CNI News

20 Sept 2022

Large numbers of guests have booked hotel rooms in Bagan in Nyaung-U Township, Mandalay Region and at Ngapali beach in Thandwe in Rakhine State for Thadingyut Festival holiday, according to hoteliers there.

An official from the Ngapali Paradise Hotel said, “We have received a large number of bookings. Some hotels have been fully booked. Most guests booked hotel rooms for three-day on 8^th, 9^th and 10^th October. The guests are from a social class that is indifferent to the political situation. Guests are returning to us for the festival. However, the number of guests will not be as high as that during the Thingyan Festival. As the Thingyan holiday was two-week long, there were more bookings.”

Holiday-makers are booking rooms for the Thadingyut Festival from 8^th to 10^th October and most of them are booking rooms for 9^th and 10 October.

Currently, hotels have been forced to rely on holidays because no bookings are made for off-festival days, an official from a hotel in Bagan told the CNI.

Tourists in Bagan Region.

“During off-festival days, occupancy rate drops to about 20 to 25 percent and there is no booking at all. Currently, we are handling a large number of bookings. However, occupancy rates have not returned to pre-pandemic levels,” he said.

The number of domestic tourists has not reached previous levels but tour operators expect that some domestic tourists will visit pilgrimage sites and beaches.

There would be some domestic tourists who visited Bagan without making bookings during the Thidingyut holiday, Chairman U Zaw Wate of Myanmar Hoteliers Association (Bagan Zone) told the CNI.

“As fuel prices have dropped a little by MMK 200 to MMK 300 per litre, there will be some more guests during the holiday. The number of guests will be higher during the holiday than now. There will be a large number of them. We have to rely on weekends and holidays because guests can come here only on those days. At present, there are only a few guests at hotels. Some hotels have only one or two rooms occupied. Handicraft shops are not making a lot of money at present. However, handicraft sellers at pagodas are in business again. They sell earrings and paintings. Myanmar guests cannot afford large lacquerwares from big lacquer shops,” he said.

Domestic tourist arrivals in Ngapali Beach in Thandwe in Rakhine State increased during the Thingyan festival this year and set a post-pandemic record. However, the number of domestic tourists would not be as many as that during the Thingyan festival, Director U Tin Tun Aung of Rakhine State Hotels and Tourism Ministry told the CNI.

A hotel in Ngapali Beach.

“Everyone wants to welcome domestic tourists in the upcoming dry season. We expect the same and hotels are making ready for them. As it is the season they must resume their operations, no one has decreased their efforts. Everyone is preparing for the upcoming season. During the Thingyan festival when the number of COVID-19 cases had dropped dramatically, many guests were crowded at the only place they could travel safely,” he explained.

During the Thingyan holiday from 9^th to 17^th April, domestic tourist arrivals to Rakhine state hit more than 15,000 and most of them travelled to Sittwe and Thandwe, according to the statistics of the Rakhine State Hotels and Tourism Ministry.

Moreover, only about 1,000 pilgrims visit Bagan during weekdays but on weekends, the number rises to 1,500 pilgrims, according to the Hotels and Tourism Ministry (Bagan Branch).

On festival days, more than 2,500 pilgrims visit Bagan, especially to the Shwezigon Pagoda, the Bu Pagoda and the Arnanda Pagoda.