Issue #151 - The Bali Benchmark, TikTok's Travel Sandbox & The Mole in Malaysia
Issue #151 - The Bali Benchmark, TikTok's Travel Sandbox & The Mole in Malaysia
The summer holiday season is creating plenty of headlines in Asia Pacific
Welcome to Issue 151 of Asia Travel Re:Set.
Yes, the newsletter is still “on a break” - but I thought I’d pass on a few relevant bits and pieces that may be of interest…
Thanks for checking in.
Firstly, this…
How does a nation whose tourism arrivals have rebounded at scale since the pandemic deliver a higher yield from high-volume tourism? This is Thailand's conundrum, and it underpins a new range of visa measures, including the Destination Thailand Visa - sometimes referred to as the Digital Nomad Visa.
Thailand's tourism promotion strategy over the past 3 years has been an unmatched success in ASEAN. There is a big "but" however...
“So it leads Southeast Asia by a long way in terms of visitor arrivals. But the problem – and this is a big problem – is that although it’s got the numbers coming in, the average spend per visitor is relatively low.”
Hence, "the incremental value of just having more and more people isn’t being felt."
Many thanks to Karla Cripps at CNN for including some of my comments in this new article, Why Thailand is making it easier for travelers to stay longer.
And next to….
Readers of Issue #150 may remember that I linked to an article I’d written for the Asia Media Centre, called Can Gastronomy Tourism be a Recipe for Economic Growth? I’ve been writing for this highly credible Wellington-based organisation for about 3 years, and they are great to work with. This week, the article appeared - without permission - on a website called HospitalityNet - for which I am now listed as a contributor. This is unauthorised. I have had no interaction with this website.
Turning to…
July is a busy season. Chinese summer holiday tourists returned to the region in large numbers, while destinations across ASEAN implemented measures to boost their full-year tourism arrivals. So, what were the Top 8 travel talking points in July?
Our monthly round-up on The South East Asia Travel Show features stopovers in Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, plus China and India.
En route, we discuss TikTok's latest travel play in Thailand and Indonesia, jet planes returning to KL's Subang Airport after more than 2 decades and legal pressure on illegal tour operators. And, a new survey shows that Chinese tour groups are smaller and younger than pre-pandemic.
Plus, is Bali the new benchmark in the battle to attract Chinese and Indian tourists? How many countries worldwide does Singapore's power-packed passport enable its citizens to visit visa-free? And why hasn't Netflix series The Mole been promoted in Malaysia, despite being filmed around the country?
Listen here: 🎧 Apple Podcasts 🎧 Spotify
Now onto…
How much progress are governments, regulators, airlines, aircraft manufacturers and airports in Asia Pacific making to decarbonise our skies? And what are the cost implications in a region with a high concentration of LCCs and price-conscious travellers?
Is the aviation sector's goal of Net-Zero Emissions by 2050 achievable?
To address these issues, I was joined by Shantanu Gangakhedkar, Senior Consultant, Aerospace & Defense, at Frost & Sullivan, on The South East Asia Travel Show. Shantanu recently wrote a White Paper called Sustainable Technologies in Aviation.
Decarbonising our skies is complex, and requires an entire turnaround of the airline industry and its supply chains. But how quickly can governments and regulators push through mandates to speed up progress? And how will future airline fleets balance SAF with hydrogen, electric and hybrid planes?
Listen here: 🎧 Apple Podcasts 🎧 Spotify
And finally…
"Our role is to be a respectful and responsible concierge for our destination." How can destinations preserve and integrate culture, history and community engagement into the travel experience for the benefit of visitors and local communities?
It's a frequently asked question, but not an easy one to answer.
This week's High-Yield Tourism Podcast heads to eastern and southern Africa in search of inspirations. My guests, Hafsa H. Mbamba, CEO of the Zanzibar Commission for Tourism, and Enver Duminy, CEO of Cape Town Tourism, discuss how their tourism strategies are evolving to support market diversification.
We debate an array of issues, including balanced growth, target market planning and shifting visitor perceptions while meeting challenges like seasonality, cultural asset depletion and gentrification. Plus, we dive into innovative strategies leveraging user-generated content and social media to deliver positive benefits for the visitor economy.
This show is adapted from a panel, Cultural Stewardship: Empowering Local Communities in Tourism, I moderated at the 2024 Halal in Travel Global Summit. Thanks to Fazal Bahardeen at CrescentRating for granting permission to adapt the audio recording.
Listen here: 🎧 Apple Podcasts 🎧 Spotify
And, that’s a wrap for issue 151.
The (real) Asia Travel Re:Set newsletter will be back with a new format in September.
Until then, find me at LinkedIn, The South East Asia Travel Show and High-Yield Tourism.
Happy summer travels,
Gary