As Myanmar faces an acute lack of hotel capacities, the Myanmar government just unveils the establishment of new hotels zones, especially at Inle Lake in Shan State and in Yangon.
YANGON – Inle Lake is certainly one of Myanmar’s highlights on a tourism itinerary with Bagan, Mandalay and Yangon. The beautiful serene area is located in the heart of Shan State. It is one of the country’s highest lakes at an altitude of 900 metres above sea level. More than 30 hill tribes are living in the mountains.
According to statistics of 2010, Inle Lake and its surrounding areas have 36 village tracts and 34,272 households with 173,099 people. 15 of these villages are located on the lake shores.
Inle Lake, natural and unpolluted, is famous for its scenic beauty and the unique way of life of the Inthas, the native lake-dwellers. Moreover, floating villages, colorful daily floating market are popular attractions for travellers. The festival of Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda held during October is one of the season’s highlight and drags many visitors from the rest of the country.
But Inle Lake lacks capacities to welcome the possible increase of travellers. According to Achim Munz from TRC Tourism, a consulting company supported by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, some 300,000 travellers come already to Inle Lake every year, both domestic and international. This number could double within three years time.
Tourism is of course an opportunity to improve people’s life in the area. However, it is also a factor of environment’s destruction if not monitored properly.
Once more, Myanmar has to find a way to develop its nascent tourism industry without compromising on the quality of life and the preserved environment of the area. It remains a delicate balance to find the right path.
Last May, Myanmar President’s Office gave the green light to a new hotel zone at Inle Lake. However, it decided to cut the size of the proposed development by more than two-thirds to respect the fragile eco-system of the area as well as the living habits of local Intha people.
Land of a new 620-acre zone –instead of 2,000 acres- will be allocated to 16 hotels that have been waiting for planning approval, according to a statement of the Ministry of Environmental Conservation and Forestry. The President’s Office granted permission to build a new hotel zone in Inle, the statement indicated.
The applications for the 16 hotels had been made after the introduction of a moratorium on new developments at the lake and had been pending until land could be allocated in an area that would not damage the natural environment.
The 620-acre plot is located on a hill eastern of the lake in a way that it would not harm the Inle area, including its watershed. Inle Lake has currently some 20 hotels, mostly small structures.
Yangon is another area which suffers from a bed capacity shortage. To relieve the shortage and at the same time to avoid a multiplication of towers and buildings in the colonial centre of Yangon, the city’s new urban development strategic project includes a plan to build new hotel zones between Yangon International Airport and the upcoming Hanthawady International Airport. The future airport is to be built 80 km away from Yangon, in the Bago Province.
Officials from Yangon City Administration indicated to local news agencies that lands belonging to the government and the military in Mingaladon, Htaukkyant and Hlegu, which are within Yangon region, have been allocated for the new hotel zones. Foreign investments will be facilitated in these special zones. Interest has been high among foreign investors, especially those from Japan, Singapore or Thailand.
Other hotel zones to be established are in Mandalay, Bagan, Taunggyi, Chaungtha, Rakhine, Mawlamyine, Golden Triangle, Bago, Ngwehsaung and Nay Pyi Taw. Another important new hotel zone is due to be established near Mount Popa, an extinct volcano located 50 km of Bagan, one of Myanmar’s most visited tourist destination.
Myanmar now has about 25,000 hotel rooms across the country. Most are however in the three- to four-star categories, five-star properties accounting only for 5% of the total.
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.
