Myanmar’s crunch on hotels capacities is likely to have a negative impact on tourism. Years of economic isolations through sanctions have a big impact on the tourism infrastructure in Myanmar.
(BANGKOK)- Myanmar’s crunch on hotels capacities is likely to have a negative impact on tourism. Years of economic isolations through sanctions have a big impact on the tourism infrastructure in Myanmar. The country registers only 570 hotels and 160 guesthouses offering a total capacity of roughly 25 000 rooms. By comparison, neighbouring Thailand has 4,000 hotels with a capacity of over 220,000 rooms. And another 18,800 rooms is due to completion until 2015, the equivalent of 80% of the current total capacity in Myanmar!
Political normalization heightened by the release of long-time political prisoner Aung San Suu Kyi sent a strong signal to the travel community that the country was fully opened to foreign travellers. Tour operators are being back, airlines start to reinstate flight capacities or open new routes. All Nippon Airways will open a flight from Tokyo to Yangon while Qatar Airways will reopen its Doha-Yangon after a eight-year suspension. The government is now offering e-visa facilities due to limited budget for overseas representation. Myanmar is definitely the fashionable destination for 2012 as the entire world is suddenly ready to discover one of Southeast Asia’s most fascinating country. However, the country faces increasingly difficulties to accommodate the wave of potential travellers. The limitation of rooms supply put indeed a shadow on the total number of travellers able to come. Hotels prices are rocketing to the sky with some tour operators being even confronted to upward revisions in hotel rates even after signing contracts. Tour operators speak about rates’ increases of at least 30% for the coming peak season starting in October. With other costs rising, travelling on a package tour to Myanmar might then cost 40% to 50% more than a year ago…
Consequently, some TO start to turn away potential tourists as hotel capacity is unlikely to improve rapidly. It will take at least another two years to see large international hotel companies moving into Myanmar. The partial lifting of economic sanctions is already attracting large hotel companies which start to evaluate potential. At the Davos Summit last January, hotel groups such as Starwood or Marriott express their strong interest to come. They also need a strong legal and financial frame for investors. Recent alignment of the local currency Kyat in official banks and the black market is a first step; Myanmar needs also to have a reliable credit system as well as the possibility to allow freely financial transactions.
So far, only Asian chains such as Sedona, Shangri La or GHM Luxury Hotels are present in the country. In between, the only solution would be for the government to let Burmese people opening guest houses. However, they are two difficulties emerging from this possible solution: a difficulty for authorities to monitor the quality of the accommodation and guarantee minimum standards in mostly crumbling infrastructure; and also the exposure of locals to foreigners might be seen as a sensitive issue for some members within the government…
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.
