Tourism Indochina: Myanmar becoming must-see travel spot

Myanmar becoming must-see travel spot

Chiang Rai, THAILAND: As Myanmar opens its doors to travellers from around the world, the country's officials are planning their approach to tourism.

Landmark reforms now mean that Myanmar is becoming Southeast Asia's newest must-see destination.

It's something tourism officials welcome but understand the challenges that lie ahead.

Kyi Kyi Aye, advisor, Ministry of Hotels and Tourism, said: "Myanmar has the ambition - we are ambitious people - to promote and we want to endorse and promote responsible tourism as a pathway towards sustainable tourism."

Myanmar received around 400,000 tourists last year and that number is expected to grow 35 per cent or more in 2012.

Myanmar has an opportunity that few countries have had - they're able to build their tourism sector practically from the ground up, taking advantage of their neighbors failures and successes.

Capacity building and infrastructure upgrades have already begun.

With international standard hotel rooms in high demand, rates have doubled or tripled in the city of Yangon.

In an exclusive interview with Channel NewsAsia, U Htay Aung, Deputy Tourism Minister, cautioned businesses that tourists could just as easily be turned off by the jacked up prices.

"Because tourists cannot pay like that. If prices are what we call skyrocketedly [sic] up, it will be very difficult for tour operators to sell the prices. They have to be aware of the ethic[s] between the tour operators and the hotels."

And along with high prices comes the fact that the country's banking system can't process credit cards and instead transactions are routed through Singapore.

But officials reassured participants at this year's Mekong Tourism Forum in Chiang Rai that the travellers will be able to use credit cards freely within two months.

They said getting a visa will be easier as well.

The goal for the tourism sector, Kyi Kyi Aye said, is to make Myanmar not just a better place to visit, but a better place to live.

- CNA/ck/ 15June2012

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