Myanmar has ‘a mountain to climb’ to woo 2 million tourists a year

Myanmar’s junta-led government is chasing nearly 2 million tourist arrivals a year in a bid analysts see as an effort to secure global legitimacy, but the dream is beset with difficulties. Authorities have been ramping up efforts to revive Myanmar’s tourism industry after the 2021 coup plunged the country into widespread civil war. More than 100,000 people have died so far in the conflict, according to the monitor Armed Conflict Location and Event Data. Still, over 973,000 foreigners visited last year, the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism said in January. Officials now hope to nearly double that figure to 1.8 million – still a far cry from the 4.5 million who visited in 2015, when tourist arrivals peaked. “We mainly expect to see a surge in Chinese and Thai visitors, so they will be a key driver of our tourism growth,” Maung Maung Kyaw, the ministry’s permanent secretary, told Bloomberg. Chinese travellers remain Myanmar’s largest source of air arrivals, followed by Thais and South Koreans, Bloomberg reported – consistent with 2024 figures, when Chinese visitors made up 35 per cent of arrivals and Thais 15 per cent. Min Aung Hlaing’s government has taken visible steps to court the sector. In June, Myanmar hosted the Mekong Tourism Forum, bringing together officials and industry figures from Cambodia, China, Thailand, Vietnam and Laos. And late last year, the country expanded visa-on-arrival access for visitors from China, India, Japan and South Korea, while Russia and most Southeast Asian nations can enjoy visa-free entry. Uphill battle Despite the junta’s claims of a successful election earlier this year, analysts say the ongoing civil war and widespread hardship will hamper any recovery. “Myanmar is a mesmerisingly beautiful country … But it has suffered terribly over recent years from a complex civil war, political violence, economic hardship, societal dislocation and the devastating Mandalay earthquake,” said Gary Bowerman, director of Re:Set Strategies, a travel and tourism consultancy focused on Chinese and Asian markets. “The task of encouraging tourists to actually book a ticket and enter the unknown will be immense – and offering visa-free access is only part of the complex process Myanmar must undertake.” The Mekong Tourism Forum in Yangon “was undoubtedly a public relations win for the Myanmar authorities, but it is only the first step along a long and tricky road back to tourism credibility”, he said. The 2021 coup derailed a tourism sector that had been growing steadily between 2011 and 2019, said Lucas Myers, assistant director of the University of Maryland’s School of Public Policy. “So long as the country remains unstable as a result of its ongoing civil war, there is a low ceiling on tourism as an industry,” he said. “Although the momentum in the war has shifted over the past year, the resistance continues to oppose the government.” As of last September, roughly 39 per cent of the country was under junta control, while rebel forces and ethnic armies held 37 per cent, according to figures from the National Unity Government, Myanmar’s government-in-exile. Fighting continues across much of the remaining territory. “It is hard to see international visitors returning in significant numbers while fighting continues throughout much of the country outside urban areas and headlines remain dominated by cyber scam centres and other safety risks,” Myers said. Myanmar faced “significant challenges related to safety and infrastructure” in pursuing its tourism dream, said Moe Thuzar, a senior fellow and Myanmar Studies coordinator at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute. “Naypyidaw is not unaware of this, and may be aiming more at attracting visitors from neighbours in the region, such as China and Thailand, and has recently entered into tourism cooperation agreements with Cambodia.” The tourism push is about more than money, analysts say, it is also an attempt to win recognition for the post-election government from neighbouring nations and the wider international community. “The junta is desperate for international legitimacy. Min Aung Hlaing, having made himself president this year, has recently pushed to expand his government’s foreign relations and reduce its international isolation,” Myers said. Since assuming the role, Min Aung Hlaing has visited India, China and Laos – the first Association of Southeast Asian Nations member to host him as head of state. The trips form part of a broader campaign “to persuade Asean to welcome the military-controlled government back into the fold” and accept the election result, Myers said. Still, the civil war “remains the biggest impediment to both its overall soft power and its struggling tourism sector,” he added. The junta would likely resort to “an onslaught of public relations … in the coming months to promote tourism, now that it claims to have an election mandate”, Bowerman said, adding that it had “a mountain to climb” to rebuild its reputation. “We have seen the reputational damage Thailand has incurred through its association with Southeast Asia’s online financial crimes and scam centres,” he said. “Myanmar is recognised as the regional epicentre of the scam industry, and it will struggle to shake that off no matter how much it shines the light on temples and pilgrimage sites.” A Myanmar-based tourism operator, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the junta was “simply forcing” the sector to reopen. “Electricity is available for only about eight hours a day. Absolutely nothing is ready,” the operator said, noting that areas including Bagan, Mingun, Sagaing and Myaing were still conflict zones. Any tourism revival, the operator warned, “will only benefit the junta and their cronies”, while local communities would be excluded, “especially since people are being displaced everywhere”.

Myanmar has ‘a mountain to climb’ to woo 2 million tourists a year

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Myanmar saw 4.5 million tourist arrivals at the peak in 2015, but the numbers have fallen sharply since the military coup in 2021

Myanmar saw 4.5 million tourist arrivals at the peak in 2015, but the numbers have fallen sharply since the military coup in 2021