The South East Asia Travel Show

Having achieved more than a 95% vaccine rate for its adult population, Malaysia is eager to recommence International travel. Three overlapping announcements this week paved the way, but left many questions unanswered. On the second edition of our new weekly The SEA Travel News Show, Gary also looks at the top talking points in Indonesia and Myanmar. Plus, Vincent Vichit-Vadakan dials in from Bangkok to discuss the latest on Thailand's reopening and the lessons being learned from the Phuket Sandbox strategy. He also provides some advance information about an exciting South East Asia travel webinar with an all-star cast to be hosted by Foreign Correspondent’s Club of Thailand next week. Plus, we've got some clips from Gary and Hannah's guest appearance on this week's OAG Webinar dedicated to air travel and tourism in South East Asia. We finish with an excerpt from our podcast interview with Langkawi-based travel filmmaker Kamila Delart about how travel film and video content is likely to evolve in the new era.

"I'm trying to get people curious." Travel film and video content is changing, particularly as the pandemic redefines the way we think about the purpose of travel and the meaning of tourism. To get an insider's perspective on where we are heading, Gary chats with award-winning filmmaker Kamila Delart. Based on the Malaysian island of Langkawi for a decade, Kamila has worked with tourism boards and travel companies across South East Asia. She also produces her own short films focusing on slow travel, cultural heritage and nature. In a fascinating chat, the show journeys from shooting inside heritage temples to spotting sea otters on an empty beach and an as-yet-unfulfilled shoot in Papua New Guinea. En route, Kamila discusses her multi-award-winning film, The Egret's Voyage, which was shot along the Kinabatangan River in Sabah, East Malaysia, and honoured at film festivals in Cyprus, New York and Montenegro. She also talks about the ethical and cultural responsibilities that content creators must respect, and the challenges of creating tourism video content for different demographics and markets. Above all, Kamila believes that the future of travel filmmaking will encourage people to slow down and experience destinations with all their senses.

It's been a dismal year so far for travel and tourism in South East Asia. Now, as vaccine rollouts accelerate and events – and reopening speculation – gather pace, we’re launching a brand new weekly show. The SEA Travel News Show will feature a snappy mix of news, updates and mini interviews to keep you up to speed with the latest happenings here in South East Asia. Our take-off edition features the latest from Thailand, Bali, Singapore and Australia. Hannah joins Gary to chat through the potential outlook for travel and tourism for the rest of 2021 - and into 2022. Phnom Penh-based Nick Ray, Founder of Hanuman Films and long-time Lonely Planet writer, dials in from the World Travel Market (WTM) in London to tell us about the South East Asian presence at the show. And we finish in the Maldives, which recently received its 1 millionth visitor in 2021. Ruth Franklin, Co-Founder of Secret Paradise Maldives, tells us why she is feeling optimistic for tourism to the Indian Ocean archipelago in 2022.

It's more than 15 months since The Maldives reopened after the COVID-19 lockdown. Progress has been impressive with a few tribulations along the way - and the nation welcomed its 1 millionth visitor in 2021 last week. Many countries in South East Asia have looked closely at how the Maldives managed its reopening and rebuilt its tourism sector. So in Part 4 of our Destination 2022 series, Gary discusses the outlook for the rest of 2021 and into 2022 with Ruth Franklin, Co-founder of Secret Paradise Maldives. Ruth explains the challenges and successes for resort and local island tourism, and some exciting home-stay plans for 2022. She outlines the key inbound markets since reopening, and others - such as China and South East Asia - that are still missing from the mix. Ruth also outlines shifts in airline routes, the value of a strong repeat visitor market and emerging patterns of travel. Looking ahead to 2022 - which marks the 50th anniversary of tourism in the Maldives - we assess the marketing strategies being developed to broaden the inbound mix as more countries permit outbound travel. Plus, what are Maldives Border Miles, and why do they matter?

Australia is reconnecting with the world, but how will its phased travel revival take shape? Certainly, Australia will be a coveted destination for tourism, family visits and business trips from South East Asia, and nations across the region will look forward to welcoming back Australian visitors. So in Part 3 of our Destination 2022 series, we head Down Under. Gary discusses the outlook for all aspects of inbound, outbound and domestic travel with Melbourne-based Simon Westaway, Strategy Director at Royce Communications, who recently completed a 2-year spell as Executive Director of the Australian Tourism Industry Council. In a broad-ranging chat, Gary and Simon address the key pandemic learnings for Australian travel and tourism, ranging from domestic state border closures to the collapse of air travel and decimation of the cruise sector. Now, as Australia's new era of travel commences, which destinations will airlines prioritise for inbound and outbound travel? Where will China and India fit into the nation's near- and long-term travel landscape? And what about Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and other South East Asian markets? What's the outlook for the Australia-New Zealand Travel Bubble? And, given how deeply Australia's visitor economy has been impacted  over the past two years, what are  realistic expectations for the year ahead?

Bali is preparing to welcome back international tourists for the first time in 19 months. Progress is slow, however, and the situation is complex. At present, no inbound flights are confirmed. So, today's show takes an up-close look at one of South East Asia's most emblematic reopening stories. Gary is joined by Simona Chimenti, Marketing & Media Relations Director of the Bali Hotels Association and General Manager of The Pavilions Bali in Sanur, and Melina Caruso, Technology & Marketing Consultant of the Bali Hotels Association. We discuss the various regulations being put into place for vaccinated tourists, and the current list of 19 countries from which visitors can travel to Bali. We also look at the importance of domestic tourism, and the challenges ahead for hotels, airlines, tour operators and all travel businesses. Will the on-arrival quarantine period be further reduced from its current 5 days, or even removed? How are forward hotel bookings shaping up for Christmas, New Year and Lunar New Year? Will visitor profiles and key source markets change? And what is the current advice for travellers planning a trip to Bali?
 

With travel starting to return, Gary kicks off a new series called Destination 2022. Each episode will analyse the travel outlook in places that will be hot tickets for South East Asian travellers. We start in South Korea – where the nation’s brilliantly packaged mix of K-pop, K-drama, K-cuisine and K-beauty, plus smart destination video marketing, have kept it top of mind for the region’s youthful travellers. Gary is joined by Dr Jaeyeon Choe in Seoul who teaches Tourism Studies at Swansea University, and is Visiting Professor at the School of Hospitality and Tourism at Hue University, Vietnam. South Korea is nearing a 70% vaccination rate, and unlike in many Asian nations South Korean travellers have been heading overseas, mostly to Europe, all summer. We discuss the outlook for inbound travel, and assess how South Korea is using ‘Soft Power’ to promote itself as a destination, ranging from the popularity of TV shows like Squid Game and megabands BTS and Blackpink to the surging appeal of Korean cuisines and cosmetics. We cover South Korea’s presence at the Dubai World Expo, exciting new destination videos themed around Night Tourism and Korean fashions and the Singapore-South Korea Vaccinated Travel Lane. Jaeyeon also guides us to some hot destinations and trends among domestic travellers. Plus, we ask where South Koreans will be heading for Christmas/New Year and Lunar New Year 2022.

In today's show, Gary recounts the dramatic events of the past 7 days as some governments in South East Asia finally made decisive moves to restart travel. The process was kickstarted by Singapore whose announcement of 9 new Vaccinated Travel Lanes triggered other countries to start playing catch up. Within days, Malaysia and Thailand had accelerated the return of travel - albeit in different ways. Vietnam and Cambodia are racing to keep up, while Bali's now in-process reopening to vaccinated inbound travellers remains shrouded in mystery and confusion. It's becoming clear that competition to attract travellers in South East Asia will become fierce in the lead up to Christmas/New Year and Lunar New Year. Adding to the intrigue, other Asia Pacific destinations - including India, Fiji, New South Wales in Australia, and potentially South Korea and Japan – prepare to welcome back travellers. Bringing things up to date, Gary concludes by saying that more speculation and announcements are expected - but travel is starting to return to the region, perhaps faster than was expected.