Diethelm Travel resumes bookings to Burma

by John Watson, CEO, Diethelm Travel

“As I sit here in the late afternoon overlooking the water from the Dusit Inya Lake Resort in Yangon, it is difficult to reconcile the peace and tranquility against the images in the media of Myanmar over the last short period of time.

“There is little doubt that tourism to Myanmar will experience a major downturn in the months ahead. It has been my long-held view that boycotts only harm the people and are not agents for change.

“Inter-governmental trade in raw materials and energy accounts for far greater economic sums than tourism, where the majority of money spent trickles down to the small businesses and individuals who need it most.

“The primary purpose of my trip? To meet with the vast majority of Diethelm Travel’s 60 staff in Myanmar face to face and inform them that we will not be laying anyone off, putting staff on short-time, or cutting pay.

“We will get through the downturn ahead together, and we view supporting our people in difficult times as a fundamental principle of a caring employer who has operated in Myanmar for over a decade.

“The relief from our staff was palpable. They were comforted beyond words that their income was being guaranteed, and that they and their families had nothing to worry about on that front.

“The secondary purpose of my trip was to talk to local people working in the tourism sector, and to understand their current thinking and perspectives in order to provide our customers with informed and relevant advice about travel to Myanmar.

“The key message I heard repeated again and again: ‘Please tell the world that Myanmar is safe for tourists. Our hotels, shops, and restaurants are very quiet and we rely on tourism for our livelihoods. We are afraid we will soon not be able to support our families’.

“So what else did I find on my travels? Well, one thing I did not find – soldiers. From the moment of my arrival, to my departure, I encountered not a single one. I toured Yangon for several hours, visited all the major tourist sites, and everything was peaceful.

“I had a semi pre-conceived idea that there would be check-points on most street corners and junctions; there were none.

“Myanmar is entering what is normally its peak season. The downturn means there are no queues at the usually busy attractions. Our thanks go to the airlines and most hotels who have allowed cancellations with no penalties; a pragmatic approach that will be remembered by the trade.

“Our thanks also to our many customers from all over the world for their kind messages of support.

“Communications to, from, and within Myanmar continues to be problematical; no change there. Diethelm Travel has satellite phones in Bagan, Inle Lake, Mandalay and Yangon, so we are one of the few operators with full phone communication capabilities.

“Emails are still slow and unreliable. We have, therefore, positioned our assistant managing director, Esther Oertle, in Bangkok, to act as quality control for all outgoing and incoming emails to/from Myanmar.

“Should anyone wish to visit, given all I saw and heard, I have concluded that it is safe to go to Myanmar where a warm welcome from the locals awaits.

“Normal precautions should be observed, as in any destination experiencing change; avoid anything remotely resembling a crowd gathering and listen to the advice from government organisations and competent authorities and the media.

“We shall, of course, monitor the situation carefully and keep everyone updated.”

TRAVELMOLE is happy to present the views of Diethelm Travel boss John Watson and invites readers to respond to the CEO’s view that sanctions only hurt Burma’s poor and will not change the oppressive regime in the country.