JICA study to look at Bagan heritage

YANGON, 29 April 2014: Myanmar Ministry of Hotels and Tourism and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will complete a pre-feasibility study on tourism development in Bagan, the country’s top heritage destination.

The JICA team will look at technical cooperation, how to improve tourist infrastructure, build human resources development and conserve heritage, the New Light of Myanmar reported.

Bagan is home to thousands of ancient pagodas and is shortlisted to join UNESCO’s World Heritage list.

A Myanmar Tourism Master Plan (2013 to 2020) clearly identifies the need to conserve Bagan and control tourist developments.

Zoning laws have been approved that exclude all hotel development near or on the pagoda sites.

However, there are genuine concerns that commercial development will cause irreparable damage to the historical park and the JICA team is commissioned with the task of identifying measures that will prevent damage or overcrowding.

source: TTR Weekly

http://www.ttrweekly.com/site/2014/04/jica-study-to-look-at-bagan-heritage/