The South East Asia Travel Show

Happy Anniversary to us. Launched on 9 January 2020, The South East Asia Travel Show has reached the 200 episodes milestone. This week, Gary and Hannah reflect on the key travel and tourism issues from the past four years, a large chunk of which was clouded by the pandemic. Within one month of launching, the WHO classified the Novel Coronavirus as a global health emergency, and two months later declared a pandemic. Despite covering travel during a period when very little travel was actually happening in the region, we've been able to interview experts from 18 different countries in South East Asia, Asia Pacific, Europe and North America. We've also covered diverse topics ranging from Ethical Travel to Concert Tourism, Travel Sandboxes to Vaccinated Travel Lanes, and Travel Filmmaking to Tourism Transformation Planning. Along the way, the show has grown its international reach. So far in 2024, our podcast has been downloaded in 73 countries, from the US to India, Thailand to Brazil, Turkey to Ukraine and Morocco to New Zealand. So, please join us to look back across a rollercoaster four-year ride, and our thoughts about the regional travel outlook for 2024 and beyond.

Bali has bounced back impressively over the past year for international and domestic arrivals - but will that momentum endure as regional competition intensifies in 2024? This week, Bali introduces the International Tourism Levy, which must be paid in addition to the visa-on-arrival fee. Could this impact tourist numbers? To help us piece together the details and discuss the tourism outlook, Gary and Hannah welcome back Simona Chimenti and Melina Caruso of the Bali Hotels Association. We recap Bali's vital statistics from 2023 and the top visitor markets, plus we look at efforts to encourage Indonesian travellers in specific segments to stay local rather than head overseas. We analyse the current status of two mega-markets, India and China, touch on new flight services and key issues such as booking windows and seasonality. Plus, when and how do visitors pay the International Tourism Levy? What's the latest news about the proposed Bali railway? And what steps are hotels taking to tackle plastic trash and food waste across the island?

This week, multi-Grammy-winning Taylor Swift kicks off her Asia tour in Tokyo ahead of dates in Melbourne, Sydney and six sold-out shows in Singapore. Music tourism is a hot emerging trend in Asia, with destinations like Singapore, Tokyo, Seoul, Macau, Bangkok, Jakarta and Hong Kong competing to attract shows by Asian and global megastars. So, what happens next? Could Concert Tickets & Events Travel Packages become a new category on OTA and SuperApp platforms alongside hotels, flights and car rentals? Might payment brands become pop ticket distributors? Does the event ticketing model need to change – and, if so, what are some of the potential scenarios for the travel industry? Gary and Hannah are joined by Martin Haigh, Sales Director of Total Ticketing, which is a supplier of live event ticketing software to travel agents, attractions, integrated resorts, stadiums and B2C ticketing companies. We discuss the mechanics of concert and sports event tourism, potential disruption to the sales channels for music concerts and major events - and the reasons why so many Taylor Swift fans missed out on their dream ticket. 
 
 

The 2023 visitor arrivals and airport passenger statistics are published, and the gloves are off. As the region prepares for a vibrant Lunar New Year travel season, 2024 is set to be the most shape-shifting year for travel since 2019. So, how has South East Asia started the year in travel and tourism terms? Gary and Hannah discuss January’s Top 8 talking points, which include bilateral visa-free travel agreements with China, proposals for a "seamless ASEAN" and a "single ASEAN airline", plus a national MICE Sustainability certification. We also discuss the variable forecasts for visitor arrivals in 2024 and shifting post-Covid patterns of competition among Asia Pacific's four largest airports. Plus, we assess the origin and curtailment of a significant tax hike that caused uproar across Indonesia's tourism industry.

Boosted by a population surpassing 100 million, Vietnam counts one of the region’s fastest growing travel and aviation markets. To assess the outlook for tourism in 2024, Gary and Hannah welcome back Ho Chi Minh City-based Mike Tatarski, founder of the Vietnam Weekly newsletter. We begin by recapping the 2023 recovery for inbound, outbound and domestic travel, and dissect the top visitor markets. We discuss the challenges for the air market, particularly with high prices irking domestic passengers and the financial struggles of Bamboo Airways. Transport infrastructure remains a hot topic. We assess the progress of new airport developments in Ho Chi Minh City and other provinces, and the latest status of the much-hyped North-South high-speed railway. Plus, we talk overdevelopment in Phu Quoc, environmental management in Halong Bay, and why Japan is such a popular destination for Vietnamese tourists. 

As we begin the second full calendar year of travel and tourism in South East Asia since the pandemic, it’s time to look ahead at what 2024 might offer. This week, Gary and Hannah discuss their Top 10 list of travel and tourism wishes, expectations and forecasts for 2024. It’s going to a be competitive and challenging year, but scratching beneath the surface what are the critical issues to be addressed? We expect visa waivers will be a key destination battleground, ponder whether ASEAN should create a statistical standard for benchmarking tourist arrivals and talk tough on Revenge Travel and Generative AI. We analyse the transformative impacts of climate change and extreme weather for travel across the region, and address the 'Say-Do' sustainability gap for Asian travellers. Plus, why is the Weekend Economy a topic of interest to watch in 2024, and could Thailand enjoy a signifiant diversity boost for tourism this year?

The first full calendar year of travel and tourism in South East Asia since the pandemic is almost complete. And what a dramatic 12 months it has been. To take stock, Gary and Hannah have created a list of the Top 10 travel and tourism talking points in South East Asia and beyond in 2023. Our review of the year journeys from Indonesia to China, via Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines. En route, we discuss the region's first high-speed railway, the return of visa waivers and a ban on short-term rentals. We assess why three island destinations in the region are struggling to recover and the shifting travel payments landscape. Plus, we tap into music tourism and a boost for hotel bookings by the Time Person of the Year, and Malaysia's late-year statistical surprise. 

Just back from Jakarta and Hanoi, respectively, Gary and Hannah can confirm that South East Asian airports are getting busier as the end-of-year travel season nears. So, it's the perfect time to revisit some key tourism themes in 2023 with Bangkok-based travel journalist Vincent Vichit-Vadakan. Vincent was last on the show in April 2022, when the regional outlook was very different. This year, he has travelled on assignment to over 25 destinations including Singapore and Vietnam on various occasions, plus China, Nepal and Maldives. We discuss the current tourism landscape in Thailand, and the explosive international growth of a Bangkok-based hotel brand. We tackle infrastructure challenges for tourism in Vietnam, talk sustainable hotel development in Singapore, discover outdoor experiences along the Tea Horse Trail in China's Yunnan Province and explore Kyoto as tourism returns to Japan. Plus, which airports in South East Asia are operating more effectively than others? And why is Soft Power set to be a tourism battleground in 2024?