Myanmar has ‘a mountain to climb’ to woo 2 million tourists a year

Myanmar’s dream of achieving 2 million tourist arrivals annually – seen to be an effort by the junta-led government to secure global legitimacy – is…

Myanmar’s dream of achieving 2 million tourist arrivals annually – seen to be an effort by the junta-led government to secure global legitimacy – is fraught with hurdles, analysts warn.

Authorities have been ramping up efforts to bolster Myanmar’s tourism sector, which fell following the 2021 coup that led to widespread civil unrest across the country.

Over 100,000 deaths have been logged since the crisis, according to conflict monitor Armed Conflict Location and Event Data.

More than 973,000 foreign tourists visited Myanmar last year, the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism said in January. Officials are hoping to nearly double that to 1.8 million this year.

“We mainly expect to see a surge in Chinese and Thai visitors, so they will be a key driver of our tourism growth,” Maung Maung Kyaw, the ministry’s permanent secretary, told Bloomberg.

A cocktail promoter serves free shots during the opening of the 19th Street Chinatown night market in Yangon on June 9. Photo: EPA

Chinese travellers remain Myanmar’s biggest source of visitors arriving by air, followed by Thais and South Koreans, according to the Bloomberg report. This remains consistent with tourism figures in 2024, when tourists from China made up 35 per cent of inbound visitors, followed by Thailand at 15 per cent.

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