An expecting number of three million tourists by the end of 2014 is boosting the opening of new hotels in Myanmar. Mandalay region has seen the largest growth in total hotels followed by Yangon in 2013.
YANGON – Some 2,000 new rooms are due to be rapidly filled by tourists this year as Myanmar expects to hit the 3-million international travellers mark. Most of the projects for 2014 are located within Greater Yangon and they include deluxe and first class properties from international chains, explained recently to media Aung Zaw Win, Director General at the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism. “Novotel Hotel will be opened in the mid year. Others such as Center Point and Shangrila will soon follow too,” Aung Zaw Win said.
One of the most prestigious project is the conversion of the former railway headquarters, a beautiful colonial structure, into a hip deluxe five star property until 2015. The hotel will be operated by Hong Kong deluxe group Peninsula. At a cost of about US$350 million, the property will become a new iconic building for the former capital of Burma. The project foresees also another hotel complex (most probably four-star property) and a business centre.
According to the ministry’s press release in April, there are now over 960 hotels in the country among which 40 hotel buildings are foreign investments worth US$ 1.7 billion.
Mandalay Region leads other cities and tourist destinations in Myanmar with 302 new hotels approved followed by the Yangon region with 238 new properties approved, according to data from Ministry of Hotels and Tourism. Many hotels are situated in popular cultural zones and tourist attractions with 90 % of all hotels in Mandalay, Yangon, Ayeyawady, Bago regions, Shan State and Rakhine State.
The Ministry estimates that the country should offer a total of 37,024 rooms by the middle of the year. Local investment in hotels and tourism is up by US$ 526.79 million by March 2014.
Luc Citrinot a French national is a freelance journalist and consultant in tourism and air transport with over 20 years experience. Based in Paris and Bangkok, he works for various travel and air transport trade publications in Europe and Asia.
