The South East Asia Travel Show

"They are not happy with just Vietnam, just Thailand - now they are going after Australia!" The scale of ambition and speed of commercial aggression shown by Vietnamese airlines is a stand-out feature of 2026, and there is no sign of a slowdown. On our monthly round-up of the top travel and tourism talking points in South East Asia and beyond in June, Gary and Hannah look at how airline strategies...

"Robotic lockers and ozone-based water filtration systems." As we close in on the halfway point of 2026, Gary and Hannah review the latest travel and tourism developments across ASEAN and beyond with stopovers in Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia. Gary's just back from Travel Meet Asia in Jakarta, where Brunei previewed its largest year-long tourism promotion in 2027, which we bre...

This week's special edition of the show was recorded live in front of a packed ballroom audience at the 2026 Travel + Leisure Luxury Summit Asia, at the Dusit Thani hotel in Bangkok. Gary and Hannah took to the stage for a three-part podcast. In part 1, we provide a short round-up of the travel and tourism year so far in South East Asia and beyond - and the outlook for the rest of 2026. We are the...

"The world has changed around Thailand since Covid, whereas Vietnam appears more in control of its destiny." As we race toward the midpoint of 2026, it was another week with plenty of travel talking points in ASEAN and beyond. The week, Gary and Hannah visit Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia, Cambodia, Laos and China to decipher the top takeaways. We begin in the Philippines with the la...

As we accelerate towards the mid-point of 2026, the warning signs continue showing up. On our Start the Weekend show, Gary and Hannah discuss new data analysis about the impacts of airline cuts in South East Asia - and what this might mean through October and beyond. And, then... El Niño is coming! The UN Meteorological Office has issued new details about the warming sea temperatures and shifting...

So, the fifth month of 2026 is complete - and it was another one dominated by the impacts of the US/Israel war in Iran/Lebanon. This week, Gary and Hannah recap May's top 8 travel takeaways from across ASEAN and beyond with stopovers in Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines and Cambodia, plus China, India and the UK. En route, we discuss flight route cuts across South...

"Even if 75% of what Vietnam is planning comes together, it won't just become the second-biggest economy in South East Asia but one of the Top 20 worldwide." Vietnam's ambitious national transformation involves major expansion of its travel, tourism and transportation sectors - and huge investment is being staked by the government and its largest companies. But there is confusion.... On the one ha...

"There's a significant amount of downplaying the risk level to the public, but those striking disembarkation scenes with hazmat suits and water showers on the MV Hondius cruise ship tell us how seriously the WHO is taking this outbreak." Zoonotic viruses are back in the headlines six-and-a-half-years after Covid was identified in China. So too are terms like "Contact Tracing," "Mask Wearing" and "...

Why is Thailand considering a second tourism tax? Could the Philippines rescind its decision to scrap an outbound air travel fee? Which ASEAN airlines are cutting the most flights from May-July? And is India's outbound growth story hitting an energy-crunch roadblock? Those are four of the key questions Gary and Hannah ask and answer on our Start the Week show. To kickstart the May holiday week, we...

How high can airfare surcharges go in the Philippines? Is a 30% drop in Chinese flights to Thailand a short-term adjustment, or a long-term shift? Is Indonesia serious about levying ships in the Malacca Strait? And will oil deals with Russia give it more influence in South East Asia? These are four central questions in Part 2 of our Start the Week show, as Gary and Hanna break down the radiating e...

Is a rapprochement between Thailand and Cambodia getting closer? Could Myanmar soon return to ASEAN? And how will embodied AI transform the tourism landscape in South East Asia? Those are three of the top questions Gary and Hannah ask and answer in Part 1 of our two-part Start the Week show. To kickstart the lead-up to the May holiday period, we head to Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, the Ph...

"The challenges around jet fuel and flight cuts are going to get worse in the region before they get better." As South East Asian countries face up to tough economic choices from the  Middle East war fallout, Gary and Hannah head to Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines and China to tackle this week's big travel questions. We begin by discussing Vietnam's radical reshaping of it...

"I wouldn't want to be either of them... What a mess to inherit" On this week’s kickstarter show, Gary and Hannah head to Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines in search of answers to the region’s big travel and tourism questions. As the Middle East war's economic impacts bite, Malaysia considers extending its year-long Visit Malaysia 2026 campaign into 2027, an arrivals slu...

"Could South East Asia's travel landscape look different in 12-18 months time?" The economic impacts of war in the Middle East are writ large. The region imports huge quantities of oil, LNG, jet fuel, petrochemicals and fertilisers, which support businesses across many sectors. Fuel shortages are impacting the cost and supply of electricity, and governments are encouraging people and businesses to...

"Fuel now accounts for 50-55% of its operating costs. That previously was 30-35%". As we commence Week 6 of war in the Middle East, airline strategies are shifting as cost pressures intensify. South East Asia's LCCs are once again facing the financial strain. Gary and Hannah start the week in Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore, plus Türkiye, Bahrain and Taiwan, in search of answers to the region's bi...

March 2026 will not be remembered fondly across Asia, as a worsening energy crisis impacts all sectors of regional economies, including travel. Gary and Hannah review the most eventful month for South East Asia since Covid - and provide up-to-date analysis of the current situation, and what to expect next. We look at the increasing airline fuel surcharge rates being applied, including an eye-water...

As we enter a decisive week for Middle East warfare and diplomacy, South East Asia is watching with deepening collective and national economic concerns. Gary and Hannah start the week in Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines and Malaysia in search of answers to South East Asia's big travel questions. What are the implications of the upcoming ASEAN Leaders' Summit being cut to "the bare bones"? As S...

"48% of South East Asian travel businesses believe that the prospects for their business in Q2 2026 are worse than they had anticipated at the start of the year." But, dig deeper and the opinion variances between travel industry players throughout the region are noticeable. On this week's show Hannah is in the hot seat, as Gary interviews her about a new survey report put together by her team at P...

Our fast-paced Monday morning Start The Week show is back. This week, Gary and Hannah stop over in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines in search of the answers to South East Asia's big travel questions. We look at the Eid holiday trends across the region and even into China, and assess an intriguing new flight service connecting Vietnam, Kazakhstan and Czech Repub...

As the energy crisis impacts start to diversify across Asia, Gary and Hannah ask a simple question: Can K-pop save the world? This week's journey takes us from Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia and Laos to Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines, plus Maldives and Sri Lanka. En route we assess some of the radiating outcomes of war in the Middle East that go far beyond airlines and air connect...

“It’s a cliche to say that everything is in flux, and that there is a great deal of uncertainty across travel economies. But it’s true.” The US and Israel’s ongoing aerial bombardment of Iran and Lebanon - and the worsening unintended consequences of retaliatory strikes on energy assets and other installations across the Middle East - are raising crisis fears across Asian economies. Travel and tou...

"We don't know when this war is going to end, but already we are seeing a great degree of uncertainty return to travel and tourism in South East Asia." One week after the US and Israel began attacking Iran and Lebanon, what are the short-term outcomes for travel in the region - and what are the risks waiting up ahead? This week, Gary is in Seoul and he asks some of the structural questions the tra...

"Vietnam's international air market is the biggest story in South East Asia." ASEAN's breakout travel and tourism star leads the bullish projections about air travel, but structural issues in South East Asia's biggest market, Indonesia, drag down the overall 2026 outlook. Longer-term, sustained growth is predicted, but where are the hotspots to watch, and which are the slow-motion markets? This we...

From hotels on petrol (gas) station forecourts in Thailand to Singapore's ingenious tourism match-making scheme... On our fast-paced Start The Week show, Gary and Hannah stop over in Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, the Philippines and India in search of the answers to travel's big questions. We begin by discussing ASEAN representation on the Gaza Board of Peace, aircraft orders tied to tar...

Where will Chinese tourists head for the longest Spring Festival holiday in history? How will regional travel hold up for the Lunar New Year break? And will the close proximity of the LNY and the Eid holiday seasons influence travel patterns in parts of South East Asia? On our fast-paced Start The Week show, Gary and Hannah stop over in,Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, China, Bahrain,...