The South East Asia Travel Show

In episode 7 of The Friday Rewind, Gary and Hannah zip through this week’s 5 top talking points in South East Asian travel and tourism - in less than 20 minutes. China features prominently this week, with the topics under discussion being: 
Thailand Teams With China for a High-Speed Rail Take Off
Cambodia Wants a China Travel Bubble, or Does It?
Laos Plans Fast Track Travel for China & Vietnam
'Jurassic Park' Dragons Are Endangered in Indonesia
Malaysia’s Tourism Challenges Keep Multiplying

It's 6 months since Australia and New Zealand first floated the concept of Travel Bubbles. Ever since, it has dominated travel talk as a potential way to safely reopen borders between two countries without requiring a quarantine. But the 2020 travel realities (and the coronavirus itself) have made bilateral bubbles extremely difficult to negotiate, agree and implement. This week, Gary and Hannah discuss the different definitions of air travel bubbles, corridors, fast tracks and green lanes. They also assess three high-profile travel bubbles - Hong Kong-Singapore, Australia-New Zealand and India-Maldives - which illustrate the political, geographical, public health and operational challenges that stand in the way of more agreements.  

Well, things certainly seem to be moving, with plenty of travel announcements, gossip and rumours. But the region’s aviation industry is still struggling after several months in international inactivity. This week, Gary and Hannah discuss two pieces of positive news, the Hong Kong-Singapore Air Travel Bubble and the Philippines enabling its citizens to travel outbound. But airlines in Malaysia and Indonesia are desperately trying to restructure their mounting losses and debts. Will more big-name carriers fall, or instead will they shift their operations to low-cost subsidiaries? And where are new airline licenses being awarded and new airports nearing completion? Plus, how are South East Asia's primary and secondary airports faring after months of near-derelict terminals? 

Having brought COVID-19 under control, Singapore has provided a clear outline of its Travel Bubble intentions for the coming months. Now in discussions with Hong Kong, Asia's other global aviation hub, Singapore wants to open up more business travel Green Lanes. This week, Gary and Hannah analyse the latest developments in Singapore, discuss green shoots of hope for domestic travel in the Philippines, and the prospects for charter traffic in Lao. Gloomier news in Malaysia and Myanmar, where daily infections are causing renewed concern. Elsewhere, we try to dissect the strategy behind unilateral travel agreements, Thailand's ever-more mystifying Special Tourist Visa and Private Travel Bubbles in Vietnam, Maldives and Bali.

It's 6 months since Bali-based travel publisher and commentator Stuart McDonald joined us on the podcast in April, which seems like a distant era. This week, Gary and Hannah chat with Stuart about the outcome of Bali's reopening to domestic tourists, and its postponed attempt to reboot inbound tourism. Stuart provides some poignant and revealing insights about how the island is coping without mass tourism. We also discuss Thailand's special tourist visa, Singapore's decision to allow Australian and Vietnamese air passengers to return, and we look at what happens next for countries in ASEAN that are stubbornly refusing to open their borders. Is a vaccine the only way to revive the region's devastated tourism industry? All this, plus a soothing soundtrack of surf waves from Stuart's beachside perch.

In episode 6 of The Friday Rewind, Gary and Hannah zip through this week's top talking points in South East Asian travel - in just 15 minutes. Today’s topics are:
HKIA Bans KLIA Flights After Transit Passengers Test Positive
Yogyakarta Pleas for Tourists, Not Financial Aid 
International Flight Finally Departs Vietnam... With More to Come In & Out?
Regional ‘Travel Bubbles’ in The Philippines
Tour Agency Sparks Online Fury by Mis-locating Angkor Wat
Khao Yai National Park Mails Back Tourist Trash

This week, Gary and Hannah take a virtual trip to Japan - Land of the Rising Sun and, pre-pandemic, an increasingly popular destination for travellers from across South East Asia. Having started the year expecting the biggest ever Sakura festival in history followed by the Tokyo Olympics, 2020 has been particularly unkind to Japan. A so-called "Plague Ship" in Yokohama harbour catalysed a year of uncertainty that saw the Olympics shelved for 12 months, and hopes dashed of welcoming 10 million Chinese arrivals and 40 million visitors overall. The economy is deep in recession and COVID-19 isn't yet under control. Ever a pragmatic nation, though, Japan has plenty of plans for its tourism future. These range from the rescheduled Olympics in 2021 to space trips for super-rich tourists, casino resorts and new theme park dedicated to the hero of Hogwarts. 

Three-quarters of 2020 have almost disappeared, but international travel activity remains locked down in South East Asia. We should be gearing up for an October Chinese National Holiday burst then a final quarter tourism surge, but this year we are clutching at straws. This week, Gary and Hannah assess what’s the best, realistically, South East Asia can achieve in the final 3 months of 2020. Are countries looking to salvage the tourism year, or are most planning for the distribution of a vaccine in 2021 (or perhaps late 2020?) The whistle-stop tour through the region looks at the current travel, border and COVID-19 status in each country, and analyses what - if any - clues we might learn about Chinese travel sentiment during the domestic-only upcoming Golden Week.