Industry expects tremendous increase on tourist arrival

[zawwinthan]

Industry expects tremendous increase on tourist arrival
By Zaw Win Than


TOURIST numbers are up again this year, according to figures released
by the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism. During the first seven months
of 2010, 161,322 visitors entered the country, 37.4 percent more than
in the same period last year.
The figure for the whole of 2009 - 227,400 visitors - was itself a
25pc increase on the 170,812 recorded for the year 2008.
And travel professionals are predicting a busy and successful October-
to-March tourist season, despite some cancellations being reported
following the August 13 announcement that an election would be held on
November 7.
"I believe arrivals will increase hugely in the coming peak season
because even now, in the low season, we have a lot of bookings. I
heard most hotels are fully booked for October and November," said U
Hla Aye, managing director of Shan Yoma Travel and Tours.
He said tourism would not be impacted by the November election, citing
changes this year that have helped encourage more foreign visitors.
These include the introduction of a visa-on-arrival system, the
establishment of direct flights to Hanoi and more competition on the
Yangon-Kuala Lumpur route.
On March 2, Vietnam Airlines began direct Hanoi-Yangon flights, and
will introduce direct flights from Ho Chi Minh City to Yangon from
October. The visa-on-arrival service, described by many travel
professionals as a breakthrough, was launched on May 1. Meanwhile on
July 20, Malaysia's Air Asia started direct flights between Kuala
Lumpur and Yangon.
"Vietnamese visitors are increasing in number since direct flights
began, and tourists from Europe and elsewhere who are in Vietnam can
come here [more easily]," said U Hla Aye.
Most visitors to Myanmar - about 109,641, or 67pc of the total - were
from Asian countries: 31,795 from Thailand, the largest single group;
19,580 from China; and 10,206 from South Korea.
"In June and July, we received cancellations from Germany for October
and November because of concerns over the election, even though the
election date was not known at that time," said a spokesperson for a
leading tour company in Yangon.
"We informed our customers of the election date when it was announced
[on August 13] and so far we have not yet received any cancellations.
However, we have received [more] bookings for the second half of the
season, January to March," he said.
A total of 33,953 tourists from European countries visited Myanmar
from January to July, representing over 19pc of total arrivals. The
largest group of European visitors was from France, with 7380
visitors, followed by Germany with 5678 visitors and Italy with 3925
visitors.
Independent travellers, known in the industry as Foreign Individual
Travellers (FIT), made up the majority of the increase, with arrivals
jumping 53.4pc to 89,645, compared to the 58,456 recorded for the same
period in 2009.
Package tour customers were up 52.1pc to 14,555, compared to last
year's 9,570. There were more modest rises among travellers with
business visas and social visas of 18.2pc and 11.2pc respectively, the
figures show.
"The coming tourist season is very promising. The elections won't
hinder tourist arrivals unless something happens to the entry visa for
security reasons," said another tour operator in Yangon.
"The election is only for November. I still see promising signs for
October, December and onwards. In general, it's really OK this year in
terms of tourism," he said.
"We've got a number of bookings for October and occupancy is extremely
good for the coming peak season," said Daw May Myat Mon Win, director
of sales and marketing of Chatrium Hotel in Yangon.
"Compared to last year, we're receiving more business and corporate
travellers. We expect our occupancy will be up by 20pc compared to
last year," she said.
Daw Susie Moe Aung, sales director of Park Royal Hotel, said: "We've
received quite good bookings for October to December and onwards. This
year we expect occupancy to be 18pc higher than last year. Obviously
we're hoping to see a tremendous increase in tourist arrivals this
year."
Myanmar tourism suffered from a number of factors over the past two-
three years, including the crackdown of September 2007, Cyclone Nargis
in May 2008, the recession and the airport takeover in Bangkok in late
2008.