After an week of insane jetlag hitting after my return to KL from London, I've pulled together not only one report, but TWO reports tracking the latest developments in the Southeast Asian travel industry, with my usual weekly one + one dedicated to the fallout of the Iran war.

Key moves from the past week include:

Governments and airlines play the guessing game as to how long the conflict could last, with the Thai Ministry of Tourism's worst case scenario of an 8-week air closure estimating 41 bil THB lost in tourism revenue and 600k fewer international arrivals.

Tony Fernandes stated that airlines were "pretty powerless" in the current geopolitical climate, but that AirAsia is “fundamentally strong to weather this temporary storm”.

Malaysia Airlines, Firefly, Batik Air, Lao Airlines and Thai Airways all announce they will start to add fuel surcharges. To combat rising jet fuel prices, the Philippines directed the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines to reduce the passenger service charge as well as airport navigation charges in all of the airports managed by CAAP, whilst the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam has proposed a 100% environmental protection tax exemption on aviation fuel until the end of May, a VAT reduction from 10% and a 50% cut in landing and navigation fees.

Regional airlines could seize the opportunity to be an alternative transit point to Europe, adding flights. Singapore sees more than 15 flights to Europe added in Mar 2026 so far, and Vietnam Airlines adds 1k extra seats to Europe using bigger aircraft.

Meanwhile, on Facebook the Australian government warns Australian travellers against transiting via Middle East hubs, noting that alternative transits could be via Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok or Singapore.

Tourism ministries are actively adjusting their marketing campaigns, with Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia looking at alternative source markets, and Thailand even considering allocating funds to another domestic co-pay scheme.

Thailand and Malaysia discourage government overseas trips and conferences, whilst Malaysia warns against Umrah pilgrimages to Saudi Arabia - however, 3k Indonesian Umrah pilgrims are still departing daily during Ramadan.

Pear Anderson is a boutique tourism industry consultancy firm, experts in Southeast Asian tourism. We partner across the spectrum of tourism-related organisations to build a lasting foundation in the region, through consulting and sales representation.

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