Khiri Travel Group has confirmed it will open an office in Myanmar under the leadership of general manager Edwin Briels.

The new office will open in Yangon in August 2011.

Khiri Travel, founded in 1994, currently has seven offices operational in Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos.

Khiri Travel Group chief executive and co-founder, Willem Niemeijer, explained the timing was right for the Myanmar move.

“It is important to have the right people in place, so we can deliver the high quality travel experiences that our clients are used to in Myanmar, right from the start,” he said.

“In Edwin, we have a highly experienced Myanmar operator.

“People around the world are also starting to look at Myanmar with fresh eyes.

“The time is right,” he added.

Briels, a Dutch national, has six years’ working experience in Myanmar. He joins Khiri Travel from Air Mandalay and previously worked for Exotissimo Travel in Myanmar as well as Balloons over Bagan.

Between 2007 and 2010 Briels was general manager of Exotissimo Thailand.

In 2006 Briels was project manager for the construction of Malikha lodge, a luxury eight-villa property in the remote Putao valley of northern Myanmar. The lodge looks out over the snow capped mountains of the eastern Himalayas.

“Khiri Myanmar will open with many innovative travel offerings from around the fringes of the country,” said Briels (pictured above).

“Thibaw and Kyaukme in Northern Shan State, the wonderful southern Shan State, Mrauk U, and the Rakhine Mountains will all be available as well as favourites such as Bagan, Mandalay and Inle.

“Being Khiri, our approach will be to deliver an innovative and responsible take on each place.”
 
Khiri Travel, through its charitable arm, Khiri Reach, supports several community initiatives across the four countries where it currently operates.

Khiri Reach will soon announce help for a community cause in Myanmar.