The South East Asia Travel Show

The South East Asia Travel Show
  • 4.6 (8)
  • Places & Travel
  • Updated Weekly

The South East Asia Travel Show is hosted by Gary Bowerman and Hannah Pearson. Each week, we discuss the hottest travel talking points in the 10 countries of ASEAN, and the influential travel markets of Asia Pacific and beyond.

  1. 3d ago

    Tracking the Take-off of AI, Intelligent & Automated Technologies at South East Asian Airports

    Digital Twins. Automated Ground Operations. Predictive Sustainability. Humanoid Robots. E-Gates. Urban Air Transport. Inter-modality. South East Asia’s air landscape is changing before our eyes, as air travel volumes increase and passenger expectations are constantly upgrading. These factors broaden the range of operational challenges for major hub airports, fast-growing airports in tier-two and tier-three cities and the new mega-airports opening from Singapore to the Philippines and Australia to Vietnam. Can AI and intelligent technologies improve the management of busier skies and more crowded departures and arrivals lounges without the need to build bigger terminals? This week, Gary dives into the AI, autonomous and smart tech airport revolution with Shantanu Gangakedkhar, Principal Consultant - Aerospace & Defense at Frost & Sullivan. Based in Kuala Lumpur, Shantanu recently wrote a White Paper called Next Generation Airports: Building Intelligent, Agile and Future Ready Airports in Asia - and he shares his insights about how AI technologies will transform the often disjointed processes of departing and arriving by plane across ASEAN and Asia Pacific. En route, we discuss the divergent tech needs of airlines and airport operators, and non-intrusive solutions to enhance passenger and digital security. Plus, how will robots improve airport services? And how are predictive AI tools enabling airports to plan for major weather events, such as floods or haze, and fast-paced micro-climate changes across an airfield and its terminals?

  2. 5d ago

    Vietnam Leads on ASEAN Air Passenger Integration, Severe Weather Events Pummel Asia & Low-Key Chinese Golden Week Outlook

    "If you go back three of four years, you'd have expected Singapore to take the lead on such a regionally important project - but now it's Vietnam." That seems significant. With three quarters of 2026 completed, pan-Asian air travel networks look rather different from the start of the year. The 9th month of the year, September, featured a raft of intriguing developments across South East Asia, plus China, Australia and Canada. On this week's show, Gary and Hannah track back through a highly consequential month and the implications for the crucial end-of-year travel period and into 2027. En route, we assess Vietnam's app-based ID card integration pilot project with Singapore and Laos for air travellers at two airports, and Vietjet's ambitions in contrasting global markets: the US and Australia. Plus, we address the impacts of catastrophic flooding in Bangkok and throughout Thailand, the grim continuation of fire-smoke haze blighting Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, while typhoon season proves deadly in Japan. Plus, why is Air Canada opening up to Vietnam but closing down to Singapore? And will the accelerating race to open one of the world's largest new airports meet its end of year deadline?

  3. Sep 21

    AirAsia Fights Back: Why is '70 Million' the South East Asian Carrier's Most Important Strategic Forecast?

    43 million. 15,000. 250. 154. 60%. 40%. 34%. Restating its statistical credentials is a vital part of AirAsia’s battle to reclaim the media narrative that it was starting to lose last week, reassure passengers and investors and arrest its market cap rout. As it reiterates its importance to ASEAN’s air travel landscape, the crucial number to watch is 70 million. During a combative press performance on Friday, AirAsia Co-Founder, Tony Fernandes, attacked media reporting, repeatedly stated that the KL-based, ASEAN-centric carrier group is financially viable and is seeking funding to recapitalise its debts at a lower borrowing cost not to stay afloat. He added that AirAsia had “carried more passengers than any other ASEAN carrier” in the first half of the year, and could exceed its own projection by carrying 70 million passengers in 2026. On this week’s show, Gary revisits a dramatic week for AirAsia, as negative media reports proliferated and social media speculation skyrocketed, which ended with the airline's figurehead standing firmly on the front foot. AirAsia will close its Q3 books in a few days’ time, and commence its most important quarter since Covid. The entire travel and tourism ecosystem of South East Asia and beyond will be watching closely. And so will we!

  4. Sep 14

    How Deep Are AirAsia's Financial Troubles? And How Vital is AirAsia to the Air Travel Landscapes of South East Asia & Asia Pacific?

    "It's hard to imagine how South East Asia's air travel landscape would look without AirAsia." Now in its 25th year, AirAsia isn't just South East Asia's largest and highest profile low-cost carrier, it is the thread that stitches together air travel across the 11 nations of ASEAN - and beyond into key Asian markets like China, India, Japan and South Korea. But this complex airline group, which counts 7 carriers operating from 5 countries (Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Cambodia and the Philippines), is laden with debt at high interest rates - and it is in a battle for survival. Its weak financial position has been exacerbated by the Iran War fuel crisis of 2026, resulting in an RM831 million 2nd-quarter net loss. By its own admission, AirAsia - which has cut up to 25% of its capacity in recent months - is seeking "up to US$1.0 billion in international debt markets and RM700 million in local credit facilities" to restructure its debts. Some analysts believe it needs more, and will have to restructure and slim down to survive. This week, Gary is joined by Singapore-based aviation consultant Brendan Sobie to sift through the facts, media hype and social media hysteria to deconstruct the options on the table for AirAsia's future - and what these could mean for passengers and the aviation and tourism economies across the region. We discuss why AirAsia is so important domestically in Malaysia and Thailand, and the reasons why it's the number one carrier connecting ASEAN nations and a critical connector between South East Asia and APAC power markets like China, India, South Korea, Japan and Australia. This is unquestionably the most consequential development in South East Asian travel and tourism in 2026, and we assess the various potential outcomes for the 4th quarter of 2026 and into 2027. So, buckle up - there could be turbulence up ahead.

  5. Sep 11

    Vietnam's Golden Tourism Year Continues, Thailand Revises its Visa Rules for Travellers & AirAsia Tests New Routes into Europe

    So, we’re just three weeks away from that all important fourth quarter of the year - and it’s a hectic time across the travel landscape, with plenty of talking points to deconstruct. This week, Gary and Hannah discuss the air travel impacts of a major volcanic eruption (with a familiar name) in Indonesia and a State of Emergency in Malaysia caused by wild fire "haze". Plus, we look at how Russian, Chinese and South Korean tourists are fuelling Vietnam's dynamic inbound surge, while Cambodia counts the cost of a dismal year for international arrivals. New visa entry rules come into force next week in Thailand, and we have the latest updates. Plus, we check-out AirAsia's first codeshare agreement with Turkiye's Pegasus Airlines, which potentially offers South East Asian travellers cheaper air routes to Europe. We finish in Thailand, where a group of airlines is teaming up to enable passengers on domestic routes to check-in 10kgs of fresh fruit. Is fruit shopping tourism really a thing?

  6. Aug 21

    Thailand's Tourism Tax is Back, Vietnam Targets 50 Million Visitors & Russia Entices South East Asian Tourists

    "Tourists are now viewed as a source of taxation revenue. It's increasingly hard to raise taxes on your own citizens, but if you have 30+ million tourists each year, that's a lot of potential tax you can raise." This week, Gary and Hannah discuss the multiple challenges Thailand faces in increasing its proposed tourism tax, from THB300 to THB450 - and collecting it. Meanwhile, Vietnam's stellar tourism run continues with a raft of upcoming initiatives and an eye-watering new inbound tourism target. As South East Asian nations have become accustomed to welcoming more Russian tourists, what about travel in the reverse direction? Russia's tourism authorities are targeting tourists from the region to bolster its visitor economy. Plus, we tackle the latest airline route rationalisations and service cutbacks attributed to the Iran War fuel crisis, and a new tourism budget row in the Philippines. Finally, we look at how Vietnam (digital heritage passport) and Indonesia (premium tourism) are introducing new thinking into their domestic travel economy planning. All this and much more.

  7. Aug 14

    Australia Zones-in on ASEAN Tourists, Vietnam Loads Up WeChat & Brunei Wants to Join the "1 Million Tourists Club"

    With two-thirds of 2026 almost complete, tourism strategies, plans and developments are loaded with extra meaning. 2027 is looming up ahead… This week, Gary and Hannah journey across South East Asia and to Australia to ask and answer this week's top tourism questions. We begin Down Under where Australia's new 10-year tourism roadmap is simply world class. We discuss why. Next to Brunei, which is rolling out various tourism initiatives as it targets 1 million arrivals in 2027. Meanwhile, Vietnam's national payment system is now connected to China's WeChat Pay, enabling Chinese visitors to Vietnam and Vietnamese tourists in China to swipe and pay seamlessly. Plus, The Haze is back, blanketing parts of Malaysia and Singapore in a gloomy fug. It could get much worse yet… Meanwhile, Indonesia's high-speed rail route continues to bleed mega-money, Malaysians are spending more on domestic tourism - and China issues a solemn warning that destinations across the region should take seriously.

  8. Aug 5

    As Intra-ASEAN Tourism Competition Intensifies, What Are South East Asia's Major New Battlegrounds?

    2026 has been a mixed year for tourism across South East Asia, and all countries are preparing their future strategies. With arrivals growth slowing and competition to attract tourists intensifying, Wellness and Business Events are emerging as key battlegrounds. This week, Gary and Hannah analyse how some of the region's key players, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore and Indonesia, are setting out their strategic stalls - or are they simply chasing the same tourists with different labels and campaigns? Plus, we discuss new flights between Phuket and Bali, and the background behind the arrest of a Malaysia Airlines pilot for drug smuggling in Jakarta. And, is Thailand's Prime Minister paving the way for Myanmar to return to the ASEAN fray after five years of isolation since the military coup?

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About

The South East Asia Travel Show is hosted by Gary Bowerman and Hannah Pearson. Each week, we discuss the hottest travel talking points in the 10 countries of ASEAN, and the influential travel markets of Asia Pacific and beyond.

Information

  • Creator
    The South East Asia Travel Show
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2026
  • Episodes
    100
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2021 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    The South East Asia Travel Show

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