YANGON, 5 June 2013: Thai tourists topped the list of visitors to
Myanmar, January to April, this year, according to official figures from
Myanmar’s Ministry of Hotels and Tourism.
According to local media reports, the tourism ministry announced the
country welcomed 253,136 foreign tourists during the first four months
of the year, up 43.88% from 175,930 visits during the same period last
year.
Asian tourists represented 60% of all trips with Thailand leading the
supply chain with 37,333 visits. Japan supplied 21,779 trips followed
by South Korea with 18,813 visits. China supplied 16,041 trips.
Europe was the second largest supply region with 15,251 French, 13,119 British and 11,289 Germans visiting the country.
Myanmar’s high season runs from September to the end of April, while
there is a substantial drop in visits during the monsoon season.
Tourist arrivals passed the 1 million mark in 2012 and government
officials are talking optimistically about attracting 3 million
international tourist arrivals by 2015. From 2009 to 2012, tourism
income almost tripled from US$196 million to US$534 million.
There is pent up travel demand after decades of sanctions that discouraged a healthy tourism growth.
Growth will be in two particular areas. Leisure travel will explode
as travellers satisfy their curiosity about a country that was virtually
closed to mass tourism for 30 plus years. But business travel is an
equally strong sector mainly driven by investors seeking opportunities
to exploit natural resources and win contracts to rebuild infrastructure
including hotels.
Hotel development will focus mainly on the commercial capital Yangon,
but there are also plans to build properties in the political capital
Nay Pyi Taw, in the country’s second largest city, Mandalay and Bagan an
iconic religious and historical destination that is waiting to gain
World Heritage status. Other towns where hotel investors are checking
out opportunities include Bago, Rakhine, Mawlamyine, Taunggyi, Chaungtha
and Ngwe Saung.
At present, there are around 36 hotels open or under construction that have foreign investment content.
source: TTR Weekly
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