Myanmar Tourism

When Myanmar recently began opening its doors to the outside world, tourists rushed at the chance to see a country that had not only been closed to them for decades, but that also boasted a rich culture and heritage. The country continues to attract a steady stream of overseas visitors to established sites from Yangon to Bagan and Inle Lake,...

While tourism has been identified as a crucial component of Myanmar’s future economic development, the government faces an enormous challenge in realising its ambitions. Not only must it modernise its creaky infrastructure and develop tourism products to attract and encourage travellers to return, it must also address a talent shortage that...

Under the military regime, even if a tourist decided to ignore the National League for Democracy’s call for a boycott and visit Myanmar, getting a visa required a number of trips to the nearest embassy and considerable patience. These days, it can all be done online in a matter of hours, as the country turns to technology to help reduce...

The year 2016 has proved to be a sobering one for Myanmar’s hotels, especially in Yangon, which is home to more than a third of the country’s hotels.

Hundreds of thousands of foreign tourists have visited Myanmar since relations with the West thawed and the country began to open up to the outside world in 2010. While some are eager to experience the South-east Asian nation’s rich culture and heritage, others are simply curious to see the once isolated country before it changes forever. At...

As little as five years ago, Yangon was a dark and crumbling city, the roads largely quiet apart from the occasional decrepit taxi. Now the streets of Myanmar’s biggest city are filled with second-hand Japanese saloons, mostly used as taxis, and the sky punctuated by cranes adding high-rise buildings. Despite rapid development, and unlike...