Issue #170: South East Asia's Top 8 Pre-Lunar New Year Travel & Tourism Talking Points
Hot travel takeaways from Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Laos and more.
Welcome to Issue 170 of Asia Travel Re:Set.
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 (and higher prices).
This weekend sees the pan-regional trip rush begin in earnest.
So, following this trend, we've expedited our monthly round-up of the region’s top talking points.
So let’s follow that train of thought…
Thanks for checking in…
“Gary Bowerman, a tourism and consumer analyst focused on Asia, says President Prabowo’s support for a second Bali airport in the north and expansion of the tourism and lifestyle sectors reshaped the landscape. ‘Major new investment will be needed to support these objectives, which was not deemed possible with any kind of moratorium in place’.”
Many thanks to Peden Doma Bhutia of Skift for reaching out to me for comments to include in this excellent article: Bali Won't Go Ahead With Hotel Building Ban.
Enjoyed joining Yvonne Yong on the ABC News Asia News Week show to discuss Chinese tourism to Thailand for CNY and beyond in light of the recently alleged scam centre trafficking cases in Thailand/Myanmar. We discussed a social media backlash, booking cancellations and Thai Prime Minister Shinawatra’s AI video, transposed in Mandarin, intended to assure Chinese tourists about safety in the country.
Click HERE to watch: Chinese citizens cancel Thailand travel ahead of Lunar New Year.
Plus, there’s a fun short trailer clip (with Thailand’s AI PM) HERE…
South East Asia's Top 8 Pre-Lunar New Year Travel & Tourism Talking Points
The Lunar New Year is a vital cross-regional travel period in South East Asia, and is also one of the two primary Golden Weeks for Chinese travellers into the region. Two years after China re-emerged from a 3-year Covid isolation, destinations throughout ASEAN are hoping for an inbound boost to get the 2025 tourism year up and running.
On this week’s The South East Asia Travel Show, Hannah and I assess the Top 8 pre-LNY talking points from a very hectic January 2025. Here are a few brief pointers, and - as ever - the full reveal comes from listening to the podcast.
1) Any ASEAN Tourism Ministers’ Meeting Takeaways?
The annual ASEAN Tourism Forum took place in Johor Bahru, Malaysia. Discussions continued (without resolution) about developing some form of ASEAN tourism visa. Why do we think this is unlikely to reach fruition? Secondly, Australia will join the ASEAN Tourism Ministers at next year’s forum in the Philippines. More on this soon.
2) Indonesia to Focus on ASEAN
“The ASEAN market still has great potential for optimisation,” said Indonesia’s new Tourism Minister, Widiyanti Putri Wardhana. Indonesia received 4,303,773 tourist arrivals from Southeast Asian countries in 2024 - and is eager to promote more heavily in the region. What are its key challenges for attracting more ASEAN tourists?
3) Bali Governor Buries Moratorium on Hotel & Resort Development
Neither of us thought the heavily hyped hotel construction moratorium, announced last September, was likely to become policy (see the Skift article above). But perhaps foreign investors weren't the only (or even the strongest) pushback force against a proposed halt to hotel and resort developments?
4) Thailand Prime Minister’s AI Video Address
Gimmick or Game-changer? Much has been made (see the above ABC News trailer) about Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra’s AI-enabled address to Chinese tourists in Mandarin to assure them about personal security. But is Thailand actually looking in the wrong direction given that another critical issue is plaguing not only Lunar New Year holidays, but also the quality of daily living?
5) Same-Sex Marriage Becomes Reality in Thailand
An uplifting day during a period of relentless gloom in the global news agenda. How many same-sex marriages were registered on Thursday, the first day since the new law - ratified by the Thai king in late 2024 - entered into force? And might this progressive social step bring positive benefits for Thai tourism?
6) 2026 Visit Malaysia Year Campaign Missteps
The Visit Malaysia 2026 campaign aims to galvanise the travel industry towards a target of 35.6 million visitors next year - but it has been marked by missteps. A public backlash was sparked by the official video’s lack of cultural representation and debates about "AI involvement" in creating the mascots. The response sparked new discussions in Malaysia about strategic planning in tourism.
[I discussed this topic on Wednesday on KL-based BFM 89.9’s: The Economic Impact of Tourism Campaigns]
7) Laos Ends Special Visa Conditions
This is a curious one. Laos dedicated 2024 as Visit Laos Year, and - in July, just after mid-year - it introduced a range of visa waivers and preferential entry policies to boost annual arrivals. Those measures will not be extended, however. So, did 2024 achieve all the anticipated goals for tourism in Laos? If not, what’s the story?
8) Philippine President Restores PHP400 mn Tourism Funding
Hats off to Philippine Secretary of Tourism, Cristina Frasco, for persuading President Marcos Jr to reinstate PHP400 million of tourism funding that was slashed from the annual federal budget. How will the extra the money be spent to spur tourism growth? And how is US TV pop-vocal competition The Voice linked to the story?
Click the live link below to listen to South East Asia’s Top 8 Pre-Lunar New Year Travel & Tourism Talking Points…
Or search for The South East Asia Travel Show on any podcast app.
And, that’s a wrap for this week.
Asia Travel Re:Set will return next Sunday… from Paris, where I’ll be tracking Chinese New Year in the City of Light!
Happy Travels,
Gary