Myanmar will welcome its first property under Okura Hotels & Resorts come 2020.

Located on the site of a former museum in the city downtown, the 390-room Okura Prestige Yangon will be part of a mixed-development. It will offer banquet halls, conference rooms, an all-day dining area, a Japanese restaurant, a lounge bar, plus an executive lounge with views of the Shwedagon Pagoda.

In a statement, Toshihiro Ogita, president of Hotel Okura, said that the group is keen to add three to five more hotels in Myanmar over the next five years. In total, the group plans to expand its global portfolio to 100 properties, primarily in Asia, by 2020.

Sunway Hotels & Resorts has appointed Mac Marketing Service as its GSA in Toyko, a move that it expects would boost room nights by about 40 per cent in 2018.

Albert Cheong, CEO of Sunway Hotels & Resorts, said the company is looking to leverage the consultancy’s extensive network in Japan and “develop new opportunities from untapped segments like senior travellers and student groups”.

The Banjaran Hotsprings Retreat

“Our partnership will help expand Sunway’s network as we tap into the targeted wholesale leisure, tour series, incentive and corporate segments from Tokyo (and) Osaka, and foster opportunities in second-tier Japanese cities,” added Matsui Yoichi, managing director of Mac Marketing Service.

Sunway’s five-star wellness properties include The Banjaran Hotsprings Retreat in Ipoh, Malaysia.

Smaller travel agencies in Sri Lanka are beginning to feel the pinch after SriLankan Airlines scrapped agent commissions since July 1.

Sasi Ganeshan, managing director of a travel firm, foresees that smaller ones are likely to fold up. “More people are buying online where the rates are cheaper than what we offer sans commission,” he explained.

The five per cent commission, which has been in force for decades, was originally intended to be phased out from April this year but was delayed after appeals from agents.

Agents have since introduced a service fee which varies depending on the the fare. P Muralitharan, director at Pan Global Travels, said while the sum is nominal, clients are questioning the rates and some now prefer booking online.

A spokesperson for Ceycan Travel and Tours added that while some “‘faithful” clients still purchase tickets through the agency, “it’s becoming very competitive and challenging to keep our heads above water”.

In a bid to boost tourism, French prime minister Edouard Philippe on Wednesday said the country will cut visa delivery time to 48 hours for citizens of Thailand, the Philippines, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Indonesia, India and Russia, according to a Reuters report.

Visa applications from these countries currently take around 10 days or so on average, taking even longer in peak season.

Paris

This measure, which is expected to take effect from November 1, is likely to be expanded to include Vietnam next year if a change in EU visa procedures for the country allow it.

The French government also said it would assign more staff to airport passport checks to limit waiting time to 30 minutes for EU citizens and 45 minutes for non-EU citizens, the Reuters report added.

Having closed a deal to acquire all remaining shares in Squarebreak, one of three of its vacation rental purchases along with onefinestay and Travel Keys, AccorHotels will integrate the trio under the onefinestay brand by year-end.

This will give onefinestay a combined inventory of 10,000 curated homes, villas and apartments spanning six continents. Locations range from metropolitan centres such as New York, Rome and San Francisco, to islands in St Barts and Bali, and Mediterranean escapes in France, Italy and Greece.

Prior to the deal, AccorHotels had owned 49 per cent of Squarebreak since February 2016, acquired Travel Keys earlier this year and onefinestay in 2016.

Javier Cedillo-Espin, who has been appointed CEO of onefinestay, will head the grouping of three brands with a team of executives from onefinestay, Travel Keys and Squarebreak.

A partnership will see Rakuten Lifull Stay, a newly-launched vacation rental business in Japan, provide property listings from its Vacation Stay service to the Expedia group’s homesharing brand, HomeAway.

By collaborating on listings, customer-acquisition and sales, the two hope to provide a service that is attractive to both property owners and visitors.

“We have seen healthy demand for vacation rentals in Japan from our booking sites across Asia. We hope that this partnership will help us provide travellers to Japan with more accommodation options across a range of property types – from modern apartments to traditional Japanese homes,” said Prashant Kirtane, vice president, HomeAway Asia.

The partnership follows Japan’s passing of a bill that allows homeowners to rent out rooms to tourists for profit, expected to come into effect after January 2018.

Rakuten Lifull Stay also plans to connect to Lifull Home’s Akiya Bank, a platform developed by Lifull that gathers information on unoccupied homes from a database run by local governments. Scheduled for launch this year, the platform will give registered owners of unoccupied homes in regional areas the option of utilising their homes as vacation rental properties.

This year’s second edition of the biannual Travel Revolution B2C travel fair will take place at Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands from August 4 to 6.

Kay Swee Pin, president of Singapore Outbound Travel Agents Association, said all booths have been fully subscribed with over 100 exhibitors, featuring new names including Ready To Travel, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Singapore-listed SATS, and YLS – Road Trip Specialist.

As part of the i-Weekly Travel Discovery workshops, local artistes Thomas Ong and Chen Han Wei, underwater photographer Yorko Summer and travel specialists will offer trip planning advice. The workshop will cover destinations such as Finland, Turkey, Norway-Finalnd, Iran, Croatia-Slovenia, Bhutan and Iceland-Norway.

Activity highlights at the fair include free virtual reality tours by Samsung, wine tasting, balloons, popcorns, candy floss and photo opportunities. There will also be a Taiwanese aboriginal song and dance by Amis tribal troupe.

As well, Wanderlust Market curated by Fleawhere and Invade.co will bring together over 50 local and overseas artisans showcasing handcrafted goods from fashion accessories, natural beauty products to art.

Lucky winners will have a chance to win prizes including air tickets to Europe and hotel stays at Marina Bay Sands.

Admission to the three-day fair is free.

For more information, visit www.TravelRevolution.sg.

A Courtyard by Marriott hotel is scheduled for opening in Yangon come 2019 as part of a mixed-use development.

Courtyard by Marriott Yangon will feature 200 guestrooms and suites, an executive lounge and four meeting rooms totalling 400m², a rooftop pool, a fitness centre and treatment rooms.

F&B concepts include an all-day dining restaurant serving up local and international cuisines, a to-go stand for express meals and a bar.

The new-build property will be located 45 minutes away from Yangon International Airport, a short walk from Sule Pagoda, City Hall and Bogyoke Aung San Market.