CNI News
5 Mar 2023
Rooms at almost all hotels at Ngapali Beach in Rakhine State and Chaungtha Beach in Ayeyarwady Region have been fully booked for the Thingyan Festival, according to the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism.
All hotels at Ngapali Beach have been fully booked from 13th April (the eve of Thingyan Festival) to 16th April (the last day of the festival) and it is estimated that about 2,000 overnight travellers will visit the beach during the festival, Deputy Director U Kyaw Zeya of the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism (Ngapali Branch) told the CNI.
U Kyaw Zeya said, "Most hotels have been fully booked for four days starting from the Thingyan eve. Last year, about 1,500 overnight travellers visited the beach during the Thingyan. So, we expect that about 2,000 overnight travellers will visit the beach this year. There are a few hotels which have not been reopened. They are just preparing to reopen. Three large hotels and seven guest houses have not been reopened. Out of 65 hotels and guest houses at the beach, 55 of them have been reopened.”
Holiday makers on the Ngapali Beach.
The number of domestic travellers to the Ngapali Beach has been rising since March.
The increase has been attributed to families that travel during the summer holidays, package tours of companies and group travels.
About 1,000 domestic travellers visit the beach every day but only an average of 55 foreign tourists visit the beach every day.
Similarly, the number of travellers to Chaungtha Beach has been on the rise and sea view rooms of hotels at the beach have been fully booked, an official from the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism (Chaungtha Branch) told the CNI.
A hotel at the Ngapali Beach.
He said, "Our hotels have also been fully booked. There are two type of rooms in our hotels, one being sea view rooms and the other, back side. All sea view rooms have been fully booked and back side rooms will also be fully booked gradually. More people will come to the beach this year. After the matriculation examinations, more visitor will come to us. Even now, families with primary school children are visiting our beach. There will be more visitors during the period from the end of the matriculation examinations to April. The number of visitors to us will be as high as 8,000."
In previous years, guests made bookings for hotel rooms at the end of March but they have made bookings since early March, according to the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism.
During Thingyan holidays, domestic travellers mostly visit Chaungtha, Ngwesaung and Ngapali beaches but some domestic travellers are asking for information about Tanintharyi Region and the Myeik Archipelago, according to Myanmar Tourism Entrepreneurs Association.
