CNI News

16 Oct 2022

After a shoot-out erupted at a passenger station at the Kyaiktiyo Pagoda on 12^th October, the number of foreign and domestic pilgrimage cancellations has risen, according to foreign and domestic tour agencies.

Pilgrimages of foreign tourists to the Kyaiktiyo pagoda were forced to be cancelled, Chairman U Naung Naung Han of the Myanmar Tourism Entrepreneurs Association told the CNI.

He told the CNI, “We were forced to cancel the pilgrimage of foreign tourists to the Kyaiktiyo Pagoda. The main reason was the shooting. There are no tour packages we can sell near Yangon. So, we have to rely on tour packages to Bago and Kyaiktiyo. It is difficult to sell tour packages beyond Kyaikhto. Now, we have to cancel tour packages to the Kyaiktiyo Pagoda.”

 A CCTV record of a shoot-out at the passenger station of the Kyaiktiyo Pagoda on 12^th October, 2022.

Shooting erupted at the passenger station at the Kyaiktiyo Pagoda in Kyaikhto Township in Mon State on 12^th October, killing three women and injuring 19 others.

The SAC accused the KNLA Brigade (1) and the PDF shooting members of the public but Thaton PDF denied the accusation.

Then, pilgrimage packages of the Kyaiktiyo Pagoda were forced to cancel and ticket fares had to be reimbursed, according to U Naung Naung Han.

He told the CNI, “As far as we know, domestic tour packages to the pagoda were also forced to cancel. Some people had booked for packages and bought tickets. Most packages to the pagoda were forced to cancel. Some tour agencies had to reimburse service fees and bus tickets.”

 A CCTV record of a shoot-out at the passenger station of the Kyaiktiyo Pagoda on 12^th October, 2022.

Recently, the public has chosen to make pilgrimages under their own arrangements rather than taking pilgrimage bus tours, Secretary U Kyaw Min Hlaing of the Myanmar Pilgrimage and Domestic Tour Operators Association told the CNI.

He said, “Only a few people take pilgrimage buses. Most of them choose to travel to pagodas in their own cars under their own arrangements. Myanmar people tend to forget to learn lessons. They are not afraid of such incidents. Now, they are travelling again.”

Currently, agencies have suspended tour packages to Kyaiktiyo for Myanmar citizens as well as foreigners until the region can restore stability.