by sergio.michos

With New Hotels In Yangon And A lot more Air Hyperlinks, Myanmar Aims For 4.five M Guests In 2015

Myanmar welcomed much more than three million guests in 2014 bringing in in excess of US$ one billion, in a record-setting year for visitor arrivals. Tourist numbers have been surging, with 2013 seeing over 2 million arrivals for the first time.

Of the 3 million plus arrivals in 2014, 70 per cent had been from Asia. Yangon International Airport says it processed 1,027,770 foreign visitors in 2014, of which 165,660 have been Thai. Thailand has topped the record of visitor supply markets for the past two years. An official with the Ministry of Immigration and Population said the second biggest group of guests was from China, followed by Japan.

A remain in Yangon – the biggest city and prime worldwide gateway – is a normal inclusion on a check out to Myanmar. The city delivers intriguing historical sights and a busy speed of daily life, with a selection of accommodation that includes some of the finest colonial hotels in Asia such as The Strand Yangon built in 1901 and Belmond Governor’s Residence dating from the 1920s. Alongside these and other luxury hotels in Yangon, there is also a option of spending budget and three to 5 star Yangon hotels.

A director with the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism stated the ministry had been enlarging travel zones and generating other infrastructural enhancements to help tourists. It had also been reducing laws on neighborhood and foreign businesses seeking to enter the tourism sector.

In December 2014, Myanmar government officials held talks with their counterparts from Thailand on tourism improvement tasks. In addition to Thais who pay a visit to their neighbour to the west, Thailand is also the gateway to Myanmar for many vacationers from Europe and the United Kingdom. From Bangkok there are flights to key locations in Myanmar this kind of as Yangon, Mandalay, Nyaung U (Bagan) and the new capital Nay Pyi Taw.

Myanmar’s government has also been developing the country’s tourism sector in cooperation with Germany, Norway, Japan, Luxemburg, Switzerland, Australia and Italy and the Asian Growth Financial institution.

In September 2014 Myanmar launched a new on-line tourist visa application technique, which is accessible to citizens of 100 countries. The US has topped the listing in the use of the E-visa followed by the United Kingdom, according to the immigration department.

The E-visa is valid for a remain of up to 28 days from the date of arrival in Myanmar and with a validity time period of 90 days from its issuing date. It can be utilised to enter the nation through Yangon, Nay Pyi Taw and Mandalay airports. It can be applied for at www.evisa.moip.gov.mm and needs a person’s passport be valid for at least 6 months, one particular colour photo taken in the course of the past three months and the fee (non refundable) of US$ 50 paid both with Visa or MasterCard.

The internet site states the applicant will receive an email acknowledgement within one hour of profitable payment of the fee and that the processing time of an application is up to five doing work days.

An official from the immigration division explained given that the introduction of the E-visa system the amount of site visitors using visa on arrival had declined, because the E-visa was far more convenient for global site visitors.