More foreign tourists visit Myanmar in first eight months ( Xinhua ) December 8, 2002

More foreign tourists visit Myanmar in first eight months

YANGON, Dec 8, 2002 (Xinhua via COMTEX)

-- Tourist arrivals in Myanmar increased 13.75 percent to 198,855 in the first eight months of 2002 from 174,810 in the same period of 2001, said the latest figures published by the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism.Of the total, 60.8 percent arrived by land mostly from neighboring Thailand and China, while 38.5 percent by air and the minor rest by sea.

Myanmar has been making efforts to promote its tourism industry by adding more hotels and attracting foreign investment in the sector.According to official statistics, there are 42 state-owned hotels now with 1,402 rooms, up from 19 of such hotels with 790 rooms in 1988.

Since Myanmar opened to foreign investment in 1988, the number of hotel projects under such investment had reached 40 as of August this year with an amount of 1,235.106 million US dollars.Meanwhile, there are also 498 local private-run hotels, motels and inns with 11,292 rooms in the country.

As one of its measures to develop tourism, Myanmar established the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism in 1992, allowing private entrepreneurs to engage in the industry for wider participation.Beginning 2001, Myanmar has lowered the requirements for travelers to exchange 300 dollars with local currencies on arrival, bringing the amount down to 200 dollars.Other measures include granting tourists from neighboring China to use the Chinese currency yuan during their stay in Myanmar starting July 18.

Besides, to promote tourism development, Myanmar has signed cooperation agreements with China, Cambodia, Laos, Singapore and Thailand.

In order to absorb more tourist arrivals in the country, Myanmar reportedly will soon grant visas-on-arrival for individual travelers on flights operated by the Lauda Air of Italy.Myanmar has set a short-term target of drawing 500,000 foreign tourists annually.

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