The South East Asia Travel Show

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...

Test & Go. Vaccinated Travel Lanes. 'The Most Open Country in South East Asia.' One year ago, on 1 November 2021, Thailand introduced the Test & Go tourism entry policy. In the same month, Singapore accelerated its Vaccinated Travel Lanes and Cambodia made travel easier for visitors than anywhere else. This week, Gary and Hannah rewind to November 2021 – the month that reignited travel in South East Asia after 20 months of lockdowns and labyrinthine travel restrictions. Thailand and Singapore claimed the headlines, although their reopening strategies contrasted notably. Cambodia made the fullest reopening move, but garnered less media attention. Elsewhere, Malaysia and Vietnam launched Sandbox-style schemes on the islands and Langkawi and Phu Quoc. Twelve months on, how should we reflect on those progressive, yet imperfect, government-driven efforts to reboot travel and tourism? And how has the language of travel changed in the interim?

South East Asia is eagerly anticipating a strong end-of-year holiday season, which is nearing fast. We’ve already completed 10 months of 2022 – and October was another busy period for new travel policies, announcements and developments. This week, Gary and Hannah round up the latest travel and tourism talking points across the region. En route, we discuss a new Hotel Industry Transformation Roadmap in Singapore, a debut South Asian flight route in Vietnam, and media controversy around flight prices during Malaysia's upcoming general election. Plus, Indonesia turns from high-quality tourists to high-quality residents, the Philippines drops its indoor mask mandate and Cambodia opens a new expressway between two key tourist destinations. And, which ASEAN country is Thailand's top visitor source market in 2022?

"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.