from Gaming & Leisure Magazine
Spring 2021
https://mygamingandleisure.com/
Myanmar Tourism :: An Emerging Market that Continues to Expand
An emerging tourism market that has piqued my interest in recent years has been in the SE Asian country of Myanmar. In the Spring 2013 issue of Gaming & Leisure Magazine, I was fortunate to interview Ms. May Myat Mon Win in Yangon in the feature “Remarkable Journey :: The opening of the Tourism & Hospitality Market in Myanmar.”
Eight years later, I follow up with Mr. U Myo Thwin, Chairman of Myanmar Tourism Marketing, and also Managing Director of Sweet Memory Travel. Since he is an avid golfer, part of my focus is on the growth of golf and tourism within the country.
[Q] In 2019, South East Asia was considered the world’s fastest growing tourism sectors. In recent years (before Covid-19), how strong was the growth of tourism in Myanmar?
[A] According to research by the Myanmar Tourism Marketing (MTM), we had 4.3 million tourists arriving in 2019 which was an increase of about 40% of over 2018. Not only was ordinary travel booming in 2019 but sports travel was as well. One of the major factors in the growth of Tourism in Myanmar was the naming Bagan as a UNESCO Heritage Site.
[Q] Which countries have most of the tourists been coming from?
[A] Based on our research, most of the travelers to Myanmar are currently from China.
[Q] What have been Myanmar’s leading tourism sectors?[A] Tourism in Myanmar has gone through a major transformation since the country opened its doors to the rest of the world with the arrival of democratization in 2011. Although the number of tourists visiting Myanmar is growing, it is still the smallest among ASEAN countries. All that is needed is to improve both hard and soft infrastructure, making it more convenient and comfortable to access existing tourist attractions which can be utilized in encouraging further growth in tourism.
Growth in tourism stands to benefit Myanmar where one of the major priorities is to acquire more foreign currency reserve. That’s why cooperation from multiple industries will be essential, such as in the development and communication infrastructure. Doing so will be beneficial to Myanmar’s overall economy. It's a win-win situation, more investment in tourism will lead to more benefit in the economy.
Travel and Tourism industry go hand in hand with Digital Marketing. The new generation of travelers no longer rely solely on local agencies to help them decide where to go. Gen Z people are getting inspiration online via various channels including Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and many other travel channels. To access the nature and behavior of tourists and advertise thoroughly, technology is also a major force in the tourism sector in Myanmar.
[Q] Covid-19 has impacted business and tourism around the world. How has Myanmar been
coping with the pandemic?[A] It has been more than eight months since COVID-19 brought the world to a near stop. The Covid-19 situation in Myanmar is recognized as a warning level 3 and all travelers are recommended to avoid unnecessary flight to Myanmar. Travel restrictions have highly impacted accommodation, food and beverage, and manufacturing and servicing enterprises.
We have determined that almost all of our businesses have suffered a decrease in sales, with more than one-fifth of business sales stopping completely. There are too many barriers for businesses to survive in this situation such as renting rate, infrastructure rate and employment rate. They ask specifically about emergency loans offered to small or medium-sized enterprises.
The government has also announced COVID-19 Economic Relief Plans, but 0.1% of the businesses reported having received support from the government after all. Hotels, travel agencies, transportation (the most impacted enterprises) are now changing their method to survive in this situation. For example, hotels are now offering quarantine facilities for improving suspected people.
Among the seven goals that comprise its Covid-19 Economic Relief Plan, the government prioritized the promotion of “innovative products and platforms”. This plan includes encouraging the use of mobile payment services, bank transfers and card payments for e-commerce sales. Lock-downs and quarantines have had a negative impact on people’s livelihoods and health. Two third of the population in Myanmar is middle class, which is why we learn to live with Covid-19 without staying at home. Almost all companies are now using digital platforms to maintain their sales, and use video conferencing tools to access their work from home.
[Q] Golf is a significant sector for tourism for some SE Asian countries like Thailand and Vietnam. How is golf positioned for in-bound tourism in Myanmar?[A] Golf is also an important sector of tourism in Myanmar. It typically provides more profit than ordinary tours like leisure travel and so on. Until 2017, golfing in Myanmar was not popular among international golfers because of lack of information. Starting from 2018, golfers from Thailand, Vietnam and other SEA countries started to notice Myanmar’s golf courses and they came to experience them.
We at Sweet Memory Travel, also tried to promote golf courses in Myanmar by showing their detailed information on our website, brochures and other social media marketing platforms. Besides, we mention golf tourism in Myanmar in every convention we attended such as AGTC, IATA, ATF etc so that not only golfers from Asia but also western golfers will consider experiencing our golf courses. To answer your question, I would say in-bound golf tourism in Myanmar is very important for tourism in Myanmar.
Like other types of travel, the local people are positively impacted as inbound golf travel provides golf related jobs like caddies, receptionists and so on. As you know, people from rural areas find it difficult to find a proper job, but now they can get a suitable job easily at golf courses near their village or town. A part of it too is that inbound golf tourism helps bring foreign cash flow into Myanmar, so the country gains much more profit from the golf tourism sector.
When golf tourism is growing in Myanmar, local investors make more effort to build international standard golf courses to attract golfers. One of them for instance, is the Myo Tha National Golf Course, which is the quite popular and can be assumed the best golf course in Asia. As a result, Myanmar can be considered one of the new golfing destinations in Asia.
[Q] Do you see golf tourism expanding in the coming years?
[A] As I mentioned above, golf tourism in Myanmar has a bright future. As a result of our effort in promoting golf tours, international golfers have become aware of golf courses in Myanmar and they pay attention to Myanmar as a golfing destination. According to our experience, we gained many golf groups from both Asia and western countries, all of which have given good feedback about golfing in Myanmar. Developing Myo Tha Golf Course is one of the major efforts we have in growing golf tourism in Myanmar.
We are now trying to host the Asia Golf Tourism Convention in Myanmar, but have paused the process because of Covid-19. After this pandemic, we will re-start our operation, and if we get the organizer’s permission it will lead Myanmar to becoming a top golfing destination in the coming years.
[Q] How do you see tourism in Myanmar in the next year, and in five years from now?
[A] Firstly, I would like to mention the past tourism situation within the country. Myanmar’s first wave of tourism was from 2003 to 2012, when we hit the one millionth visitor milestone. A tourism master plan for 2013-2020 had since been created. Like any tourism master plan, it charted the strategies, prioritized projects and activities for Myanmar to achieve a $10.2 billion revenue goal.
A second wave of tourism is emerging in Myanmar with its international attention on the acts of genocide against the Rohingya. Other issues like coronavirus, trade wars, and climate change have also preoccupied the World. In 2018, in the latest available data from Myanmar’s Department of Immigration, there were 3.6 million arrivals spending $1.7 billion, not even a fifth of the 2020 revenue target. The destination was in fact better off in 2016 when it had fewer tourists, 2.9 million, but higher earnings of $2.2 billion due to longer-staying Western visitors.
While coronavirus is a challenge with some cancellations being recorded, tour operators have their eyes set on the long-term prospects. In the first wave, Myanmar was cast in a soft glow as the last frontier of Southeast Asia, a spiritual land of gilded pagodas and of warm, gentle people, with the added romantic notion that tourism might help change a repressive state.
Myanmar could no longer bask in that novelty in coming years.
Moreover, tourists themselves have changed, their expectations of experiences, products and service delivery have risen higher. Word of mouth remains a strong factor to attract tourists. If gets negative social media reports by those who have visited, it can be very difficult to manage.
One of Myanmar’s lovely facts is that although Myanmar is not widely known, tourists are willing to return to explore our emerging destinations such as Loikaw, Hpa An and the Mergui Archipelago. We also focused on allowing visitors to meet friendly locals in order to immerse in deeply in the true nature of the Burmese culture. As for the coming year 2021, we have needed to encourage more domestic tourism with incentives and attractive packages.
[Q] You are now the Chairman of Myanmar Tourism Marketing. How active is MTM, and what role do they play in promoting tourism?Tell us a bit about yourself, what brought you into travel & tourism?
I am a young veteran in the Myanmar tourism industry and perform currently as the chairman of Myanmar Tourism Marketing, vice chairman of the Myanmar Tourism Federation and a Public Servant Member of Tourism Executive Committee of Union if Myanmar. I am also Managing Director of Sweet Memory Travel, BOD at Zwekapin Valley Resort & Spa, BOD at Dawma Alliance Company Ltd and a very active golf player. Besides paying attention to all above functions, I find myself so active in charity work in Myanmar and loves anything related to travel.
Now, let’s talk about Myanmar Tourism Marketing. Myanmar Tourism Marketing (MTM) is a non-governmental, non-political and non-profit organization which was formed in 2000 to be the marketing arm of the Myanmar Tourism Promotion Board under the guidance of the Ministry of Hotels & Tourism.
The objective of MTM is to bring together all Myanmar based companies and individuals actively involved with tourism, wanting to promote Myanmar as a destination offering a rich experience to its visitors.
The functions of MTM include:
- The proper dissemination of information to promote Myanmar as a preferred destination for tourists.
- Participation in national and international activities to promote Myanmar.
- Promotion of activities amongst members for the exchange of ideas and information for mutual benefits
- Cooperation with international tourism bodies to jointly promote Indochina and ASEAN to long haul markets
- Publishing and distribution of news bulletins, promotion brochures and the maintenance of the websites myanmar.travel (b2c) and tourismmyanmar.org (b2b).
Gaming & Leisure Magazine would like to thank U Myo Thwin and the team at Sweet Memory Travel for their assistance with this profile.
