12 Things We Often Forget About the Covid Travel Era in South East Asia: Five Years of the Pandemic in Review

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?