Did ASEAN Surpass 2019 Arrivals in 2025?, New Airlines in Vietnam & Currency Craziness Everywhere: January 2026 in Review

January disappeared in a flash - and what a crazy month it was worldwide. Here in South East Asia, an intriguing slate of talking points emerged to set up the 2026 travel year - and Lunar New Year is just around the corner. As we do every month, Gary and Hannah recap January’s top 8 takeaways from across ASEAN and beyond with stopovers in Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Laos, Thailand… and Russia. En route, we debate ASEAN's claim to have (marginally) surpassed 2019's aggregate visitor arrivals in 2025, and look at two new and rebranded airlines in Vietnam. We try to make sense of the dramatic currency volatility that beset Asia last month, look at why Russia is 2026's hot inbound source market, and address whether government intervention in the Philippines will bring down domestic air fares. We finish on the A-List red carpet as Thailand launches a tourism campaign at Wat Arun helmed by global pop culture superstar, Lisa from Blackpink.