CNI News

24 August 2022

According to the Myanmar Tourism Entrepreneurs Association, Myanmar-Russia joint development of the tourism sector can resume the businesses for those who depend on the tourism industry, thereby increasing the employment opportunities.

There are losses in the tourism industry due to Covid and the political situation. Tourist car businesses as well as the crafting businesses are affected. Currently, only some of the plane ticket agents are returning to work, said U Naung Naung Han, Chairman of the Tourism Industry Association to CNI News Agency.

Russia Foreign Minister Lavrov arrived in Myanmar

He said, “If the visitors come back, the crafting businesses can also go back to operating again. They bring back the workers. They can get a lot of jobs back. This is not just one side. It is true for the rest of the hotels and restaurants as well. It is also not convenient for the local tourists to stay in expensive hotels.In current economy, since the domestic situations are not very good and it is not affordable for local tourists, they will just have to rely on foreign tourists. That’s why many jobs will flourish again. The most obvious would be the tour guides. It has been more than two years that the tour guides are not on tours. That’s why things like opening a Russian course is an additional language for some employees and the tour guides. It can supplement their language proficiency, thereby rendering more efficiency in their services.”

In order for the Russian tourists to come to Myanmar for the development f Myanmar-Russia bilateral tourism, visa-exemption has been granted to Russian citizens starting from July 1 and the hotel staff is learning Russian to provide hospitality and service.

In order to attract the Russian citizens who are known to like the beach area, the beach-focused projects will be increased, said U Tin Tun Aung, Director of Rakhine State Hotel and Tourism Ministry, to CNI News Agency.

the Myanmar tour guide explaining to Russian tourists

He said, “The hotel industry can only thrive when there are guests. It expect guests and the guests are expected to come now that the Russian courses are open specifically for this purpose. We will not just go with the current situation. We will cooperate with the relevant departments to make it more peaceful, tidy and organized. In the meantime, a knowledge session has been made to share things to do and avoid regarding the tourism industry to groups such as the underage-vendors and underage three-wheel drivers. And the hotel businesses are also doing things such as putting up decorations during the rainy season.”

For the development of Myanmar-Russia tourism since last April, things have been discussed such as the airline direct flight, for the travel agents to be able to visit each other, and the signing of a memorandum of understanding on the development of tourism between the two countries.

In the past, Russian tourist arrivals to Myanmar were reportedly very few and only around 5000 a year.

the Russian tourists in Myanmar

It has been reported that because Russia is at war with Ukraine and has been sanctioned by Western countries and European countries, they only have Myanmar and other friendly countries to visit. Similarly, since Myanmar has been regarded as a country not appropriate for visiting, the main possible foreign tourists to enter the country are from Thailand, China and Russia.

Therefore, instead of attracting tourism to other countries, Myanmar should attract such citizens for tourism, said U Naung Naung Han, Chairman of the Tourism Entrepreneurs Association.

He said, "Instead of waiting for other countries, Myanmar should act now as soon as possible. The only countries that can be reached are those countries. If in the West, It’s Russia, and within the ASEAN region, it is Thailand. When I say China, Korea and Japan on the East Asian side, Korea and Japan don’t have any plan to enter Myanmar during these years. China shows some interest.”

The tourist operators analyze that although the arrival of foreign tourists in the coming winter will be higher than the current periods, there will be a huge influx of tourists during the first three months of 2023.