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 show, Gary and Hannah reassess 12 Covid-era travel and tourism issues that redefined the decade. En route, we reassess the factors shaping Travel Bubbles, Vaccinated Travel Lanes and Cruises to Nowhere. We dissect the long-term importance of the Phuket Sandbox, the legacy of domestic tourism incentive programmes and the scale of ASEAN airline turnarounds. And, after two exhausting years of regional fear, uncertainty and economic damage, which South East Asian country was the first to reopen its borders?

"South East Asia is where the excitement is because it is a fast-growing tourism region for Australia." As we near 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 the Australian Trade & Investment Commission (AusTrade). We discuss Australia's Thrive 2030 strategy, which is transitioning from 'recovery' to 'consolidation' phase, and the variable rates of inbound recovery from regional markets. We look at why Investment in travel infrastructure and services is growing at a rapid rate. Garrett explains the diverse factors influencing inbound arrivals from China, India and South East Asian markets. While visitors from Vietnam, the Philippines and Indonesia now exceed 2019 levels, Malaysia's post-Covid rebound has been slow. Plus, we look at evolving trends among holiday, VFR, education and blended travellers to Australia - and the current outbound hotspots for Australian tourists. And we discuss Tourism Research Australia's enlarging scope to closely monitor social, environmental and institutional variables, as well as economic metrics.

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 answer the following questions: Which was the first ASEAN country to surpass 2019 arrivals? How will Indonesia's tourism budget cut impact inbound arrivals. Why is China promoting Xishuangbanna as visa-free for South East Asian tour groups? Who will win the race to 40 million visitors, Thailand or Japan? And where in the world was the first Michelin-starred Filipino restaurant?

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 population of over 100 million - the opportunities and challenges will multiply. To assess the outlook for 2025 and beyond, Gary and Hannah welcome back Mike Tatarski, Founder of Vietnam Weekly. We discuss the key inbound markets, such as China, Russia and ASEAN, and emerging markets like India and Central Asian nations. We have the latest on construction of the nation's largest airport, Long Thanh International, east of Ho Chi Minh City, and the ambitious North-South High-Speed Railway. Plus, we address the impact of high domestic flight prices, waste management issues on Vietnamese islands, and over-development in coastal hotspots.

“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 leaders about how tourism strategy and development are changing in the post-Covid era. In this episode, Chattan Kunjara, Former Deputy Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, discusses how Thailand is promoting the 5Fs - food, fight (May Thai), fashion, film and festivals - in tourism as part of its national branding. Khun Chattan takes us behind the scenes of Thailand's reopening strategy and how, in his words, "Covid changed everything for Thai tourism." He also provides fascinating insights about the inner travel and tourism workings of South East Asia's most-visited nation.

The Lunar New Year travel period has begun! Chinese tourists are staggering their trips to South East Asia to avoid the Golden Week travel rush... So, following this trend, we've expedited our monthly round-up. This week, Gary and Hannah assess the Top 8 talking points from a very hectic January 2025 – perhaps even more frenetic than usual given the fairly early occurrence of the LNY. This month's top takeaways take us to Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Laos, Myanmar… and more. Along the way, we discuss the Thai Prime Minister's AI video to assure Chinese tourists about safety, Bali buries its hotel development moratorium, the Visit 2026 campaign experiences hiccups in Malaysia, and there's an unexpected move in Laos as it revokes visa waivers. Plus, we touch on an intriguing budget win by the Secretary of Tourism in the Philippines, and we celebrate the first same-sex marriage ceremonies in Thailand.

Wherever you find yourself in South East Asia, it’s impossible to miss that travel infrastructure is being built out on a vast scale – and 2025 is an important year for some major projects. This week, Gary chats with James Clark, Founder of the Future South East Asia newsletter, to assess the Top 8 Mega-Projects under-development across the region. In order, we discuss these transformative airport and high-speed rail projects in 1) Vietnam, 2) Singapore, 3) Cambodia, 4) Indonesia, 5) The Philippines, 6) Malaysia, 7) Back to Vietnam, and 8) Thailand. We analyse the potential impact on travel and tourism, plus the economics and politics, and the financing, planning and construction challenges, behind each one. With South East Asia at the centre of Asia Pacific's ambitious economic growth trajectory, these mega-projects will carve out new contexts for domestic and international travel.