The tourism ministries of Myanmar and Cambodia are drawing up a joint action plan to market packages that combine both destinations.

A campaign with the “two countries, one destination” slogan will be rolled out, incorporating a series of heritage-focused tourism packages that include Bagan in Myanmar and Angkor Wat in Siem Reap.

Further details on the Angkor-Bagan Tourism Cooperation are being finalised, and the partnership is scheduled to be sealed during ASEAN Tourism Forum 2018.

Edwin Briels, managing director of Khiri Myanmar, welcomes the idea as the company’s existing Thailand-Myanmar multi-destination tours have proved popular.

The news, coupled with the launch of Emirates’ new Dubai-Phnom Penh route, has prompted Exo Travel Cambodia to develop new tours to advantage of the campaign.

General manager Pierre-Andre Romano said: “Both countries are very culture-oriented so it makes sense to combine them for tourists seeking cultural tours.”

Exo Cambodia recently partnered with high-level lecturers in Cambodia for specialised tour operators and agents, and is currently in talks with its office in Myanmar for them to follow suit.

The Flight Centre Travel Group (FLT) is fully acquiring Thai hospitality company Bespoke Hospitality Management Asia (BHMAsia) and Mexico-based DMC Olympus Tours through separate deals, as part of its goal to expand its in-destination travel experiences network – currently its third key business pillar after leisure and corporate travel.

The former will be the company’s first investment in the accommodation sector. “BHMAsia provides us with a low-risk entry to hotel management, a sector that we have identified as a key future growth opportunity,” said managing director, Graham Turner.

Turner elaborated that through BHMA, FLT will gain access to a hotel operating platform that is scalable globally, a steadily growing business that is now taking on larger properties, and expertise that FLT can leverage to expand hotel management operations in Asia and beyond.

BHMAsia’s recently opened X2 Vibe Bangkok Sukhumvit Hotel

FLT will also benefit from additional products in key international markets, including Thailand, BHMAsia’s current core market, and Vietnam, where the latter has new hotels coming up in the next two years.

Anthony McDonald, who founded BHMAsia in 2013, will remain as CEO, alongside the current executive team. The hospitality company has 14 properties spanning across the X2, X2 Vibe, and Away Resorts and Villas brands in its current portfolio, with another 19 properties in its pipeline.

Meanwhile, FLT’s acquisition of Olympus – which operates in the key Americas markets of Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Costa Rica – “gives us a DMC in the Americas, to complement our recently expanded presence in Asia”, Turner said.

Olympus will be FLT’s second DMC and operate alongside the Buffalo Tours business, a joint venture established with Vietnam’s Thien Minh Group (TMG) in 2014.

In March, FLT announced that it would acquire a bigger interest in both the joint venture with TMG and the Buffalo Tours Vietnam business. Agreements were also put in place for FLT to increase its holding in FY2018.

The Olympus deal includes a one-off payment, in line with the company’s normal transaction multiples, while the BHMA acquisition includes an upfront payment and possible future payments that are linked to the business’s performance in FY2018 and FY2019.

Indonesia hotel management chain Archipelago International will foray outside of Asia for the first time when it opens the 438-room Grand Aston Varadero Resort in Cuba come 4Q2019.

It has entered into a partnership with Grupo de Turismo Gaviota to develop and manage the new five-star property in Varadero, a popular resort town that lies along the Peninsula de Hicacos off Cuba’s north coast, about an hour’s drive from Havana.

President & CEO of Archipelago International, John Flood, said: “We also look forward to working on further projects with the group and bringing our expertise and Asian hospitality concepts to the amazing island of Cuba.”

Archipelago International currently boasts a portfolio of over 125 hotels and 17,000 rooms, and has over 100 properties in the pipeline across Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia.

AirAsia is launching MyCorporate, a suite of three bundle options aimed at business travellers with a choice of Fare Only, Corporate Lite and Corporate Full Flex.

Companies signed up to MyCorporate will have access to an online booking system and reporting to keep track of corporate travelling expenses.

All add-ons are available for a fee for The Fare Only product, while The Corporate Lite bundle includes airfare, a complimentary meal, standard seat assignment and dedicated check-in counter. Guests can also change their flight once up to 24 hours before departure with no change fee.

The Corporate Full Flex bundle includes airfare; a complimentary meal; Hot Seat assignment; 20kg baggage allowance; dedicated check-in counter; XPress immigration and baggage; Premium Red Lounge access (only for departures from Kuala Lumpur’s KLIA2 airport); priority boarding and travel insurance (only for departures from Malaysia and Thailand); and unlimited flight changes up to two hours before departure with no change fee.

Corporate Full Flex guests will also be able to enjoy GoShow, which allows them to standby on an earlier flight on the same day, to the same destination, with no added fees or fare charges.