Myanmar’s tourism sector lures Thailand
The tourism industry in Myanmar has been identified as a highly appealing sector for investment for Thai businesses.
Experts say that the best growth prospects exist in Yangon, while various other opportunities lie elsewhere in the Greater Mekong Subregion.
On July 23, the Dean of Economics Aat Pisanwanich at the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce said that investors – especially SMEs – should seriously seek out business expansion in Myanmar’s tourism and hospitality industry, as well as possibilities in precious-stone cutting, reported The Nation.
Yangon is expected to welcome an increased volume of business travelers now that the country has opened up to investment, yet the city lacks adequate tourism and transport infrastructure.
Further to the south, the Myeik Archipelago dots the Andaman Sea on Myanmar’s side of the isthmus, offering unexplored islands and tropical marine life with easy access to southern Thailand.
However, such is the stage of development in Myanmar that not only does this group of islands face issues over securing stable electrical supplies, but so does Yangon, which experiences regular brown outs. The country also has underdeveloped telecommunication networks that could stifle the trade of basic amenities.
Sizable as some of the hurdles may seem, this still hasn’t stopped Thai tourism players from digging up feasibility schemes. “[Though] people are still hesitate, there is a lot of interest and hope,” a representative of Siam Hotels & Resorts told Inside Investor.
“A lot of hotel groups [in Thailand] are looking to expand there,” she said.
The number of tourist arrivals at Yangon International Airport reached 359,359 in 2011 and is expected to reach 1.5 million in 2012. Statistics of the country’s Ministry of Hotels and Tourism show that arrivals at all entry points in the country exceeded 800,000 in 2011, up more than 24,000, or 3 per cent from 2010.
In 2012, arrivals to international airports in Yangon and Mandalay saw a 50 per cent increase year-on-year from January to June. Plans to construct a new international airport 50 kilometres north of Yangon could seriously shape up capacity capabilities and get the industry on its way to competing with the tourism titan to the east.
[caption id="attachment_3933" align="alignleft" width="300"] The number of tourists arriving in Myanmar is rapidly rising[/caption] The tourism industry in Myanmar has been identified as a highly appealing sector for investment for Thai businesses. Experts say that the best growth prospects exist in Yangon, while various other opportunities lie elsewhere in the Greater Mekong Subregion. On July 23, the Dean of Economics Aat Pisanwanich at the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce said that investors – especially SMEs – should seriously seek out business expansion in Myanmar’s tourism and hospitality industry, as well as possibilities in precious-stone cutting, reported The Nation....
The tourism industry in Myanmar has been identified as a highly appealing sector for investment for Thai businesses.
Experts say that the best growth prospects exist in Yangon, while various other opportunities lie elsewhere in the Greater Mekong Subregion.
On July 23, the Dean of Economics Aat Pisanwanich at the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce said that investors – especially SMEs – should seriously seek out business expansion in Myanmar’s tourism and hospitality industry, as well as possibilities in precious-stone cutting, reported The Nation.
Yangon is expected to welcome an increased volume of business travelers now that the country has opened up to investment, yet the city lacks adequate tourism and transport infrastructure.
Further to the south, the Myeik Archipelago dots the Andaman Sea on Myanmar’s side of the isthmus, offering unexplored islands and tropical marine life with easy access to southern Thailand.
However, such is the stage of development in Myanmar that not only does this group of islands face issues over securing stable electrical supplies, but so does Yangon, which experiences regular brown outs. The country also has underdeveloped telecommunication networks that could stifle the trade of basic amenities.
Sizable as some of the hurdles may seem, this still hasn’t stopped Thai tourism players from digging up feasibility schemes. “[Though] people are still hesitate, there is a lot of interest and hope,” a representative of Siam Hotels & Resorts told Inside Investor.
“A lot of hotel groups [in Thailand] are looking to expand there,” she said.
The number of tourist arrivals at Yangon International Airport reached 359,359 in 2011 and is expected to reach 1.5 million in 2012. Statistics of the country’s Ministry of Hotels and Tourism show that arrivals at all entry points in the country exceeded 800,000 in 2011, up more than 24,000, or 3 per cent from 2010.
In 2012, arrivals to international airports in Yangon and Mandalay saw a 50 per cent increase year-on-year from January to June. Plans to construct a new international airport 50 kilometres north of Yangon could seriously shape up capacity capabilities and get the industry on its way to competing with the tourism titan to the east.
