Last year, the number of tourists arriving in Myanmar reached a
record one million. This compares to about 20 million people visiting
Thailand. But there are only 27,000 hotel rooms in all of Myanmar,
compared to more than 42,000 in Bangkok alone. The shortage of rooms has
sharply driven up the rates that Myanmar hoteliers can charge.
“We
face skyrocketing hotel room rates in every tourist destination here,
but the facilities offered aren’t worth those rates. Hotels are really
greedy. They charge US$150 a night for a room that’s worth only $40,”
said the spokesperson from one travel company, who asked not to be
named.
Complaints from travellers about poor facilities were
increasing, causing potential damage to the image of the country, the
spokesperson added.
Speaking of hotel accommodation in Nyaung
Shwe resort, the vice chairman of Taunggyi Hotel Zone, U Win Oo Tan,
said: “We need proper management immediately, in time, not only to deal
with the hotel room shortage, but also for transportation charges from
Heho Airport to Nyaung Shwe.”
The Ministry of Hotels and Tourism
and Nyaung Shwe tourism authorities are allowing Myo Ma Yangon Monastery
to host travellers, and the ministry is considering a “home stay”
system in Nyaung Shwe.
“Nyaung Shwe has limited rooms, so we’ve
negotiated with the monastery and regional authorities to put up
tourists as a temporary measure,” he said.
About 1500 tourists
visit Nyaung Shwe and Inle daily to occupy 1200 hotel rooms in 45 hotels
and guest houses. Average hotel occupancy is 70pc.
Mr Suki
Singh, of Inya Lake Hotel, Yangon, says local hotel standards should be
improved. U Aung Kyaw Moe, of Queen Inn, Nyaung Shwe, said facilities
there had been upgraded in accordance with the increased room rates.
Hoteliers in Kalaw said this was the worst year yet for overcrowding. A
spokesperson for Li Li Guest House in Kalaw said there were not enough
budget hotels for foreign individual tourists.
“Five new hotels
have opened here, but they all are for classic standard, not budget. For
classic hotels, travellers have to pay at least $30 a night.
Backpackers pay on average $20 a day for accommodation, food and
trekking. They can’t pay $30 a night,” the spokesman said.
In
Bagan, problems arise when daily tourist arrivals exceed 1000, said U
Than Shwe, chairman of the Bagan hotel zone. Some tourists stay at
monasteries because of the hotel room shortage.
“We encourage guest houses to upgrade their rooms,” said U Khin Aung Htun, a spokesperson for Myanmar Tourism Federation.
“There
are eight guest houses that can upgrade and hope 50 rooms will appear
this year. Bagan has about 2500 hotel rooms in 80 hotels. Hotels in
Bagan reach 75pc occupancy a year. This month we received between 600
and 1000 arrivals a day. We can handle that, but if the numbers rise we
will definitely need more rooms,” said a spokesperson for Kaytumadi
Hotel in Bagan.
U Nyi Nyi, a tour guide who works in Nyaung Shwe,
said: “I have seen so many backpackers staying at monasteries and
restaurants. And when I stayed in Bagan recently I had to sleep in the
lobby of a hotel.”
The Nyaung Shwe Tour Guide Association has built its own guest house for visiting guides because there are no rooms available.
source: The Myanmar Times
No comments:
Post a Comment