Typhoon Bavi triggers flight cancellations across the region, results in at least 15 deaths across the Philippines.

Cambodia and the Philippines' tourism continues to struggle: a breakdown of Cambodia's Jan-May 2026 arrivals show certain markets like Laos are down 91% YoY, whilst Bohol reports domestic tourists are -73% YoY in Q1 2026.

Cebu also sees a drop in Q1 2026 arrivals despite many ASEAN meetings and tourist events taking part in the province.

The Philippines and Cambodia's GDP growth isn't looking rosy either; ADB's Jul outlook for 2026 GDP downgrades Cambodia to 4.1% (from 4.5%) and the Philippines to 3.8% (down from 4.4%), whilst maintaining other ASEAN forecasts.

Vietnam gets serious about Muslim friendly tourism, holding a dedicated Halal Tourism conference and launching a new framework, "ACES" (Access, Communication, Environment, Services). Vietjet proposes a platform to connect tourism businesses offering Muslim friendly services.

Thailand struggles to figure out how to implement its long-planned tourism tax, with airlines pushing back (again) on collecting the tax from air passengers.

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