Plus, we learn about Tripseed's development of accessible travel products, and how it mapped out the accessible facilities which Thailand has to offer.
 
Along the way, we return to one big issue again and again - how can tour operators move away from a less extractive form of tourism, to one where local voices are heard and respected.

It's January and almost Lunar New Year - so it's time to look forward with both hope and a dash of realism. So, what does the 2023 travel year promise for countries across South East Asia, the travel industry and travellers themselves? This year, Gary and Hannah are joined by Karen Yue, Group Editor of TTG Asia, to discuss the 15 travel trends, initiatives and developments that we'll be watching closely in 2023. En route, we assess the enduring impacts of the Great Resignation, the region's changing demographics in travel and profitability vs demand in the new travel economy. We address the evolving role of NTOs and the elevated importance of niche and special interest tourism segments. Plus, we talk tech with travel fintech, e-payments and CBDCs, and metaverse and mixed-reality marketing in tourism - is it bluff, reality or is the jury still out?

So, here it is… the first episode of 2023. As we roll into our 4th year of The South East Asia Travel Show, there's only one place to begin. China’s reopening currently dominates all analysis of travel and tourism. So it’s  fitting that we welcome to the show a long-time friend, Prof. Wolfgang Georg Arlt, CEO of the China Outbound Tourism Research Institute (COTRI). Flipping our usual format, Hannah interviews Wolfgang and Gary, who will co-publish The 2023 China Outbound Tourism Handbook, on 22 January.
Here is the full interview question list:
Talk us through what actually changed on 8 January in terms of border policies
Pre-pandemic, were groups of Chinese travellers or FITs the most popular?
How important is it to the world’s tourism industry that Chinese travellers are back?
How will the testing requirements for other countries impact Chinese travellers’ destination choice?
What can we expect for the Lunar New Year travel, both domestically and internationally?
What volumes should we expect for Chinese travellers in 2023 - will we see pre-pandemic levels?
Which segments of Chinese travellers will travel first?
What is the situation for international air capacity from China? Can we expect that to ramp up quickly? 
How have expectations changed for Chinese travellers?
What new segments have emerged for domestic travel? Will these apply for international travel, too?
How important is technology to Chinese travellers - and how is that different from Southeast Asia or the rest of the world?
Given that holidays and tourism are usually among the first types of consumerism cut back when spending confidence is low, in which sectors of the Chinese outbound market are these cut backs most likely? And, in what ways will Chinese tourists seek to gain more bang from their buck whilst travelling?
How can businesses ensure that they are China-ready?
 

So, here it is… our end of year review show. And what a year it’s been. As we celebrate the 3rd anniversary of The South East Asia Travel Show, it’s a pleasure to look ahead to a New Year with “cautious optimism.” Rounding out 2022, Gary and Hannah select 10 top talking points that define the rollercoaster ride over the past 12 months. En route, we journey to Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia, plus India, China, Japan and 27 EU nations. We discuss new airlines, a major airline investment, sky-high hotel rates, the return of MICE, a media furore about Indonesia's new Criminal Code and much more. Plus, we remember some of the Covid-era aspects of daily life that disappeared from view as 2022 progressed.

2022 was the year that South East Asia reopened for travel. It's been a highly compressed year, with most countries only welcoming back tourists in the second quarter. Many lessons have been learned, and many markets are still coming to terms with the myriad impacts of the pandemic. This week, Gary and Hannah team up with Brett Henry, President of B2B hospitality marketplace MG Group, for a livestream event assessing South East Asia’s travel recovery in 2022 – and looking ahead to 2023. Some key factors stand out: the continued absence of Chinese travellers, higher priced air tickets and reduced flight frequencies. So how will (or won't) 2023 be different? Which factors will drive the travel economy rebound? How will competition from destinations like Japan, South Korea and Australia impact the recovery in South East Asia? Where will domestic travel fit in? And what are the projections for developing trends, such as virtual credit card payments?

The G20 Summit. A proposed aerotropolis. Resolution of a long-running passport saga. A new direct flight service with Canada. It's been another busy period for travel news as the region's recovery gains traction. This week, Gary and Hannah discuss the top 8 travel and tourism developments from across South East Asia. The journey takes us to 8 of the 10 countries of ASEAN, plus Japan, China, India and Taiwan. So, which country expects 60 million domestic travellers over Christmas and New Year? Where is forecasting 2 million annual inbound visitors in 2022 rising to 7.5 million in 2028? Which nation was among the top 4 visitor markets to Japan in October? And which government finally removed testing requirements for unvaccinated visitors? All this, and much more...