Archive for February, 2012
Responsible Tourism Statement, Taking Responsibility for Tourism – A working week on responsible tourism planning in Myanmar, February 23rd, 2012
This statement is the outcome of the Taking Responsibility for Tourism – A working week on responsible tourism planning in Myanmar. Prepared by Professor Harold Goodwin, Nicole Haeusler, Achim Munz and the public and private sector of the Myanmar tourism industry. For details go to: http://myanmartourism.org/latestnews/2012/02/24/nay-pyi-taw-responsible-tourism-statement-taking-responsibility-for-tourism-%E2%80%93-a-working-week-on-responsible-tourism-planning-in-myanmar-february-23rd-2012/ Source : http://www.enchantingmyanmar.com
Five Days in Burma
As the plane descended into Rangoon’s international airport, I noticed a slight change in my heartbeat. I felt calm, but also excited, knowing that I was about to return to Burma for the first time in 24 years. Inside the airport, a young immigration officer smiled as I gave him my passport. He was quite [...]
Grounded Ships and Airline Consolidations Draw Attention to Travel Insurance
Travelers, however, are more likely to use plans for more common disruptions, says Travel Guard North America `STEVENS POINT, Wis., Feb. 27, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — The travel industry has seen its fair share of major changes and developments in recent years, and 2012 shows no signs of slowing down. The Costa Concordia disaster [...]
Long lost festival returns to Burma’s Shwedagon Pagoda
Posted by Travel Wire Asia on February 22, 2012 in Email Newsletter, The Diary VAST crowds are gathering at Burma’s most sacred Buddhist shrine to celebrate a festival banned for decades under the former military government. Shwedagon Pagoda, Burma. Pic: AP. The festival at the gold-plated, diamond-studded Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon is a mix of [...]
Suu Kyi Tourism on the Burma Itinerary
Western tourists check out t-shirts bearing the image of Aung San Suu Kyi at a stall outside the NLD headquarters in Rangoon (PHOTO: Hpyo Wai Tha / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON—If you are currently visiting Rangoon, perhaps it’s an idea to leave your guide book behind in the hotel, and instead add to your itinerary two [...]
Surin satisfied with Myanmar ASEAN chair prep
ASEAN Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan (L) and Aung San Suu Kyi speak to the media in Yangon on February 22. Pic: AFP By Kyaw Hsu Mon Volume 31, No. 616 February 27 – March 4, 2012 THE Association of Southeast Asian Nations was satisfied with the preparations being made by Myanmar to chair the regional [...]
Norway tops travel wish list for Myanmar’s Nobel laureate
Bangkok – Norway stands at the top of the list of countries Myanmar’s Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi, hopes to visit after she contests an April 1 by-election, a newspaper reported Monday. ‘I’ve always said that the first country I would like to visit would be Norway because of all they did [...]
Medical tourism in the pink of health
Medical tourism in Malaysia hit record levels in 2011 and is on track to achieve yet another year of healthy numbers in 2012. Receipts from foreign patients spending on medical treatment in Malaysia 2011 stood at RM509.77 million, while foreign patients count was 578,403. Chief executive officer of the Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council (MHTC) Dr [...]
The S-word
Tips on planning a short-haul vacation for your next long weekend by Ng Ai-Ling 09:55 AM Feb 25, 2012 They say the easiest way to start a conversation with a group of Singaporean strangers is to talk about food. From coffee culture to Cantonese cuisine, there are few who can resist sharing what they just [...]
Deal of the week: Travel tours to Myanmar
The hottest destination joining the mainstream tourism world is Myanmar, also known as Burma. The big tour companies Overseas Adventure Travel and Pacific Delight Tours just announced new regularly scheduled trips to the remote Asian nation. Burma recently softened its totalitarian regime and is repairing relations with its neighbors. Pacific Delight’s 12-day “Myanmar Discovery” is [...]
Vietnamese Company To Invest In Hotel Construction
Myanmar Radio and TV channel 4(MRTV 4) reports a Vietnamese company is to construct a 4 star(or a 5 star) hotel where the old Industry-1 office was once located in the near future. According to this report the Vietnamese company will sign a MOU with the Ministry of Hotels & Tourism in the near future [...]
Government and New Mon State Party Agree To Ceasefire
The government and New Mon State Party(NMSP) had signed a 5 point ceasefire agreement at Mawlamyine today(February 25) according to news reports from Myanmar. For details go to: http://www.facebook.com/7daynews Source : http://www.enchantingmyanmar.com
Daw Aung San Su Kyi On Campaign Trail To Kachin State
Daw Aung San Su Kyi began her campaign trip to Kachin State on February 23 flying into Myitkyina by plane. Enthusiatic crowds greeted her at the airport and lined the route to Namti where she stopped and gave a speech. Later she returned to Mytikyina for night stop. She will continue her campaign on February [...]
Myanmar tourism delegation leaves for Thailand
YANGON, 21 Feb-At the invitation of the Foundation for International Human Resource Development of Thailand, professors led by Prof Dr Daw Khin Swe Myint who are giving lectures on tourism education at Yangon University and Mandalay University and Secretary of Union of Myanmar Travel Association U Tin Tun Aung and party left here by air [...]
Buddhist Sermons To Commemorate The 2600 Anniversary of Shwedagon Pagoda
Revered and well known monks give Buddhist sermons to the devotees at Pyithu Oo Yin(Peoples’ Park) daily from February 17th to 21st in front of the Shwedagon Pagoda to commemorate the 2600th Anniversary of the world famous pagoda For details and photos please go to: http://www.facebook.com/7daynews Source : http://www.enchantingmyanmar.com
Myanmar Poised to Host ASEAN in 2014, Plans and Capacity Building Underway
Myanmar will “seriously consider” allowing observers from ASEAN and the ASEAN Secretariat during the April by-elections, said Myanmar President Thein Sein. “We will seriously consider having observers from ASEAN, and the ASEASN Secretariat during the April elections,” he told visiting ASEAN Secretary-General, Dr Surin Pitsuwan. The two leaders agreed that such a move will boost [...]
Drugs on the menu for Aussie tourists in Laos
When going out for a night on the town in Laos, on the menu for the typical Australian tourist will be magic mushrooms, cannabis and even opium. The pubs literally have menus listing all those drugs — and even “disco buckets” containing some of each. When 24-year-old Nathan, from Newcastle, went to Laos for a [...]
Foreign travel market ‘booming’ as Myanmar look abroad
AS tourist arrivals hit a record high in 2011, the number of Myanmar heading overseas continued to grow, Yangon-based companies specialising in outbound tours said. “The outbound tourism market is really booming, said U Hein Thant, sales and reservation manager from Sun Far Travel and Tours in Yangon. “We are offering medical tourism packages, ‘free [...]
Budget airlines show interest in Myanmar
BUOYED by expectations of an upsurge in leisure and business travellers, more regional low-cost carriers are reportedly looking at expanding operations to destinations outside Yangon. Mr Brendan Sorbie, chief representative for Southeast Asia at the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, said carriers such as Silk Air, AirAsia and Jetstar were poised to increase their operations. [...]
UNESCO to support Sri Ksetra project
THE United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation plans to launch its first cultural project in Myanmar in 10 years, a senior official said last week. The capacity-building project aims to develop knowledge of preservation techniques and management of government staff at the Pyu city of Sri Ksetra in Bago Region. The Italian government has [...]
Myanmar eyes more tourists
Yangon, Feb 19 (IANS) Myanmar is planning to attract 1.4 million tourists by 2015. The country has seen a steady increase in foreign tourists after the new government took office in March 2011. The tourism ministry has formed a committee to oversee tourist services. It will also participate in international travel shows to promote tourism. [...]
Myanmar to cooperate with int’l groups to promote tourism
YANGON, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) — Myanmar’s hotel and tourism authorities will cooperate with more international organizations to promote tourism in the country, a local media reported Sunday. The move will help create opportunities for Myanmar to participate in international travel shows, said the Popular News. Due to adoption of a reform policy after the new [...]
Airlines ready as Burma travel booms
Outbound travel surges to Thailand and elsewhere in Asia As it gradually opens up to the outside world, Burma – officially known as Myanmar – is experiencing an outbound as well as incoming travel surge. Travel agents based in the country report a surge in outbound travel among Burmese nationals. “The outbound tourism market is [...]
Should You Travel to Myanmar?
An ox cart on Myanmar’s Ngapali Beach, on the Bay of Bengal. (Courtesy donutdollie/myBudgetTravel) We’re sometimes so quick to call a travel destination “a land of contradictions,” the phrase has all but lost its meaning. Except, maybe, where Myanmar is concerned. Never heard of Myanmar? Maybe that’s because the country of about 48 million is [...]
Workshop on Preservation of Bagan Region Cultural Heritage and Construction of Historical Park (or) Archaeological Park in Future Held At Bagan
Workshop on Preservationof Bagan Region Cultural Heritage andConstruction of Historical Park (or)Archaeological Park in Future, jointly organized by Department of Archaeology,National Museum and Library, MyanmarEngineering Society and MyanmarArchitects Association yesterday(February 18) at Bagan. For details go to: www.mrtv3.net.mm source:http://www.enchantingmyanmar.com
Myanmar shining
The Shwedagon Pagoda is a key attraction in Yangon. — PHOTO: REUTERS Tutor Seet Kaur, 47, has been going to Myanmar for the past three years to visit a relative working there. On a two-week trip in November, she noticed there were more Singaporeans in Yangon, the commercial capital and gateway to the rest of [...]
Land of the Lady back on the map
Shwedagon Pagoda, Yangon. At its heart is its massive gold stupa. Picture: Stephen Scourfield/The West Australian A young man walks between the lines of cars queued at traffic lights in Rangoon and holds up a picture at the window of our minibus. A picture to sell. “The Lady” is printed across the bottom of the [...]
Air KBZ Aircraft Veers Off Runway At Thandwe Mazin Airport
An aircraft of Air KBZ was involved in an accident at Thandwe Mazin airport yesterday(Feb17). The accident occured when the plane was landing and due to hydraulic system failure the front landing gear did not deploy. The aircraft then veered into the earthstrip bordering the runway where it stopped. Fortunately no passengers nor aircrews were [...]
Burma: hotels all booked up in Yangon
A Burmese girl looks out the window waiting for an overnight train to leave the Mandalay train station in Myanmar. (PAULA BRONSTEIN/AFP/Getty Images) A warning to foreign tourists pouring into newly popular Burma: don’t touch down in Yangon without a hotel reservation. This well-reported piece in The Irrawaddy suggests an unpleasant fate awaits those who [...]
Myanmar to introduce e-visas in March
MYANMAR’s Ministry of Hotels and Tourism is pushing for a significant liberalisation of the country’s visa regulations, and is planning to introduce an electronic visa application system from next month. “We are trying to introduce an e-visa system from March, that would allow international visitors to apply for a visa from anywhere via the Internet, [...]
Singapore Presses Its Advantage in Myanmar
The foreign ministers of Myanmar (L) and Singapore (R) exchange a memorandum of understanding on Jan. 30. When Western leaders deemed Myanmar a secretive pariah state and slapped on tough economic sanctions, many Southeast Asian investors and governments maintained good relations with the country – a policy that drew harsh criticism from human rights advocates [...]
Myanmar travel made less frightening
AS Myanmar shuffles its way along the winding road to democratic reform, a handful global travellers have taken notice of the recent political changes, shaken off their reservations about visiting the “mysterious” destination, and descended on the country in increasing numbers. Figures from the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism show that tourist arrivals hit a [...]
Myanmar outbound travel ‘booming’, say tour companies
AS tourist arrivals hit a record high in 2011, the number of Myanmar heading overseas continued to grow, Yangon-based companies specialising in outbound tours said. “The outbound tourism market is really booming, said U Hein Thant, sales and reservation manager from Sun Far Travel and Tours in Yangon. He said about half of outbound travellers [...]
Malaysia draws over 87,000 Saudi tourists
By K. T. ABDURABB Published: Feb 13, 2012 00:27 Updated: Feb 13, 2012 00:27 DUBAI: More than 24.7 million tourists Arabia arrived in Malaysia during 2011, Tourism Malaysia officials told Arab News on Sunday. A spokesperson at Tourism Malaysia office in Dubai said Saudi Arabia topped from the Gulf with 87,693 tourists. Malaysia received more [...]
India records 72% growth in tourists availing of Visa on Arrival in Jan 2012
During the month of January 2012, a total of 1,359 Visa on Arrivals (VoAs) were issued as compared to 790 VoAs issued during January 2011, registering a growth rate of 72 per cent. The growth excludes the nationals of Indonesia, Laos and Myanmar, for whom no VoAs were issued in January 2011. Continuing the trend [...]
EU development commissioner arrives in Myanmar
Yangon – The European Union Development Commissioner arrived in Myanmar Sunday where he is expected to announce a 150-million-euro aid package to the former pariah state. Andris Piebalgs arrived in Yangon, and planned to travel to the capital of Naypyitaw on Monday for talks with President Thein Sein and senior government officials. He is also [...]
Travel ideas for 2012: Hilly highs
Andhra Pradesh 1. Not much has been said, written or heard about the coffee plantations, hairpin bends and rail tunnels of the Anantagiri Hills in the Eastern Ghats. You can take a train ride up to Shimliguda, East, the highest point in Asia on the broad gauge line at close to 1,000m above sea level. [...]
Burma ‘struggling’ with tourism boom
Burma’s tourism industry is struggling to cope with the influx of travellers and businessmen visiting the country, with hotels at bursting point and the government fearing humilitation if it is unable to accommodate an expected surge in numbers over the coming year. One plan mooted to cope with the increase is to expand existing motels, [...]
Daw Aung San Su Kyi’s Campaign Trip To Kawhmu
Chairperson of National League of Democracy(NLD)Daw Aung San Su Kyi went on a campaign trip to her intended constituency of Kawhmu Township on Feb 11 where thousand of well wishers greeted her along the way and also listened to her campaign speech. For photo gallery please follow link: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=322420484462248&set=a.322420321128931.70610.114803668557265&type=1&theater http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=297064017021906&set=a.297063467021961.69724.103865773008399&type=1&theater http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=295598480501471&set=a.295588050502514.69584.127099574018030&type=1&theater http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150570898103347&set=a.10150570896748347.396186.264536608346&type=1&theater Source : http://www.enchantingmyanmar.com
Commissioner Piebalgs To Visit Burma/Myanmar To Pledge New Support For Democratic And Economic Reform
From 12–14 February, European Commissioner for Development, Andris Piebalgs, will visit Burma/Myanmar. In response to the impressive reform agenda which began to take shape there after the new civilian Government took office, he will announce a new €150 million assistance package to support democratic reforms and inclusive development in the country. Commissioner Piebalgs will be [...]
Rangoon Hotels Struggle to Meet Tourist Demand
Recent political reform in Burma has stirred an immediate demand from foreign visitors to visit the country; however, its limited infrastructure could leave some tourists unable to find hotel rooms. Burma lists just 731 hotels around the country—a total of 25,000 rooms, with only 8,000 in Rangoon, the former capital and by far the most [...]
Myanmar Civil Society Delegation Visits Clinton
(RTTNews) – In the latest sign of an air of freedom in Myanmar, a civil society delegation from that country made a historic visit to the United States. The delegation, in its first U.S. visit, met Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton at the State Department on Wednesday. The delegation included Burmese comedian and recently-freed [...]
Suu Kyi hits the Myanmar campaign trail
YANGON, Myanmar, Feb. 8 (UPI) — Pro-democracy leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi hit the campaign trail in Myanmar in preparation for by-elections in April. Thousands of supporters cheered her during a speech in Pathein, also called Bassein, a city of around 300,000 in southwestern Myanmar. It’s an important inland port [...]
Australian Inbound-Outbound Movements: 10-Year Analysis
CANBERRA – Figures on international movements through Australian border crossings over the last 10 years show some remarkable changes. Short-term visitor arrivals from Japan, once the blue-eyed boy of Asia-Pacific tourism, have fallen from 673,600 in 2001 to 332,600 in 2011 with a commensurate fall in market share from 13.9% to 5.7%. By contrast, short-term [...]
Chairman U Maung Maung Swe of Union Of Myanmar Travel Association(UMTA) Speaks On Myanmar Tourism
The Irrawaddy speaks with Maung Maung Swe, who currently sits as both the chairman of the Union of Myanmar Travel Association and the vice-chairman of the Myanmar Tourism Board. For full interview please go to: http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=22994 source:http://www.enchantingmyanmar.com
Exotissimo Travel Open Routes Along Myanmar and Thailand’s Stunning Coastline
(openPR) – The Andaman Sea and its coastline along Myanmar and Thailand hides some of world’s most scenic and desirable destinations. In fact, the area receives few visitors, giving travelers who make the journey a vast stretch of paradise to relax in. Exotissimo Travel, Asia’s leading Destination Management Company showcase the very best of this [...]
Miss Burma competition to be held in March
(Mizzima) – A Miss Burma 2012 competition will be held in Rangoon, in an effort to promote the tourism industry, the Xinhua news agency reported on Tuesday. The news group quoted an event organizer who said the Myanmar Travel Board (MTB) is putting together the event to be held on March 25, featuring dance shows, [...]
Tourist Arrvials To Myanmar Expected To Rise
Come fiscal year – April 2012 to March 2013 – tourist arrivals to Myanmar are expected to go up to half a million, said the secretary of Myanmar Tourism Association to Messenger, a popular Myanmar news journal. “Due to the current political situation and more transparency, Myanmar tourism has a potential to develop at a [...]
US scrambles back into Burma in a race for influence Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/world/us-scrambles-back-into-burma-in-a-race-for-influence
THE Americans are returning to Burma. Jostling in hotel lifts with Chinese engineers who are here to build pipelines across Burma are new faces: US senators, business leaders and academics. Hotels in the capital Rangoon that were largely empty six months ago are at capacity, as the outside world sees a once-rigid, secretive regime opening [...]
KNU/KNLA Signs Ceasefire Agreement
State level Peace-making Committee of Kayin State and KNU/KNLA armed group led by Gen Htain Maung signed a State-level Ceasefire Agreement at Naypyitaw on February 7. For details go to: http://www.facebook.com/bbcburmese Source : http://www.enchantingmyanmar.com