CNI News
December 25 2023

 Over one million foreign tourists have entered Myanmar in 2023, U Aung Aye Han, deputy director general of the Ministry of Hotel and Tourism told CNI News.

Of more than 200,000 foreign tourists who entered Myanmar in 2022, over 100,000 only entered with Tourist Visa, according to tourism entrepreneurs.

" For the time being, over one million foreign tourists have already entered Myanmar. But in comparison with 2019, foreign tourist arrivals are much less because that year, 4.36 million foreign tourists entered Myanmar. Among the foreign tourists who came with tourist visas, Thai people are the most." said U Aung Aye Han.

Among those entering with Business Visa, Chinese tourists are the most, according to the ministry.

While seeing foreign tourists at the beach

Although the number of foreign tourists who entered this year obviously increased than last year, if the number of foreign tourists who entered with tourist visa was released, tourism industries would be able to calculate.

Because there are instabilities in Myanmar at present, most tourists from local and abroad probably will go to Yangon, Mandalay, Bagan and beach areas, U Thet Lwin Toe, a tourism entrepreneur told CNI News.

Moreover, because fuel problems have arisen and more power outages have taken place this year, there have been more difficulties and obstacles for the tourism industry, he added.

" Local tourists were able to spend a lot of money in the domestic tours during the holidays in the previous years. But this year, fuel is more expensive and it's also difficult to buy it. Moreover, domestic tourists are also less able to spend as their economy declines. Tourism-based hotel and restaurant businesses are also affected. Especially, tour operators are affected more because the tourists who go with tour operators have decreased." said U Thet Lwin Toe.

However, there were about five million domestic tourists in 2029 and there are about eight million domestic tourists in 2023, according to the ministry.

Tour operators have expected better result in 2024 and it was only necessary to have political and territorial stabilities for the development of tourism industry, they pointed out.