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BANGKOK BUSINESS BRIEF Mid-August/Mid-September 2012
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BUSINESS BRIEF
Vol. No. 1, Issue No. 9
Mid-August/Mid-September 2012
Daily business news briefs at www.bangkokbusinessbrief.com
Inroads to Myanmar’s tourism full of potential and pitfalls By Reginald Kincaid
Much has been written recently about the political and economic changes happening in Myanmar – changes that have led to
Inside General Interest Finance/Investment Government/Economy Production Retail/Services Tourism IT/Comms Real Estate The Chambers The Calendar
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a scramble to get an investment foothold in what some are calling ‘the last frontier.’ While there is widespread interest in investing in Myanmar across various sectors, there are also potential pitfalls that have tempered initial enthusiasm. Nowhere is that cautious approach more prevalent than in the country’s tourism sector, where there is huge potential but also great risk. While recent reforms have been significant, further development, especially in terms of infrastructure, will be required before Myanmar’s tourism industry can reach its full potential.
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Speaking at the recent Sasin Bangkok Forum, Myanmar’s Deputy Minister of Hotels and Tourism H.E. U Htay Aung described Myanmar’s tourism industry as awakening from a ‘Discovery stage to a Growth stage.’ In 2011, there were only 816,000 visitors to Myanmar, with most of those crossing the border from China or Thailand for the day. But last year’s growth of 4% is widely expected to increase substantially in 2012.
compared to 2011, and it shows in signs of room shortages in Yangon, the commercial city and main gateway for foreign visitors.”
He went on to say that, “At this point, the mission is to see a steady growth in arrivals in a timely manner for enhancing increased income, job creation, and the quality of life of the community on the one hand, and on the other, to concentrate on carrying capacity for the sake of mitigating negative impacts in H.E. U Htay Aung said that, “In the country.” 2012, from January to June, the growth for international visi- In an exclusive interview with tors by air was about 50 percent Story continues on Page 20.