Rahul Khanna (TTG Asia)
Myanmar tourism rebounded in 2010 after three consecutive
lackluster years, with Myanmar Marketing Committee vice chairman Phyoe Wai
Yar Zar describing the year as an “eventful” one for the local tourism
industry.
The country recorded 295,174 foreign visitor arrivals for
the year, up 29.8 percent over 2009.
Phyoe said the brief introduction of a visa-on-arrival
facility between May and August resulted in a 30 percent increase in visitor
arrivals during the three-month period alone.
“The visa-on-arrival facility would definitely help the
development of tourism if we could continue to apply it,” he said.
A Yangon hotelier agreed that 2010 had been productive.
“Tourism was boosted due to the many business travelers from the region.
Even Yangon was facing a shortage of rooms.”
“I am sure that 2011 will be much better than 2010,” the
hotelier added. “We are expecting more foreign independent travelers,
business travelers and leisure travelers from Europe, the US, Australia and
Scandinavia.”
According to Phyoe, all tourism-related associations, in
collaboration with the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism, are working together
to draft an effective marketing plan for 2011, with increased engagement at
international trade fairs and forums on the agenda.
