U Hla Myint, deputy permanent secretary of the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism, said that the number of local and foreign tourists had increased back in 2023 and was expected to rise further.
As of November 2023, there were 8.85 million local travellers and over one million foreign tourists.
“Foreign tourist arrivals in 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 are 0.9 million, over 0.1 million, over 0.2 million and over 1 million respectively. Most tourists came from China and Thailand. Many Thais visited Myanmar for pilgrimage. We can say that the prospect looks better. The number of local travellers reached 8.85 million by November 2023. That number is larger now. We expect more to travel in 2024,” he said.
For tourism sector development, union-level responsible persons have visited the destination areas and met with operators and respective local governments to promote tourism while also communicating with private organizations to develop foreign tourism industry, said U Hla Myint.
“The ministry alone cannot do for tourism development. We need the cooperation from various departments. Myanmar Travel Association and Myanmar Hoteliers Association, including Myanmar Tourism Federation, also need to participate in the cooperation. Especially, the private sector needs to make more efforts. From the government side, we are doing coordination, relaxation and measures for easy visa. We need to continue our efforts to maintain the momentum,” he said.
MT/ZN
