Myanmar makes efforts to revive tourism industry after storm

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(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-08-21 11:47

YANGON -- Myanmar is making efforts to revive its tourism industry severely affected by May storm and some measures are being taken for the purpose, according to Thursday's 7-Day News.

Although it has been over three months after the cyclone smashed Myanmar, tourist arrivals during the period fell 90 percent compared with the previous years.

The drop of the tourist arrivals has brought about much impact on all tourism-related businesses, the Tourism Entrepreneurs Association (TEA) said, adding that they are taking measures to overcome these difficulties.

As part of the remedial measures, the TEA has reshuffled its central executive committee to pave way for improving its tourism undertakings in the next three years.

Also as part of its efforts to restore tourism operation in the aftermath of the cyclone storm, Myanmar is planning to hold a market festival in Inlay, one of the country's famous tourist sites in Shan state, according to local journal Voice.

Preparations including upgrading of hotels and restaurants are underway for the two-day market festival scheduled for next February, the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism was quoted as saying.

A Yangon Times' report also said an orchid show will also be sponsored in Inlay in the same month for the same purpose.

The orchids produced from Inlay and its surrounding areas will mainly be shown at the floriculture show and the event will also cover other famous tourists-attracted products from the region.

Inlay region is known as an area of outstanding natural beauty and famous for its environment and villages in the region sit on floating islands on the lake. Colorful hill tribes inhabit the surrounding fertile valleys and forested mountain tops and their hand-woven silks are a specialty of the region.

Myanmar has also laid down a tourism restoration plan to strive for maintaining the momentum of tourism industry operation in the coming open season near the end of this year.

To mitigate the effect on tourism by the cyclone, the TEA stressed the introduction of market promotion activities to get the world tourists well informed of some tourist sites free from impact by the cyclone.

Although Yangon, one of the travel destinations in Myanmar, was hit by the storm to some extent, tourism operation has initially returned to normal, the TEA said, expecting that it would be better by the open season.

According to the TEA, most selective tourist sites in the country such as the ancient cultural city of Bagan, Inlay and Mandalay region as well as Ngapali and Ngwesaung resorts escaped from being affected by the disaster.

Tourism circle also expected that despite some cancellation during the disaster for hotel bookings, the status is heading for normalization.

Meanwhile, more than a month after the disaster, almost all of downed trees and debris on the roads in the former capital city have been cleared and accumulated on vacant plots from where stem roots and branches of old-aged trees are being sorted out for auction, adding to foreign entrepreneurs' interest.

The authorities claimed that most of electric power supply, communication links and water supply have resumed in cyclone-hit Yangon division.

According to official statistics, tourist arrivals in Myanmar in the fiscal year 2007-08 which ended in March totaled 288,776, of whom 131,784 came by air, while 154,500 arrived by land across border.