U Htay Aung, Minister of Hotels and Tourism, discusses Myanmar’s efforts to launch a thriving tourism industry.
European Times: What are the top priorities for your ministry?
U Htay Aung: Our mission is to attract responsible tourists who can add to our national revenues, while also protecting Myanmar’s cultural and natural heritage. We aim for the tourism industry to be a strong contributor to Myanmar’s economy and to help improve the quality of life of our people. We want the people of Myanmar to be involved in policy decision-making processes, which is why we are focusing on community involvement, with the help of international agencies and NGOs. We are working hard to inform our people about the good, the bad and the potentially ugly side of tourism!
European Times: What are some recent developments in the tourism sector?
U Htay Aung: Myanmar welcomed a record 1.06 million visitors in 2012 and we expect that total to rise to two million in 2013. Our new Tourism Master Plan targets seven million visitors by 2020, when we hope tourism will contribute around $7.4 billion to the national budget. There are now 14 airlines flying to Myanmar and we have around 2,500 daily arrivals. We are building a new international airport which will be completed by 2017, and we are renovating Yangon and Mandalay international airports. However, we still need quality long-haul carriers from Europe and the US to fly to Myanmar. In the future we will be providing incentives for airlines using Myanmar as an aviation hub in order to attract these airlines.
European Times: What type of investment are you looking to attract?
U Htay Aung:. We welcome investors and tourism organisations and wish them to become involved in the industry, particularly in capacity building and in the development of our human resources. We also need investment in tourism-related infrastructure, including hotels and transportation.
European Times: What efforts are you making to attract FDI?
U Htay Aung: The goal is to make people aware of where Myanmar is, of how it has changed and of what its advantages for investment are. As part of our effort to achieve just that, we recently established the Myanmar Tourism Federation, which groups together several private and public-sector tourism organisations. In doing so, we have encouraged the public and private sectors to work together on tourism projects.
European Times: What is your personal message to potential investors and visitors to Myanmar?
U Htay Aung: People need to come here to see for themselves how safe and beautiful Myanmar actually it is and how very welcoming our people are. After all, seeing is believing!
