Issue #189: South East Asia's Top 6 Travel & Tourism Takeaways in May

Welcome to Issue 189 of Asia Travel Re:Set.

May (plus the first few days of June) was a hectic time for travel talking points in South East Asia.

On The South East Asia Travel Show’s monthly round-up, we journeyed from Malaysia to Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Timor Leste and Vietnam – plus China, India (sort of), Saudi Arabia and Kazakhstan.

So, let’s follow that train of thought.

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How should South East Asian nations respond to surging investment to attract tourists by China, GCC nations, North African hotspots like Morocco and Egypt, and ambitious Central Asian countries like Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan?

This week, I joined Michael Jones and Charl Albertyn on the China Tourism Tuesday podcast to discuss diversifying patterns of international travel from China.

South East Asia’s Top 6 Travel & Tourism Takeaways in May

Aggregate travel activity tends to slow a little in South East Asia during May, but the month created plentiful new talking points.

So, on The South East Asia Travel Show’s regular monthly round-up we discussed:

China’s new ASEAN & GCC visas
Indonesia clings to its high-speed rail ambitions, Vietnam mulls funding options
ASEAN accepts (“in principle”) an 11th member, perhaps a 12th in future
A melange of travel takeaways from the Philippines, including airport privatisation, a digital nomad visa and visa-free access for Indian travellers.
Vietnam’s ‘resort airline in the sky’
AirAsia takes off for Saudi Arabia, Vietjet lands in Kazakhstan
Regional concert tourism, featuring Lady Gaga and Blackpink.

Here are 5 selected pointers from our discussion, and – as ever – the full reveal comes from listening to the podcast.

1) ASEAN-GCC-China Summit + An ASEAN Visa

The 46th Summit of the Association of South East Asian Nations in Kuala Lumpur included a strategic trilateral session. Nine ASEAN leaders (Myanmar was excluded) met with counterparts from China and the 6 Gulf Cooperation Council nations (Saudi Arabia, Oman, UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait). This is not a one-off. It marks a new reality of Global South trade relations – responding to US protectionism and recognising where the world’s power fault lines will reside in future.

Afterwards, the Chinese government confirmed an ASEAN visa (with caveats) for all 10 nations (plus Timor Leste), and concluded visa-free access for all GCC countries.

That is a 2025 soft power play in action… and then some.

2) Timor Leste = ASEAN’s New #11

Timor Leste applied to join ASEAN in 2011. In 2022, its membership was agreed ‘in principle”. In May 2025, at the 46th ASEAN Summit in Malaysia, its accession was approved subject to technical matters. If those are ironed out, Timor Leste will join ASEAN in October. Airlines are preparing more flight services from member states.

3) AirAsia in Saudi Arabia, Vietjet in Kazakhstan

This week, I wrote and spoke about how Middle Eastern and Central Asian nations are investing heavily to attract tourists away from South East Asia – and that regional governments and tourism boards need to respond tactically. Airlines are pivotal to these plays, of course. In May, AirAsia pulled its experiment in Nairobi, and is instead investing in flight routes to Saudi Arabia. Meantime, Vietnam’s Vietjet partnered with Qazaq Air for a joint venture, Vietjet Qazaqstan. This process is in early motion.

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Click on the live link below to listen to A ‘Resort Airline’, An OTA Law Suit, Time for Timor Leste & Blackpink Back in the Area: May 2025 in Review

Or search for The South East Asia Travel Show on any podcast app.

4) Vietnam & Indonesia High-Speed Rail Power Struggle

Vietnam is pressing ahead with its North-South High Speed Railway, and wants financing to come from within the country. Two conglomerates, VinGroup and Thaco, proposed public-private funding partnerships. The Indonesian government’s fiscal concerns make public funding for the Jakarta-Surabaya high-speed railway unlikely. China will partner with Indonesia in the next-stage feasibility report.

5) Tourism Renaissance in the Philippines?

Historically, a regional tourism under-performer, the Philippines is “experiencing an age of transformation as the country seeks to reintroduce itself to the world,” Christina Frasco, Secretary of Tourism for the Philippines, told the Skift Asia Forum in Bangkok in May. A new digital nomad visa and visa-free access for Indian travellers are 2 progressive steps, but challenges endure. Listen to the podcast for more details.

6) Blackpink Supercharge Concert Tourism

In 2024, Singapore stole the headlines by becoming the exclusive South East Asia destination for Taylor Swift’s Eras tour. She performed 4 sold-out concerts, and rejuvenated concert tourism across the region. In May, Lady Gaga was 2025’s exclusive regional headline act, playing 4 shows in Singapore.

Bangkok is fighting back with Blackpink. Asia’s A-List pop megastars return to South East Asian arenas after 2 years of solo projects, TV acting and luxury brand modelling. Nine of the 18 Deadline tour shows in Asia will be on ASEAN stages. Bangkok gets bragging rights with 3 concerts, Singapore, Jakarta and Manila scored 2 each.

Gonna. Be. Massive.

And, that’s a wrap for Issue 189.

Asia Travel Re:Set will return next Sunday. Meantime, find me on LinkedIn.

Happy travels,

Gary

Asia Travel Re:Set

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