Burmese Language
Visa on arrival hopes dashed
Burma will not be bringing back the visa-on-arrival scheme anytime in the near future because of a lack of improvement in tourism infrastructure, the tourism minister has stated.
The announcement dashes hopes of a reintroduction of the popular scheme that saw tourism numbers to the isolated country hit record highs last year, despite it only being active for four months.
A businessman who attended a recent meeting with Hotel and Tourism Minister Tint Hsan said it would instead be a step by step process.
“He [Tint Hsan] said it would be embarrassing if we open the visa on arrival when our country is not yet ready [to service tourists],” he said. “Last year, big crowds of tourists came in and it got out of control. We need to prepare a lot.”
Hotel and tourism business owners also reportedly urged the minister to appoint a ‘Visit Myanmar Year’ as it did in 1996, although that was roundly seen as a failure.
Burma remains Southeast Asia’s least travelled country, largely due to the controversy surrounding much of the tourism industry: rights groups claim that the money spent by tourists lines the pockets of the ruling regime, which has been known to use slave labour in the development of tourism infrastructure.
Numbers of visitors are rising however, with figures for last year showing a 33 percent increase on 2009. Still, however, the 300,000-odd that visited in 2010 pale ni comparison to the roughly 14 million that hit Thailand each year.
The visa scheme was halted in September last year after managing to attract 80,000 visitors in the four months of its existence. Observers speculated that it had been stopped to prevent journalists entering under the guise of tourists to cover the November elections.
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With increased tourism, booms in local prostitution is very likely so adequate health care, prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) at publicly-funded clincis,health education on AIDS and STDs, and HEALTH education measures are also very much needed especially in regions where prostitution is prevalent and active before a rise in tourists arriving in the country happen.
We can look and study at Thailand past experiences of the impacts of these diseases on their prostitutes, and health consequences and problems of local people, who are connected directly or indirectly with these prostitutes.
“Last year, big crowds of tourists came in” !
Nearly made me fall off the chair laughing !!
My making a few changes they could bring huge amounts of tourist dollars into the country.
The fundamental principles are to make the tourists feel welcome and make it affordable so they come back again. Cant emphasize enough how much repeat visits are huge business for Thailand.
Most importantly would be to go back to the good old days of paying for hotels, and transport in Kyat. Foreigners and Burmese paying the same prices. And maybe even let the foreigners stay in Myanmar homes or smaller hotels. (This was how tourism began in South East Asia)
Stop charging foreigners a fee for pagodas like Shwe dagon. If they want people to trust and be inspired by Buddhism and Burmese Culture they should not turn it into a money generating circus.
How dare they charge a fee to see the Buddhist Shrines which were built for the free benefit of all by donation.
All these things make foreigners feel unwelcome and lead to them not returning to a land ruled by hypocrits who do not practise their own religion or keep its precepts.
But do they really want the country to develop? You can tell by the state of the schools, hospitals and disrespect for their own countrymen that they want them all to stay poor and uneducated and unable to raise themselves up so they can play golf, drink, sell drugs and girls and dream they are incarnate Kings.
There is no problem in Myanmar that is not traceable back to the ineptness of the Govt. and its inability to honestly work towards the betterment of its people.
The Thai King is loved and respected because he has worked all his life for his people. He has earned it with fairness and concern.
The Burmese rulers have done the opposite and even their own do not respect them. Foreign tourists know too much and might do something good for the country.
So we would not want that. No visa on arrival then.