ASEAN Economic Community key to Myanmar tourism growth
As Myanmar prepares to host the ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF) in January, the country’s Union Minister for the Ministry of Hotels & Tourism has outlined Myanmar’s commitment to tourism development in cooperation with ASEAN member states.
H.E. U Htay Aung said Myanmar’s tourism sector needs to prepare for the establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community in late 2015 and raise awareness of AEC among tourism stakeholders.
"To realize the AEC, the active participation of the private sector is a must. For that, the ministry of hotels and tourism is conducting seminars, workshops, and symposiums to raise the awareness of AEC by educating and convincing the private sector," he said.
"Myanmar’s Tourism Master Plan and its policies on responsible tourism and community involvement in tourism will be used as a roadmap to shape the future development of tourism in Myanmar. All those policies are in line with ASEAN’s tourism policy."
The Tourism Master Plan is a wide-ranging eight year programme to strengthen institutional structure, develop destination management, upgrade infrastructure and improve product and service quality.
Having formulated policies for responsible tourism and community involvement in tourism, the government is currently developing an ecotourism policy and management strategy, the minister said.
The programme will be coordinated and overseen by a central committee chaired by Myanmar’s Vice President.
"We are absolutely proud and delighted of being ATF 2015 host country for the first time, and the benefits from this event for Myanmar as an emerging tourism destination, are unquestionable. It surely will strengthen the country’s tourism sector development," Htay Aung added.
Tourist arrivals to Myanmar grew significantly by 93% in 2013 to 2.04 million visitors compared to the previous year, spending a combined US$926 million.
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