The South East Asia Travel Show

Community-based Tourism in Thailand, with Charlotte Louwman-Vogels

This week, Gary and Hannah chat with Charlotte Louwman-Vogels, CEO of Fair Tourism, a non-profit foundation based in the Netherlands that does commendable community-based tourism (CBT) work in Thailand. During this intriguing chat, Charlotte discusses how she assisted the Kayan tribe in Huay Pu Keng to transition from being a commercial show village into a self-sustaining tourism community managed by the locals themselves. She discusses the role that tour operators and DMCs can play to support and promote sustainable tourism so that it empowers rather than exploits local communities, and how Fair Tourism is working with university students in destinations ranging from Australia to Kenya and Jordan. Charlotte also addresses the emerging challenges for CBT during the pandemic and beyond, and the role young people can play in making transformational tourism more meaningful for hosts and visitors.

Selling a Passion for Vietnam, with Kerry Newsome

"Vietnam was really hot in 2019," says Sydney-based Kerry Newsome, Australian Manager of ITS Vietnam and host of the What About Vietnam podcast. Kerry supports Australian travel agents wanting to sell tours to Vietnam, and accompanies travel groups in Vietnam. She was in the country right before the closure of borders in March 2020 working to help Australian tourists return home before COVID-19 lockdowns took hold. In this fascinating interview, she tells Gary and Hannah about her passion for the landscapes, cuisines and cultures of Vietnam, and how adventurous Australians were increasingly eager to experience more of the country. Kerry also discusses how her company ITS Vietnam has adapted to the pandemic era, the prospects for Vietnam reopening to international travel and the future outlook for Australian travellers into Vietnam and South East Asia. 

A South East Asia Travel Resources Guide to the Pandemic

On this week’s show, Gary and Hannah take a break from Travel Bubbles, PCR Tests and Reopening Strategies. Instead, the show builds a virtual guide of all the travel resources that we read, watch and listen to when researching the show, and producing our own weekly reports. The South East Asia Travel Show Resources Guide surveys the information, media and data landscape, and discusses how it’s developed and diversified since COVID-19 took hold. The multimedia mix extends from travel webinars, podcasts and weekly and monthly reports to newspaper websites, vaccine trackers, airline and and hotel dashboards and COVID-19 infection aggregators. Plus, some of the very best e-newsletters that have emerged in recent months by local writers in Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Bali.

The Current State of Travel in South East Asia and Beyond

With the COVID-19 pandemic now in its 14th month, what have we learned and how will those lessons be – or not be – applied in future? This week, Gary and Hannah take on some of the ‘big picture’ talking points in travel and tourism in ASEAN. The show asks, and tries to answer, 7 critical questions: 1) What do travel and tourism mean today, and do we have a different outlook than before the pandemic? 2) What have been the biggest changes for the travel industry - which will be temporary, and will any be permanent? 3) What has been the most overlooked development so far? 4) What have we learned in the first 4 months of 2021, and is the current outlook different than expected at the end of 2020? 5) Are travel bubbles relevant any more now that we have vaccines? 6) Realistically, what are the expectations for travel and tourism in South East Asia in 2021 - and will there be a noticeable ‘turning point’? 7) Looking further ahead, what are the reasons to be optimistic, and what are the pessimistic factors?

Take-off for the Australia-New Zealand Travel Bubble, with Simon Westaway

This week marks the start of the two-way travel bubble between Australia and New Zealand. So there's no better time for Gary and Hannah to welcome back Simon Westaway, Executive Director of the Australian Tourism Industry Council, to the show. Back in December, Simon accurately predicted April for the two-way travel bubble getting started. In a fascinating discussion, we look at how Australia's domestic tourism sector has recovered, and trends have shifted. These include more travel within home states, and a surge in self-drive trips. Meanwhile, some regions of the country have never had it so good. Plus, the outlook for travel between Australia and New Zealand as the winter sports season beckons, and some of the new routes that airlines are introducing. Beyond the bubble, are South Pacific islands next on the itinerary, and will Australia push ahead with a much-touted travel corridor with Singapore? And how about Vietnam? Finally, what's the outlook for long-haul international travel in 2021, or more likely 2022?

Will Singapore Lead South East Asia's Travel Revival?

From 2010 to 2019, Singapore's inbound arrivals grew significantly, from 11.6 million to 19.1 million. This expansion was boosted by the opening of two integrated resorts and smart marketing strategies in China and India. Throughout the 2010s, this small city state punched above its weight by thinking ahead and investing big. Singaporeans themselves are inveterate travellers, who are evidently eager to take flight again. This week, Gary and Hannah assess what happens next as Singapore makes various moves to reopen its travel economy - with a particular focus on MICE and business events travel. Which markets might Singapore focus on the bring back leisure and business travellers, will the IATA Air Travel pass help the recovery and will the air travel bubble with Hong Kong succeed second time around? Plus, how has Singapore become the world's largest cruise market during the pandemic, and what new attractions and amenities are planned? Last, but not least, how many Singaporeans say they would rather take an overseas holiday than fall in love?

Phuket & Bali: Will They Both Reopen in July?, with Brett Henry, MG Group

Anticipation is building across South East Asia as Phuket and Bali prepare to greet international travellers in July. This week, Hannah and Gary team up with Brett Henry, President of Jakarta-based MG Group, to debate the vital issues around reopening to vaccinated travellers after more than a year. What are the near-term strategies of both destinations, and how will they ensure the safety of travellers and residents - and what are the perceived risks? What approaches are each destination taking to attract travellers from different source markets - and which markets are likely to be off limits? How will travel, airline and hospitality players plan ahead for a gradual return of international tourists? And what does the imminent return of inbound visitors mean for the future of domestic tourism? And we round off by comparing which of the two reopening plans we think is likely to kick into gear first.

The Challenges of Reconnecting the World, with Dirk Singer, SimpliFlying

This week's episode takes on the complex task of reconnecting global air travel with Dirk Singer, Research Director of SimpliFlying, an aviation marketing and solutions firm founded by Canada-based Singaporean Shashank Nigam. From his London base, Dirk discusses the white-hot aviation, airline, airport, travel and tourism issues that are confounding policymakers in Europe, North, Central and South America, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific. Will vaccines eliminate the need for quarantines - and, if so, when? Can Green Zone travel actually work? How will vaccine passports be issued and accepted worldwide? What is a Vaccine Hierarchy and why does it matter? What are the specific challenges for intercontinental air hubs like Singapore, Hong Kong and Dubai? Will European borders reopen this summer? What is the 50:50 Trigger? And, will the lessons of COVID-19 enable airlines to future-proof themselves against 'the next pandemic'? Fascinating stuff.