Myanmar saw record tourism in 2013 with over 2 million visitors, but further growth may be hampered by a hotel room shortage raising costs. While the tourism minister forecasts 3 million visitors in 2014, some experts warn that safety issues, high prices, and a mismatch with target tourists could slow growth. Myanmar needs strategies to develop more affordable accommodation and attract cost-conscious travelers, while ensuring local communities benefit from tourism.
1. Industryconcern
MYANMAR welcomed more a “record-
breaking” 2 million visitors last year
but rising travel costs associated with
a shortage of hotel rooms could ham-
per future growth, industry experts
have warned.
Nevertheless, Minister for Hotels
and Tourism U Htay Aung told The
Myanmar Times he was upbeat about
the 2013 result and forecast more of
the same this year.
“The year 2013 was a successful
year for the tourism industry in My-
anmar,” he said in a recent interview.
“We received more than 2 million visi-
tor arrivals from January to December
in 2013, which is a record-breaking
[number].
“In 2014, we will endeavour to get
3 million visitor arrivals,” he said,
adding that Myanmar’s chairing of
ASEAN during 2014 should help boost
the totals.
The nation is scheduled to host
between 300 and 500 meetings of the
regional bloc this year, from minister’s
summits on down to smaller working
groups.
From January 1 to December 31,
2.04 million foreign visitors entered
the country, with 885,476 arriving by
air, 6086 by water and more than 1.15
million by land through border check-
points. This was almost double the for-
eign visitors that arrived the previous
year.
Visits through Yangon, the main
gateway for Western tourists, jumped
44.81pc on 2012, tourism ministry
statistics show, with 803,014 foreign
tourists arriving via the country’s larg-
est city and primary international air
gateway last year.
Of these, 550,178 visitors – or
around 69pc – were from Asian coun-
tries and 157,840 from Europe. France
provided the largest number of Euro-
pean visitors with 33,250, followed by
the United Kingdom and Germany.
Business visa arrivals jumped 32.28
pc, from 114,456 in 2012 to 151,320 in
2013, while social visa arrivals rose
20.61pc, from 37,778 to 45,556.
Visits by foreign individual travel-
lers, or FITs, through the Yangon gate-
way jumped 25.10pc, from 234,727 in
2012 to 293,648, while package tour ar-
rivals grew a relatively sluggish 8.26pc.
Daw Su Su Tin, managing director
of Exotissimo Travel Myanmar, said
this FIT growth was “likely to continue
in the 2014-2015 season”, which begins
in October.
6 News THEMYANMARTIMES February 24- March 2,2014
ZawWin
Than
zawwinthan@gmail.com
A reality check amid the hype
MYANMAR used to be a mostly
unknown – or at least forgotten –
country, located right between two
of Asia’s major tourist destinations:
India and Thailand. Put off by boy-
cotts, travel restrictions and cur-
rency controls, just a few hundred
thousand people would travel here
during the high season.
Myanmar has gone from bust to
boom in just a few years. But there
are signs that the tourism boom is
already slowing down. Though the
official tourism data still shows im-
pressive growth for 2013, the reality
may be more complex.
Recent worldwide press coverage
of outbreaks of violence and human
rights abuses around the country
has done its damage. Especially for
middle-class Asian travellers, safety
and security are major factors in
the choice of destination. For most
tourists the three Ss – “safety, secu-
rity and sanitation” – are essential
elements of the tourism experience.
Without them, the tourists won’t
come. In all three areas Myanmar
scores extremely low and any bad
news will have a negative effect on
arrival numbers.
Another major concern is that
Myanmar is quickly adopting a repu-
tation of being overpriced. Tourists
regularly complain that the country’s
hotels are difficult to book, often full
and poor value for money. The effect
is that tourists shorten their trips or
in some cases stay away. Many tour-
ist operators complain that at cur-
rent price levels they face difficulties
selling tours, especially to the price-
sensitive European market.
While it’s economically under-
standable, the high prices are a
short-sighted move. In the 1990s,
Vietnam went through a similar
phase and considerably damaged its
reputation.
The biggest dilemma is a mismatch
between the type of tourists Myan-
mar wants and those who are eager
to explore the country. Like the econ-
omy as a whole, the tourism industry
is still largely catering to the high and
low ends of the market, with limited
space for those at the middle level.
The middle market faces challenges
on everything from room rates to reli-
able transport and what to eat. There
is not much hope that things will
change quickly.
In contrast, Myanmar is a per-
fect match for adventure-seeking
visitors. Backpackers and flashpack-
ers are the leaders in discovering
new destinations and activities and
play an important role in shaping a
country’s image. Currently, the main
problem is the lack of cheap ac-
commodation. This could easily be
improved if the government allows
homestays, which are technically il-
legal under current law. Though the
Ministry of Hotels and Tourism is
working on new regulations, there
is no focus on developing homestays
for the low-end market.
So the choices are limited and
the authorities need to concentrate
on those groups of tourists that fit
the current conditions best and are
most likely to offer real potential for
market growth. The way forward is
to focus more on the quality of tour-
ist arrivals rather than the quantity.
It is not about looking at numbers
of arrivals, but the amount of money
per arrival and how it is distributed
around the country. Some players in
the tourism industry suggest that
Myanmar should concentrate on
developing its luxury market. By be-
ing selective and attracting the well-
heeled Myanmar will gain most.
The goal of the Myanmar Tour-
ism Master Plan 2013-2020 is not
only to maximise income genera-
tion but also to ensure that the so-
cial and economic benefits of tour-
ism are distributed equitably. While
there may be positive benefits for
the country as a whole, the average
person will profit little from a strat-
egy that focuses only on the luxury
market. These high-end tourists are
anxious to see “how the other half
lives”, but most of the money will go
to international tourism chains or
big local hotels, which are certainly
not owned by the poor and offer few
job opportunities for the unskilled.
Myanmar must find better strat-
egies that allow all strata of society
to participate in the tourism boom.
Increasing the involvement of local
communities, especially the poor, in
the tourism value chain can contrib-
ute to the development of the econ-
omy and poverty reduction. There
are many niche markets that pro-
vide better opportunities for inclu-
sive tourism growth, such as cycling
and religion- and community-based
tourism.
Myanmar is fortunate that the
challenge is one of strategically se-
lecting the right niche markets as
opposed to attempting to find rea-
sons for people to visit the country.
It needs to identify, package and
properly present the unique attrib-
utes and experiences of this incred-
ible country to the right market seg-
ments and international markets.
Considerable work will have to be
done in order to ensure that the full
potential of these segments can be
realised. If Myanmar invests in this
sector and understands and caters to
these groups, it may reap decades of
benefits for its people.
Henrich Dahm is an independent
development expert based in
Yangon who specialises in tourism
development, value chain analysis and
business development. He has 20 years
of experience in Southeast Asia.
Henrich
Dahm
henrich.dahm@gmail.com
ANALYSIS
Myanmar must find
better strategies
that allow all
strata of society to
participate in the
tourism boom.
44%Increase in visitor arrivals through
Yangon International Airport in 2013
Cattle are escorted past
an ancient pagoda at Bagan.
Photo: AFP
![Industryconcern
MYANMAR welcomed more a “record-
breaking” 2 million visitors last year
but rising travel costs associated with
a shortage of hotel rooms could ham-
per future growth, industry experts
have warned.
Nevertheless, Minister for Hotels
and Tourism U Htay Aung told The
Myanmar Times he was upbeat about
the 2013 result and forecast more of
the same this year.
“The year 2013 was a successful
year for the tourism industry in My-
anmar,” he said in a recent interview.
“We received more than 2 million visi-
tor arrivals from January to December
in 2013, which is a record-breaking
[number].
“In 2014, we will endeavour to get
3 million visitor arrivals,” he said,
adding that Myanmar’s chairing of
ASEAN during 2014 should help boost
the totals.
The nation is scheduled to host
between 300 and 500 meetings of the
regional bloc this year, from minister’s
summits on down to smaller working
groups.
From January 1 to December 31,
2.04 million foreign visitors entered
the country, with 885,476 arriving by
air, 6086 by water and more than 1.15
million by land through border check-
points. This was almost double the for-
eign visitors that arrived the previous
year.
Visits through Yangon, the main
gateway for Western tourists, jumped
44.81pc on 2012, tourism ministry
statistics show, with 803,014 foreign
tourists arriving via the country’s larg-
est city and primary international air
gateway last year.
Of these, 550,178 visitors – or
around 69pc – were from Asian coun-
tries and 157,840 from Europe. France
provided the largest number of Euro-
pean visitors with 33,250, followed by
the United Kingdom and Germany.
Business visa arrivals jumped 32.28
pc, from 114,456 in 2012 to 151,320 in
2013, while social visa arrivals rose
20.61pc, from 37,778 to 45,556.
Visits by foreign individual travel-
lers, or FITs, through the Yangon gate-
way jumped 25.10pc, from 234,727 in
2012 to 293,648, while package tour ar-
rivals grew a relatively sluggish 8.26pc.
Daw Su Su Tin, managing director
of Exotissimo Travel Myanmar, said
this FIT growth was “likely to continue
in the 2014-2015 season”, which begins
in October.
6 News THEMYANMARTIMES February 24- March 2,2014
ZawWin
Than
zawwinthan@gmail.com
A reality check amid the hype
MYANMAR used to be a mostly
unknown – or at least forgotten –
country, located right between two
of Asia’s major tourist destinations:
India and Thailand. Put off by boy-
cotts, travel restrictions and cur-
rency controls, just a few hundred
thousand people would travel here
during the high season.
Myanmar has gone from bust to
boom in just a few years. But there
are signs that the tourism boom is
already slowing down. Though the
official tourism data still shows im-
pressive growth for 2013, the reality
may be more complex.
Recent worldwide press coverage
of outbreaks of violence and human
rights abuses around the country
has done its damage. Especially for
middle-class Asian travellers, safety
and security are major factors in
the choice of destination. For most
tourists the three Ss – “safety, secu-
rity and sanitation” – are essential
elements of the tourism experience.
Without them, the tourists won’t
come. In all three areas Myanmar
scores extremely low and any bad
news will have a negative effect on
arrival numbers.
Another major concern is that
Myanmar is quickly adopting a repu-
tation of being overpriced. Tourists
regularly complain that the country’s
hotels are difficult to book, often full
and poor value for money. The effect
is that tourists shorten their trips or
in some cases stay away. Many tour-
ist operators complain that at cur-
rent price levels they face difficulties
selling tours, especially to the price-
sensitive European market.
While it’s economically under-
standable, the high prices are a
short-sighted move. In the 1990s,
Vietnam went through a similar
phase and considerably damaged its
reputation.
The biggest dilemma is a mismatch
between the type of tourists Myan-
mar wants and those who are eager
to explore the country. Like the econ-
omy as a whole, the tourism industry
is still largely catering to the high and
low ends of the market, with limited
space for those at the middle level.
The middle market faces challenges
on everything from room rates to reli-
able transport and what to eat. There
is not much hope that things will
change quickly.
In contrast, Myanmar is a per-
fect match for adventure-seeking
visitors. Backpackers and flashpack-
ers are the leaders in discovering
new destinations and activities and
play an important role in shaping a
country’s image. Currently, the main
problem is the lack of cheap ac-
commodation. This could easily be
improved if the government allows
homestays, which are technically il-
legal under current law. Though the
Ministry of Hotels and Tourism is
working on new regulations, there
is no focus on developing homestays
for the low-end market.
So the choices are limited and
the authorities need to concentrate
on those groups of tourists that fit
the current conditions best and are
most likely to offer real potential for
market growth. The way forward is
to focus more on the quality of tour-
ist arrivals rather than the quantity.
It is not about looking at numbers
of arrivals, but the amount of money
per arrival and how it is distributed
around the country. Some players in
the tourism industry suggest that
Myanmar should concentrate on
developing its luxury market. By be-
ing selective and attracting the well-
heeled Myanmar will gain most.
The goal of the Myanmar Tour-
ism Master Plan 2013-2020 is not
only to maximise income genera-
tion but also to ensure that the so-
cial and economic benefits of tour-
ism are distributed equitably. While
there may be positive benefits for
the country as a whole, the average
person will profit little from a strat-
egy that focuses only on the luxury
market. These high-end tourists are
anxious to see “how the other half
lives”, but most of the money will go
to international tourism chains or
big local hotels, which are certainly
not owned by the poor and offer few
job opportunities for the unskilled.
Myanmar must find better strat-
egies that allow all strata of society
to participate in the tourism boom.
Increasing the involvement of local
communities, especially the poor, in
the tourism value chain can contrib-
ute to the development of the econ-
omy and poverty reduction. There
are many niche markets that pro-
vide better opportunities for inclu-
sive tourism growth, such as cycling
and religion- and community-based
tourism.
Myanmar is fortunate that the
challenge is one of strategically se-
lecting the right niche markets as
opposed to attempting to find rea-
sons for people to visit the country.
It needs to identify, package and
properly present the unique attrib-
utes and experiences of this incred-
ible country to the right market seg-
ments and international markets.
Considerable work will have to be
done in order to ensure that the full
potential of these segments can be
realised. If Myanmar invests in this
sector and understands and caters to
these groups, it may reap decades of
benefits for its people.
Henrich Dahm is an independent
development expert based in
Yangon who specialises in tourism
development, value chain analysis and
business development. He has 20 years
of experience in Southeast Asia.
Henrich
Dahm
henrich.dahm@gmail.com
ANALYSIS
Myanmar must find
better strategies
that allow all
strata of society to
participate in the
tourism boom.
44%Increase in visitor arrivals through
Yangon International Airport in 2013
Cattle are escorted past
an ancient pagoda at Bagan.
Photo: AFP](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/89473e44-34b0-4dd4-bba0-732b0aa31c87-160627103507/85/MM-A-reality-check-amid-the-tourism-hype-2014-1-320.jpg)
