The South East Asia Travel Show

“You will see LCC fleet sizes increasing, and you’ll see them operating longer routes into East Asia, Central Asia and even into Eastern and Western Europe." More than 50% of available flight seats on any given day in South East Asia are provided by low-cost carriers (LCCs). Budget airlines have played a vital role in rebuilding regional air travel and tourism in ASEAN and Asia Pacific since the p...

What is the future of Digital Nomadism, Remote Work and Work from Anywhere? And should ASEAN destinations do more than issue Digital Nomad Visas to integrate remote workers into tourism economies? And who, actually, are digital nomads. Are they remote workers? Are they laptop backpackers? Is digital nomadism a lifestyle? Is it a tourism segment? What is borderless living? What are Micro-Societies?...

It's been a pretty unsettling first half of 2025 on a geopolitical level, and the regional outcomes are creeping but still uncertain. Against this backdrop, South East Asian airports have remained busy - but structural and cyclical challenges for travel economies are emerging. So, what do the events of January-June tell us about the rest of 2025 and into 2026? This week, Gary and Hannah assess the...

"Despite referencing the word 'tourism' 26 times in its new Vision 2045 plan, ASEAN remains uncomfortable discussing a regional tourism visa. This largely reflects its institutional limitations rather than a lack of ambition." Over recent months, significant hype has surrounded the possibility of the 10 countries (soon 11) of South East Asia launching a shared visa for tourists. The context is tha...

"I wish I had 640 days to do this trip, not 64." Bali-based Stuart McDonald, founder of Travelfish, is 34 days into an ambitious two-month overland trip across 18 countries from his Bali home to Leeds in the UK. So, why is he doing it? What has he experienced en route? And what have been the finest discoveries of the journey so far? This week, Gary catches up with Stuart in Tashkent, the capital o...

May was another hectic month of BIG travel, tourism and geopolitical talking points in South East Asia. This month’s roundup takes Gary and Hannah around ASEAN, from our home city of Kuala Lumpur to Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Timor Leste and Vietnam – plus China, India (sort of), Saudi Arabia and Kazakhstan. En route, we discuss China's new ASEAN visa, Indonesia clings to its high-spee...

Vietnam is the most dynamic and talked-about travel market in South East Asia. The nation's economic growth, which outpaces China and India, made the cover of The Economist last week. Global leaders jet in and out for trade talks, and foreign investment has flooded in. Meantime, Vietnam is developing one of ASEAN's largest airports and its most ambitious high-speed railway. But what happens next,...

Since the turn of the year, Gary and Hannah have been travelling across South East Asia and worldwide, speaking at various travel conferences. So, this week, we’ve compiled a long list of the most ubiquitous concepts, words and phrases we’ve encountered on stage and in the venue break-out spaces and receptions. We discuss the current contexts around popular buzzwords such as Authentic Experiences,...

AI and Sustainability are hotly debated topics in travel. But how might new policies and regulations in these areas impact future interactions between travellers, suppliers, booking platforms and governments? This week, Gary and Hannah discuss the current landscape for OTAs, sustainability and AI policy development with Yang Li, Head of Public Affairs, Asia Pacific, at Booking.com. Which ASEAN and...

South East Asia comprises 10 diverse nations and nearly 700 million people spread across a vast landmass. Consequently, the numbers are often large, impactful and scaleable - and travel and tourism are no exceptions. This week, Gary and Hannah select the Top 8 statistical talking points from across the region. These cover inbound and outbound travel, ASEAN vs APAC airline seat capacity, the Hajj p...

April began with the announcement of US "reciprocal tariffs", which ranged from 10% to 49% on exports from South East Asian nations. This has created toxic uncertainty across all industries in the region, notably business travel. But before the tariff turmoil, Q1 had delivered mixed results for travel and tourism, with the Eid al-Fitr holiday numbers particularly weak in Malaysia and Indonesia. Wa...

Casino Tourism. Concert & Event Tourism. Medical Tourism. The Night Economy. Live-streaming. Public-Private Tourism Partnerships. Many of the hot topics related to Macau's diversification of its tourism economy and inbound market mix bear similarities to countries in South East Asia. There are two key differences, however. 1) Macau is the world city most reliant on tourism income as a proporti...

What connects CNN, Coldplay, Bollywood, The White Lotus, Bluey, Minecraft and K-dramas? All are linked to the burgeoning trend of representing tourism destinations in TV series, movies, videos, documentaries and computer games. This week, Gary and Hannah assess the top 8 TV and Movie Tourism talking points in ASEAN, Asia Pacific and beyond. The global journey takes us from Jakarta, Koh Samui and S...

"ASEAN, being the fifth largest economy in the world, is deeply concerned over the recent introduction of unilateral tariffs by the US, including the tariffs announced on 2 April and subsequently the suspension on 9 April... [These] will impact economic security and stability, affect livelihoods of millions of people in the region, and hinder economic progress in ASEAN, particularly less developed...

What will the new round of US protectionist trade tariffs mean for the economies of ASEAN and Asia Pacific? Over the past seven days, we'e seen stock markets crash, currencies come under pressure and governments entering into panic mode. The long-term shockwaves for the global and regional economies are uncertain, and the fallout for the travel industry is still speculative. In the first of a two-...

"It's cheaper to fly from Jakarta to KL, Bangkok or even Japan than to Manado." Indonesia is South East Asia's largest country and largest economy, and has a fascinating, fast-changing travel landscape. This week, Hannah welcomes back to the show Jakarta-based Pauline Suharno, President of ASTINDO, the Indonesian travel agents association, to assess the outlook for travel and tourism. Pauline disc...

It's been a while! Our last show trailer was recorded in 2022, so we are long overdue an update. Find out more about the podcast, the presenters, Gary and Hannah, our global listener base and our monthly schedule. This 90-second summary gives you the inside track on The South East Asia Travel Show as we accelerate through our 6th year. 

"Should South East Asian nations be worried by moves in South Korea and Türkiye to attract more Chinese and Russian tourists?" March proved to be the most fascinating month so far in 2025 for travel and tourism talking points in South East Asia. For our regular monthly rewind, Gary and Hannah travel through Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Cambodia, Laos and The Philippines, plus...

"The term 'sustainable tourism' has been bankrupted. It's meaningless now". None of the environmental and social issues confronting tourism are new, but how do we address them more realistically? How can travellers tread more lightly and be less impactful on the places and communities they visit? What is "Less Bad Travel"? How does it differ from staple travel industry terms, such as responsible t...

Five years ago today, on 11 March 2020, everything changed. The WHO declared a global pandemic, and South East Asia embarked on two years of border closures, lockdowns and quarantine mandates that suffocated international travel. Meanwhile, several potential solutions were proposed (and tested) to revive travel and tourism despite the logistical challenges and governmental restrictions. On today’s...

"South East Asia is where the excitement is because it is a fast-growing inbound tourism region for Australia." As we approach the 5th anniversary of the WHO declaring a pandemic on 11 March 2020, it's a good time to discuss emerging developments in Australia's visitor economy. This week, Gary welcomes Garrett Tyler-Parker, Director of Analysis & Insights at Tourism Research Australia, part of...

Where did February go? Already, we are two months into 2025, and what a fascinating month it proved to be. Some compelling regional stories emerged. So, as we do every month, Gary and Hannah discuss the Top 8 tourism talking points from a hectic February. The journey takes us to Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia and the Philippines, plus Hong Kong, China, Japan and India. En route we ask and...

Vietnam has one of ASEAN's most complex and compelling visitor economies, and has started 2025 at high-octane pace. It received more than 2 million visitors in January for the first time - and has set a goal of 23 million arrivals in 2025. That would smash the previous record of 18 million in 2019. Aligned with a vibrant domestic travel economy - Vietnam is one of the few countries with a populati...

“In 2025, consumer demand in the outbound travel market in China will continue to fragment, particularly in terms of interests. This shift is one of the most significant changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.” Two years after China reopened for travel, the outbound tourism market continues to diversify and fragment. The landscape looks very different than it did in 2019 - and the 2025 Chi...

“The White Lotus is huge. It's a very scenery-driven show, and there are compelling stories behind that. It creates an aura.” As The White Lotus season 3 prepares to air, how is Thailand using various aspects of soft power to reposition itself as a tourism destination? This week's show comes from Gary's other podcast, High-Yield Tourism, on which he and Dr Jens Thraenhart speak to global thought l...