Travelling to Myanmar is popular among Thais, especially during the New Year and Chinese New Year holidays, as they will pray to Buddha for good luck in the Year of the Horse.
Key destinations for Thai travellers are Yangon, Bagan, Mandalay, Syriem, Hanthawaddy and Kyaiktiyo Pagoda. Flights to Myanmar are operated by Thai Airways International, Nok Air, Bangkok Airways and AirAsia.
Many travel agents said tour bookings to Myanmar during the New Year celebration are full.
Thanapol Cheewarattanaporn, managing director of Quality Express Co, said Thais love to visit Myanmar and the boom of low-cost airlines will help boost the tourism business over there.
The country's hosting of the 27th SEA Games in Nay Pyi Taw in December was a showcase for many potential regional tourists.
Mr Thanapol projected outbound tours to Myanmar would grow by more than 20% annually the next three years.
The Department of Tourism reports outbound tourism from Thailand to Myanmar in 2012 increased by 3.99% to 72,029 visitors, with the length of stay 4.29 days and spending per person per day 3,217 baht. This contributed tourism revenue to Myanmar of US$31.99 million in 2012.
Over 1 million foreign tourists visited the country in 2012 for tourism revenue of $534 million.
Average spending per person per day was $135 in 2012, up from $120 the year before. The average length of stay was seven days.
Foreign tourist arrivals to Myanmar are predicted to rise to 1.5 million in 2013.
Apart from temples and pagodas, Myanmar also has beautiful beaches, but inconvenient access and poor transportation dampen the popularity of these destinations.
Among the top 10 destinations in Myanmar, Yangon, the largest city, has several key attractions such as Shwedagon Pagoda, a famous landmark and one of the most venerated pagodas in Southeast Asia.
Bagan has more than 2,000 temples and stupas, while Mandalay is known as a cycling city. Freshwater Inle Lake located in the Shan Hills features villages draped against mountain ranges.
Kengtung is easily accessible from the Golden Triangle.
The Golden Rock or Kyaiktiyo Pagoda is a breathtaking sacred site in Mon state, the third most important Buddhist pilgrimage site in Myanmar after the Shwedagon and Mahamuni pagodas.
Monywa has many attractions, such as the Poewindaung mountain caves and Thanboddhay Pagoda. Putao is popular for its rare orchids that grow naturally in the area.
Mrauk U is an ancient city situated in Rakhine state and Ngwe Saung beach is a resort town in western Myanmar with the longest beach in Southeast Asia at about 14.5 kilometres.
source: Bangkok Post
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