Hanoi, Vietnam -- (SBWIRE) -- 04/24/2013 --
As the political regime further relaxes controls on the former Burma,
tourism is gaining pace. This once secretive and almost unknown country
is opening up as fast as tour operators can send their customers in.
Hotels whilst still obviously behind countries like Thailand and Vietnam
are going up all over the country, as Myanmar gets used to the new phenomenon of foreign tourism.
The capital city, Yangon is of course key to the country’s development. As more and more international flights are entering the country, visitors are pouring in to the capital. The airport is located 15 km north of the city at Mingaladon. In 2006 it saw just 800,000 passengers through its doors. The airport has been expanded and can now handle 3.8 million passenger per year. This enormous increases demonstrated perfectly the minor revolution that is happening in the tourism industry. Approximately 30 International carriers now fly into this fascinating country. Singapore Airlines took over flights to Myanmar from Silk Air last year and in doing so, increased capacity on that route by 55% at a stroke.
A spokesperson for Flight Centre said that the response to Myanmar opening its doors to foreign travel has been “overwhelming”. It has listed the country in its top ten of places to visit in 2013. Australians are going for it in astonishing numbers. The Australians are loving the comparisons to the rest of the region from 30 years ago. Some of the sacred sites had never been seen by western eyes, and that appeals to anyone with an interest in history, in an ever shrinking planet.
Bagan,with its 2000 brick and golden stupas is the jewel in Myanmar’s crown. Together with Shwedagon Paya, the beautiful pagoda in Yangon, it is proving to be the most desirable location.
As Mr Tran Truong of Asia Tour Advisor puts it, “ Burma has for so long been impossible to visit. As soon as the government loosened restrictions, Myanmar holiday enquiries started flooding in. Hotels are being built as fast as they can. As soon as one reaches capacity another one opens its doors. It’s an extremely vibrant holiday destination now and I would advise tourists to book early in order to avoid disappointment.”
It is certainly doing well for the Burmese economy. To suddenly add tourism to your budget predictions, almost overnight, is a huge boost for the nations GDP. The Burmese people for their part are intrigued to see westerners for the first time and rightly proud of their countries rich, cultural and historic sites, are keen to show them off. It really is the biggest success story in world travel at the moment.
source: SBWire
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