US-BASED vacation rental site HomeAway has fully acquired Singapore startup Travelmob this month, following its majority-stake purchase of the company back in July 2013. With the takeover, Travelmob will be rebranded as HomeAway.

As part of its continued plans to penetrate Asia-Pacific, Travelmob has launched 14 new localised HomeAway websites to cater to big travel markets such as China, Japan, India, Indonesia and South Korea.

HomeAway’s Asia headquarters will be based in Singapore, led by Travelmob’s co-founder Prashant Kirtane, now vice president of Asia at HomeAway. In his new role, Kirtane will report to Dan Lynn, HomeAway’s vice president of Asia-Pacific.

“Vacation rentals are immensely popular with families and groups, which is why HomeAway customers will generate US$14 to 16 billion in rental revenue this year,” said Lynn. “We see a huge demand for this type of unique travel experience in Asia, and are excited the Travelmob acquisition has significantly expanded our portfolio of properties in the region.”

Kirtane added: “Asian travellers are quickly catching on to the benefits of renting a whole house – from a money saving, comfort and also experience point of view. We’re seeing significant year-on-year growth driven primarily by women booking vacations for their families, from the likes of Japan, China, South Korea and Taiwan.”

Yangon International Airport

MYANMAR’s Ministry of Hotels and Tourism is expecting tourist arrivals in 2015 to reach 4.5 million, which will surpass its previous records of 2.1 million visitors in 2013 and 3.8 million last year.

From January to September this year, Yangon alone recorded 759,181 arrivals, representing a 25 per cent increase from the same period last year.

More than 73 per cent of visitors to Yangon were from Asian countries (564,023), with about 108,542 originating from Thailand – the largest single group by nationality – followed by China (71,645), Japan (63,970) and South Korea (44,471).

Europeans accounted for 113,379 visitors, led by the UK (24,053), followed by France (23,840) and Germany (16,970).

“Since arrivals are continuously increasing, we should focus more on quality of service in order to cater to increasing demands,” said Htay Aung, minister of hotels and tourism. He added that Myanmar now has a total of 47 hotel FDI projects providing 9,030 rooms.

Despite the growth, Phyu Phyu Mar, managing partner of Seven Star Tours believes Myanmar still has plenty to offer visitors. “There are a lot more places we can promote as new destinations. For example, Kachin State, Sagaing Region, and Nan Yung and Pan Saung where the Naga tribes are living are potential places to attract more visitors in the future,” he said.

MALAYSIA will implement an online visa application process for China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Canada and the US by mid-2016, announced prime minister Najib Abdul Razak during his recent national budget speech.

Welcoming the move, Tan Kok Liang, vice president inbound, Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA), said: “It will encourage visa applications and reduce administrative burden while maintaining strict and effective immigration controls.”

Adam Kamal, deputy president 2, Malaysian Inbound Tourism Association, is also sanguine. “It will certainly help last-minute bookings to Malaysia but we still need to wait for the immigration department to come out with a circular on the implementation of e-visa as tourists will need to know if there will be costs involved,” he commented.

For 2016, the Malaysian government is targeting 30.5 million arrivals and RM103 billion (US$24.2 billion) in tourism receipts, up from this year’s goal of 29.4 million arrivals and 89 billion ringgit in tourism receipts. The government has also allocated a RM1.2 billion budget to the Tourism and Culture Ministry for next year.

FROM June 1, 2016, Etihad Airways will commence daily A380 services between Abu Dhabi and Melbourne, replacing one of the three-class Boeing 777-3000ER aircraft currently deployed on the twice-daily route.

This will result in a 26 per cent increase in the total number of two-way seats to more than 11,500 seats per week. It is also the first time The Residence, Etihad Airways’ suite-class seats, is being introduced on the route.

“Melbourne is an important point on our global network, and our Abu Dhabi to Melbourne services continue to generate very high seat load factors on a year round basis. After just three months of operations, demand for our second daily service is already exceeding our expectations,” said James Hogan, president and CEO of Etihad Airways.

“Deploying the 496-seat A380 to Melbourne will enable us to accelerate our growth in the Victorian market by providing additional capacity, particularly in business class, where demand for seats continually outstrips supply.”

ASCOTT will open a serviced residence, Somerset Norodom, in Phnom Penh come 2018, marking the entry of the first international serviced residence brand in Cambodia.

Part of a 28-storey mixed-use development, Somerset Norodom offers 105 units ranging from fully furnished studios to two-bedroom apartments, with facilities including a swimming pool, children’s wading pool and playroom, gymnasium, sauna and residents’ lounge. Services such as 24-hour reception and security, housekeeping, laundry and dry cleaning will also be available.

Lee Chee Koon, CEO of Ascott, said: “Cambodia has achieved sustained economic growth amid greater political stability. We expect demand for serviced residences to grow given its economic progress and the absence of international-standard serviced residence in the country.

“As the first international serviced residence operator in Cambodia, Ascott will gain first-mover advantage to capture the underserved accommodation segment.”

Somerset Norodom adds to Ascott’s South-east Asian portfolio, now boasting 13,000 units spread across 74 properties in nine countries in the region.